Martin Chadburn

Martin Chadburn was a 53-year-old British Army veteran from Hull, East Yorkshire, who gave his time to Hull 4 Heroes, a charity that supports former service personnel. <cite index="3-4">Martin Chadburn was a former soldier and a volunteer at the Hull 4 Heroes charity.</cite> He was well known within the city's veteran community, and friends who knew him through outdoor recovery camps in Cumbria described him as a regular and much loved visitor there, someone who travelled the country in his camper van and found peace in the countryside.

Martin Chadburn died after being attacked on a night out in his home city. <cite index="3-1">Humberside Police were called to a serious assault in Queen Victoria Square in Hull, during the early hours of Sunday, April 19.</cite> <cite index="2-2,2-3">The attack occurred after Mr Chadburn left The Star pub on Carr Lane in the early hours of 19th April 2026, resulting in a fatal brain injury, and witnesses reported the group continued to assault him even after he had fallen to the ground, unable to defend himself.</cite> <cite index="3-2,3-3">He was taken to hospital with a life-threatening head injury, and on April 21, he died in hospital.</cite>

His death was announced publicly through Humberside Police and confirmed by his colleagues at Hull 4 Heroes. The charity's chief executive, Paul Matson, said staff found it "extremely difficult to put into words" how shocked and saddened they were at the loss of their colleague and friend. Tributes followed quickly from friends, former army colleagues and members of the Hull community, who were appalled by the violence of the attack on a man known for helping others. A memorial was later created in his honour at a farm in Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria, a place with strong ties to Martin. <cite index="1-1">Martin died due to a head injury sustained following a confrontation on a night out in Hull.</cite> <cite index="1-5">Friends there had known Martin for years through an outdoor activities camp, and he had also visited the area regularly in his camper van.</cite>

The case went on to become a criminal trial. <cite index="2-1">Three people have been found guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of Army veteran Martin Chadburn, following a brutal assault in Hull city centre.</cite> <cite index="2-4">Britney Naylor, Shaytoyia Farrow, and Lukasz Matusiak were convicted following a six-week trial at Hull Crown Court.</cite> A Senior Crown Prosecutor involved in the case expressed hope that the verdict would provide the Chadburn family with some measure of justice, given the violent nature of the attack. Sentencing has not yet taken place, and further details of that hearing have not been made public.

Martin Chadburn's death and the trial that followed drew wide attention in Hull and beyond, both because of his standing as a veteran and charity volunteer and because of the shocking nature of an attack that, by most accounts, began as a minor altercation outside a pub before escalating into a sustained and fatal assault.