Tributes have been paid to a father-of-two from Cumnock who died in a tragic road cycling accident in Birmingham on Saturday.

Martyn Gall grew up in Cumnock and attended Cumnock Academy before beginning his career in transport at T.French and Son where he worked as a Transport Manager’s Assistant.

He moved to Birmingham in 2001 to be with his wife, Diane, who he met on holiday in Ibiza. The couple had two daughters, Heather, 17, and Olivia, 15, of whom he was a doting dad.

As well as being a true family man, Martyn was also a semi-professional cyclist and proud Scot, known to champion his hometown at every turn and never changing his accent even after 19 years down south.

Martyn’s most recent job was with Bombardier in London but he remained close to his boss, Davie Carmichael, at T. French in Cumnock, who he credited for helping him develop his skills in the field.

Tragically, on Saturday, November 14, Martyn was involved in a fatal accident on the A441 in Alvechurch while out cycling with his bike club, Sette Dodici.

He passed away a while later in hospital, aged 41.

Cumnock Chronicle: Martyn and his friends.Martyn and his friends.

Kaye Hannah, Martyn’s mum, says her son was clever, witty and loving – and that he “lived for the day”.

She said: “He met Diane in Ibiza. It was a real holiday romance. He went back and forth to Birmingham then eventually moved there and got a job at National Express as a traffic controller. They used to call him ‘just a noise’ because of his accent, but he never modified it.

“All his pals talk about his funny anecdotes. He had a huge circle of friends and colleagues. He built half his life in Cumnock and half his life in Birmingham.

“Now I feel, did he know he was only here for a short time? He used to say, I’m here for a good time, not a long time. That was his mentality.”

Martyn’s passion for cycling and lust for life led him on many adventures, such as completing the Iron Man challenge in 2012, cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End and even convincing his teammates to ride from Birmingham to Cumnock in one day.

The reaction to Martyn’s death from the local cycling community has been astonishing, with jerseys pinned to the bridge near where the accident occurred.

Neil Appleby, friend and Sette Dodici member, said: “We’re dealing with the loss of a friend who became one of the absolute key figures of a huge alliance of riders who’d gather every Saturday morning to ride an undulating 40 mile route.

“Martyn was Sette Dodici’s social secretary and he was our poet laureate, composing a series of lengthy verses about our members and our rides.

“One of his crowning works was an epic retelling of how, in September 2016, he cajoled five others to ride with him, in a single day, from Birmingham to his mother’s house in Cumnock. There was a time many of us Brummies didn’t know where Cumnock was, but Martyn taught us it was a place of pilgrimage.

“He had a strong moral compass, was a dedicated family man and was so proud of his Scottish heritage that most of us wanted to be Scots too. He was outrageously funny but told some terrible jokes. He was brave and kind. He was loyal to his friends and we loved him.”

Martyn’s mum added: “It’s a saving grace that he died doing what he loved.”