Funeral of local man who went missing in England takes place in Lisburn

A police spokesperson for the Greater Manchester police said this week there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the father of four’s death.

Mr Craig (47) who was married to Donna, had four children Samantha, Dwayne, Chloe and Ryan, and was grandfather to Madison, Bethany and Ethan.

A service took place at Ashmount Gardens, Lisburn on Monday followed by a Service and Committal at Roselawn Crematorium.

Instead of flowers, mourners were asked to give donations to the charity, Diabetes UK.

A ‘Go Fund Me’ page was also set up by members of the community of Wigan recently which raised £179.

On the page the organiser posted, “We want to offer help and support to the family of Irishman Mervyn Craig who our community of Wigan have took into our hearts.

“We are wanting to raise funds in order to help with his funeral or any other costs the family may endure.RIP Mervyn you were a much loved man by many! X”

Mr Craig who was insulin-dependent, was last seen at the Arnold Clark Motorstore on Wallgate, Wigan, at around 8pm on Monday, February 8.

He flew out to England from Lisburn, in January 28 and had told his family he was going to the greater Manchester area of England for a job on a building site.

However, when he had not been in touch for some time his daughter later revealed after checking his Facebook account that he had befriended a woman online.

The daughter said her mother, was involved in a car accident the day before her father left and unable to work.

She said that when her father had left, he had taken a flight from Belfast International Airport to Manchester and told his family that he would be back home in a month.

The emergency services were called to Wallgate, Wigan, around 9am on Monday March 7, after a body was spotted in the water.