Tributes paid to much-loved Big Issue vendor after tragic flat fire: 'He was one of the kindest'

Big Issue has paid tribute to “one of the kindest vendors” Liam Harmer who died in a flat fire earlier this week.

Harmer, 51, who sold the magazine in Sketty in Swansea, died in a first-floor flat of a building on Elphin Gardens in the Townhill area of the South Wales city on Tuesday (14 July) afternoon.

South Wales Police spokesman said one man was pronounced dead at the scene and there were no suspicious circumstances.

The coroner has since confirmed it was Harmer who died in the incident. Frontline workers who supported Harmer at Big Issue have paid a touching tribute to the much-loved vendor.

Tom Watts, Big Issue’s sales and operations manager in Wales, said: “I had known Liam for over a decade. I first met him in the Swansea office shortly after I started, and I remember immediately thinking what a genuinely nice person he was. He was one of the kindest vendors I ever met, and I never heard anyone say a bad word about him.

“Liam was a truly lovely person, and he will be very sadly missed by his friends, customers and everyone who knew him.”

Harmer sold the Big Issue magazine on and off for more than 15 years.

He told his story in an interview in the My Pitch section of the magazine back in 2020.

Harmer credited the magazine with helping him to overcome anxiety and depression. 

“I used to walk to my pitch thinking good thoughts, and that gets you through,” Harmer told Big Issue at the time.

“Once you sell your first one you’re happier, more talkative. I’m better now and Big Issue has helped me with that. Coming out and selling the magazine, getting to know people and chatting away.”

Harmer also spoke about how he had reconnected with his family and how his love of reading sci-fi novels offered him comfort.

It was a passion he shared with Watts, who fondly recalled the pair chatting about Arthur C. Clarke books.

“Liam had been a familiar face in Sketty for many years. He was very well liked and had built up a strong community of regular customers, many of whom became his friends,” said Watts.

“Being a Big Issue vendor can be incredibly tough, and the pressures people face can sometimes make life and relationships difficult. Liam, however, was always pleasant, gentle and kind. He would often ring the office for a chat, and we would talk about all sorts of things. He loved science-fiction novels, as I do, and I particularly remember our conversations about Arthur C. Clarke.”

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