Son of Lincoln man killed by single punch launches charity ball three years on

• Video report by Emma Hayward.

The son of a man who was killed after asking his attacker to keep the noise down outside his house has said that he thinks of his father every day.

Father-of-two Darren Munnelly, 46, suffered a fatal punch in an unprovoked attack when he came out of his house in Lincoln on 25 July 2021.

Ahead of the third anniversary of his father's death, his son has paid tribute to his "best friend".

Sean Falkinder said: "[His death] left a massive impact on mine and my brother's life but we do a lot in his memory and there's not a day goes by that he's forgotten."

Mr Munnelly, a popular community fundraiser, had returned home after taking his mother to the theatre to celebrate her retirement on the night he died.

Lincoln Crown Court heard he went outside to speak to Declan Grant, 22, who had been shouting in the street.

Grant threw two punches which floored Mr Munnelly, who was later found seriously injured at a property on Carr Street.

Grant admitted manslaughter and was jailed for six-and-a-half years.

Mr Falkinder said the outpouring of support from the community and his father's huge network of friends "keeps us all going".

"At the funeral you literally couldn't get in the venue," he said.

"There were people outside queuing up to try and get in. The pubs local to the venue live streamed it. And the youtube live stream got over 2000 views. [That's] just testament to how popular he was."

On what would have been his 50th birthday in September, his family is planning a charity ball to raise money for local charities and organisations.

Mr Falkinder said: "The charity work that we all do collectively, it puts it to the back of your mind a little bit and you just have to keep going forward and being positive."

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