Verdict is met with shock at Mick's pub (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Verdict is met with shock at Mick's pub

THE verdict was met with shock in Old Town pubs where Mick Love used to enjoy a pint.

Sarah Townsend, landlady of The Prince of Wales pub in Union Street, was shocked that Mr Love's killer was still on the loose.

Mrs Townsend barely knew Mr Love but she described him as a quiet and unassuming man.

She said: "I didn't really know him but when I saw his photograph in the paper I recognised him.

"Drinkers in here say he was a fantastic guy.

"He had a lot of friends who really miss him."

A barmaid at nearby pub The Globe, where Mr Love also used to drink, said he was popular.

"He didn't come in all that often but most people in here seemed to know him," she said.

"He was a big guy but very quiet."

Mr Love was stabbed to death moments after saying goodbye to pals.

The 40-year-old had been drinking with five friends at the bottom end of the town centre on the night he was killed.

Mr Love and two friends decided to round the evening off with a curry at Bombay Brasserie, in Regent Circus.

The three men went their separate ways after 3am but Mr Love, who lived with his girlfriend in Prospect Place, never made it home.

Passers-by spotted Mr Love slumped on the pavement in Cannon Street, off Victoria Road, but ignored him.

It was an off-duty police officer who raised the alarm a couple of hours later.

The area was cordoned off until 7.15pm that day while forensics teams preserved the crime scene.

Once they had left, mourners began leaving wreaths for the father-of-two, who was estranged from wife Karen.

Those who knew Mr Love a manager at the Dorcan Royal Mail sorting office described him as a loving family man who always had time for his children.

The killing sparked a massive police search.

Officers knocked on dozens of door and studied hours of CCTV footage. More than 40 people were stopped by police.

Police also carried out a reconstruction in the hope of jogging people's memories.

The Advertiser produced witness appeal posters in the hunt for the killer.