THE brother of a North-East victim of the Manchester Arena terror attack has spoken of his loss, as he urges people to pay tribute to him on the second anniversary of the atrocity next week.

Philip Tron, from Gateshead, had travelled to pick up his girlfriend's daughter, Courtney Boyle, 19, from the Ariana Grande pop concert, on May 22, 2017.

They both died in the suicide bomb attack, which killed 22 people.

The 32-year-old's brother, Michael Tron, has spoken of his torment for the first time with BBC Radio Newcastle’s Charlie Charlton.

In an emotional interview, Mr Tron said he regretted their last words had been a squabble over a borrowed car.

He said his brother had borrowed his car to go to Manchester and, before the attack, phoned to say he would not have it back on time for him to go to work.

Mr Tron said: "I wasn't very pleasant because he wasn't going to have my car back.

"So my last conversation with my Phillip was me having a go at him, and that will never leave me.

"You live in that moment, you can't break away from it– not a day goes by when I don't miss him.

"We had such a bond towards the end there that we were so close."

To mark the second anniversary of the attack, Mr Tron is urging people to wear blue– Philip Tron's favourite colour– as part of #goblueforphil.

He said: "It was his colour, he had those blue eyes my mam keeps going on about."

Last year people from America, Canada and across Europe from Santorini to Portugal posted pictures of themselves wearing blue for Philip, he said.

"What would Philip think of all this? Honestly? He'd say: 'what are you bothering for? just go and get a pint' - he really would," Mr Tron added.

More than 800 people were injured when Salman Abedi detonated his homemade device at the end of the concert by the American popstar.

Two weeks later, the singer and actress hosted the One Love Manchester benefit concert at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in response to the attack.

The second anniversary, on Wednesday, will be marked with a memorial service for those affected, at 2pm.

And, like last year, at 10.31pm– the time of the bombing– bells will ring out from buildings across Manchester city centre in memory of those that died and in support of those affected.