A hero biker has killed himself just weeks after talking a suicidal woman down from a bridge.
Doorman Alan 'Azzer' Mattocks, 49, received a letter of thanks from Staffordshire Police for helping to stop the woman from jumping off the A50 bridge.
However, Mr Mattocks, from Stoke-on-Trent, was found dead in his garden on July 28 after taking his own life.
His wife Dawn is now urging anyone suffering from mental health problems to open up about their issues, reports Stoke-on-Trent Live .
She has spoken out ahead of tomorrow's funeral as she prepares to use Star Wars fan Azzer's ashes for a Chewbacca tattoo.
The 46-year-old, who had been with Azzer for 10 years and married him at the Douglas Macmillan Hospice, in Stoke-on-Trent, in August 2017, said: “My life has been turned upside down.
"We did not think he suffered from any mental health problems but there was obviously something.
“We had been out the night before. I had no idea anything was troubling him. Everything was fine. We can’t believe he would do such a thing.
“He was a devoted family man and a very popular member of the community. More than 50 of us were going to Morocco for his 50th birthday next year.”
Dawn, a volunteer at the Dougie Mac in Blurton, admitted it was no surprise that Azzer stepped in to stop young woman jumping from a bridge.
Staffordshire Police had even written a letter to Azzer to thank him for his life-saving actions.
She added: “He would do anything for anybody. He just liked to help people.
“We used to run the children’s centre on the estate and the young ones had a lot of respect for him.
“He was a member of Jollees Characters based at London Road, Stoke, and they dressed up as Star Wars characters and would go out and do things for charities. He dressed as Chewbacca.
“He was the life and soul of the party. He was a real character. He was my best mate. I miss him so much.
“He was such a family man. He doted on me. He worshipped the ground I walked on.
“He was really protective of all his family. That is what the mind-boggling part is.
“I would not like anybody to have to go through what we are going through.”
Many of Azzer’s friends will also be having tattoos of Chewbacca as a tribute to him following the funeral.
Azzer's coffin will be transported in a side car and dozens of bikers are expected to join a cavalcade to the crematorium.
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