Paris attacks: British victim Nick Alexander 'didn't stand a chance'

Nick Alexander died in the Bataclan concert hall on Friday night

A British man who died in the Paris attacks "didn't stand a chance of getting out", according to one of his friends who had worked at the venue.

Nick Alexander, 35, was selling merchandise in the Bataclan concert hall on Friday night when he was one of more than 80 people who were killed.

His friend David Gray said it would have been difficult for him to escape.

"He didn't stand a chance of getting out because the merchandise stall is so visible.

"It's in such a vulnerable position. It's one of the first things you see when you go in the front door.

"The emergency exits are at the sides of the stage, so everything was stacked against him," he said.

David Gray (left) who works as a merchandiser for Ed Sheeran (right) said Mr Alexander had "everything stacked against him."

Mr Gray, who is from Norwich and works as Ed Sheeran's merchandiser, said he last saw his friend of ten years "only a few weeks ago" at an Eagles of Death Metal gig at the University of East Anglia.

"He was always very generous and always made you feel welcome. He always helped younger people coming into the business.

"It was more than a job to him, he loved music and he lived for it and the only comfort is that he died doing what he loved," he said.

Updates on this story and more from Essex

The 48-year-old said he will miss his friend's smile and will think of him every time he sets up his stall.

"I'm back out on the road this week and I considered whether I wanted to do it but the show must go on," he added.

Mr Alexander's girlfriend Polina Buckley said she can't imagine her life without him

Mr Alexander grew up in Colchester and attended the town's St James's Primary School and Colchester Royal Grammar School. He went on to study at university in Liverpool.

His girlfriend Polina Buckley broke down while she visited a makeshift vigil outside the French consulate in New York.

She said he was "someone who was the brightest person in the world" and added: "I cant imagine my life without him."

His parents Barry and Sheelagh Alexander, who live in Weeley, issued a statement on Saturday saying he was "everyone's best friend - generous, funny and fiercely loyal."

His friend Gemma Taylor told BBC Breakfast that he was a "caring" person who was "always thinking of others".

"Nick was just one of those people who are so rare nowadays.

"He was everybody's best friend. He was a devoted man to his family and to his friends. He was just everybody's best friend, literally - he was so loyal," she said.

An online memorial fund has been set up for Mr Alexander's family by his friend Miguel Benavides. The page has so far raised more than $57,500 (£37,835).