Tributes pour in for gentle giant

The family of a Staffordshire man killed in a freak accident paid today tribute to a gentle giant who loved life.

Mark Palmer, aged 46, died after a digger bucket fell onto him while he was working at a farm near Penkridge. Hundreds of people are expected to attend his funeral. Wife Toni today said her husband was very popular and was always the life and soul of the party.

Mr Palmer, who worked for Hydraline Engineering, based in Hawks Green, was repairing a digger at Wells Dairy Farm in Bradley, when its bucket fell and crushed him last Friday.

He leaves a 17-year-old daughter, Ruth, and a 15-year-old son, Jack.

Mrs Palmer, aged 44, of Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, said they had been married for 20 years.

She added: "We would always stay in touch and he used to text me in the morning because he would leave early. I got one text from him but after that he never answered which wasn't like him," she said.

"I can't pick out just one memory of Mark because there are so many. He could never keep still, he always had to be doing something and he crammed so much into his life, there are just too many memories.

"He was a gentle giant and a man who loved life and his family," she added.

Mr Palmer studied at the former Cannock Grammar School before becoming a toolmaker.

Mrs Palmer said: "If you were a friend of Mark's you were a friend for life.

"He was a very proud man and he would do anything for anyone. He was also a big practical joker."

His mother Marina, of Cannock, said: "Mark was a very thoughtful son. He would ring me every night."

Staff at Hydraline Engineering also paid tribute.

Mr Palmer's funeral will take place at 2.15pm next Wednesday at St Luke's Church in Cannock, followed by a private service at Stafford Crematorium.