Sir Bobby Charlton: Manchester's 'lovely gentleman' remembered

Andrew Creech met Sir Bobby twice - once as a schoolboy at a training camp and again at the Europa League final

Sir Bobby Charlton was one of football's greatest ever players, but to the people of his adopted home city, he was also the superstar that you might bump into in the street.

The Manchester United legend, who died on Saturday aged 86, won 106 caps for England and scored 49 international goals - both records at the time.

He was a star in an era when players lived their lives alongside the fans.

Those whose lives he touched have said he was modest, humble and kind.

For Salford's Sue McGranaghan, Sir Bobby's hero status was about more than just football.

"A few years ago, I was in Manchester... in a world of my own and stepped into the road, not looking if any cars were coming," she said.

"A gentleman next to me pulled me back, saying 'oh young lady, be careful'.

"It was Sir Bobby.

"I thanked him and we both crossed the road together and went on our way.

"I have often said jokingly over the years [that] Sir Bobby saved my life."

Ms McGranaghan was not the only one to have credited Sir Bobby with a life-saving moment.

Lynda Smith said in 1968, a few weeks he scored twice in United's European Cup win at Wembley, he helped the then 15-year-old Red Devils fan on the road to recovery.

"I was desperately ill in Macclesfield Infirmary," she said.

"The secretary of the fan club had been in touch and arranged a visit to me from Bobby.

"It was only later I was told that I had given up and doctors were trying desperately to save me.

"After the visit and a promise to take me round Old Trafford and meet George Best, I rallied round and was released from hospital just a week before the cup match.

"Sir Bobby Charlton saved my life. He will always be my hero."

Sir Bobby was a star in an era when players lived their lives alongside the fans

Neil Mortique said his "one and only meeting" with Sir Bobby came when he was "working as a car mechanic in a Lada dealership in Manchester".

He said he was handed his worksheet and told to "do a good job on this car [because] it's Bobby Charlton's".

He said he believed it was a wind-up as there was no way the United great "would drive a Lada", a car which had become the punchline to many a joke due to its bulky shape.

"The last item to repair was a dash light," he said.

"I was lying upside down, struggling to get this new bulb in, swearing and cursing, then I heard this voice in a very calm manner [say] "Is it giving you some problems?"

"I pulled my head out, still upside down, to see the great Bobby Charlton looking down at me.

"What a lovely gentleman - he even gave me a £5 tip."

Tributes to Sir Bobby have been left outside Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium

Andrew Creech was a schoolboy when he first met Sir Bobby.

"I was very lucky to attend the Bobby Charlton soccer school when I was nine," he said.

He said while playing a game, "the ball smacked me in the face and my nose was bleeding".

"Sir Bobby came over to me and said 'I'll look after you'," he said.

"He cleaned my nose and took me for lunch in the canteen, just me and him.

"I will never forget that moment."

He added that he was lucky enough to meet him again in Stockholm when Manchester United won the Europa League, which was also a treasured memory.

"What a lovely man he was," he said.

Ed Norris, from Cheshire, was one of the many United fans lucky enough to meet Sir Bobby at Old Trafford.

"I was so honoured to be introduced to him by a mutual friend, as he was without a doubt the most famous living British footballer," he said.

"I was even more surprised when he shook my hand, bearing in mind I am someone he didn't know and not remotely famous, and said 'hello Ed, my name is Bobby Charlton. Pleased to meet you'.

"His modesty was incredible and his genuine interest in others shone through."

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