He was known as a ‘people person’ who was always ready for a chat and a laugh.

And now tributes have been paid to Martin Wise, a much-loved family man and a friendly face behind the wheel of a Sanders coach. 

Mr Wise, who lived at Reepham and Northrepps, has died aged 56 after contracting cancer.

His widow, Allison Wise, said: “He loved spending time with family and friends, always ready with a joke and a smile.”

Mr Wise was born in Rochford in Kent, the second-youngest of five children. 

Growing up, he and his sister Debbie were the “self-confessed black sheep of the family”, both known for doing whatever they wanted to and unafraid to take the consequences. 

As a youngster, Mr Wise spent a lot of time with his grandad, who died when he was eight. 

This left him at a loose end, so he offered to help the local milkman on his round. 

Mrs Wise said: “He would get picked up outside his house first thing in the morning, and off he would go on the milk float until it was time for school.”

Upon leaving sixth form Mr Wise joined an electrical company called Tower Radio, and became a branch manager by the age of 18 thanks to his hard work and natural people skills. 

He went on to positions at the kitchen retailer Magnet and Southerns - where he was again manager - and later at Harveys and then Carpetright. 

Mr Wise was married three times, first to Laura in 1993, with whom he had a son called Christopher.

Dereham Times: Martin Wise. Martin Wise. (Image: Supplied by the family)

He was a loving dad who cherished time spent with his son, whether they were sharing banter while playing crazy golf, or having a go on the slot machines on the Southend seafront.

Mr Wise relocated to Norfolk to be nearer to his parents in their later years, as they had moved to Northrepps. 

After moving he married his second wife, Diane. They were initially in South Pickenham then moved to Watton, but after the marriage ended he moved in with his parents.

Mr Wise had a Public Service Vehicle licence from a previous job with Arriva Buses in Southend. 

He had just left his job at Carpetright, and so joined the Holt-based Sanders Buses, first as a driver and then in a role dealing with vehicle logistics, rotas and other duties. 

Mrs Wise said: “Martin was well-respected by the company and in turn, they were very good to him when he became unwell in later years.”

It was whilst driving for Sanders that Mr Wise met Allison, who was a regular on the coach trips to watch Norwich City away games. 

He did many of the longer two-driver journeys with a friend, Chris Harrison, so there was plenty of opportunity to get to know the fans who usually went on the trips.

Despite their footballing rivalry - Mr Wise was a lifelong Liverpool FC fan - love blossomed and they were married in 2016. They lived most of their time together in Reepham.

Mr Martin also loved visiting Wetherspoon pubs - sometimes for breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one day - and he would often seek out branches he had never been to before when visiting other parts of the country. 

Another passion was travel - one oft-remembered journey was a drive across Scotland with his brother Simon.

Mr and Mrs Wise had a belated honeymoon in New York over Christmas in 2017, and other destinations included Lanzarote, Devon and Wales. 

Mrs Wise said: “As one holiday finished, Martin liked to have another booked, so there was always something to look forward to. 

“Sometimes this would just be a couple of nights away, to combine with seeing a music concert, perhaps at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend or the O2 in London.

“Martin was a family man through and through. 

“He was an uncle to Debbie’s three children, as well as those of his sister Vanessa - Megan, Harry and Marnie.”

He had also welcomed Mrs Wise’s two daughters into his life, Jade and Kelsey.