These are the first photos of the dad who tragically lost his life in a fire in Saltcoats last week.

Mark Thornton, 56, died on Tuesday, January 7, at his home on Raise Street.

Tig Calvert, Mark’s ex-partner, said: “He was the love of my life.

“He was intelligent and had a unique sense of humour.

“But he was a broken man from a bizarre childhood.

“We’re so shocked, it’s such a sudden death and we’ve got so much to do.”

Mark was born in Glasgow on April 2, 1963, to Jeanette Tynsley-Smith, and famous Polish mathematician Stanislaw Swierczkowski.

His father left the family when Mark was four but they reconnected in later life before his death in 2015.

Ashley Cook met Mark at school, she told the Herald: “We met around 1977 when we were about 13 years old and were like brother a sister for then next 25 years.

“Both our parents had divorced and we did our best to gather a little group of outsiders around us to make our own family.

“It felt comforting to form a wee group of lost boys and girls and we spent all our time together listening to music, swapping novels, watching classic movies, playing cards and setting the world to rights. We were all dreamers.

“He was funny, he was clever, he was handsome but I think he always remained a dreamer and lost boy.”

Mark earned a degree in law from the University of Liverpool, where he first met Tig in 1989.

The young couple moved to Glasgow where they had a son, Jack, who is now 28.

The pair separated and Jack and his mother moved to England.

Tig said: “Jack is a credit to Mark.

“He got all the good bits, he’s funny, intelligent and caring.

Mark would have been proud.”

Mark bought and sold antiques in Glasgow, where he lived in Pollokshields.

On New Year’s Day in 2010, he found his mum dead and, Tig said, he became reclusive.

She said: “Her father had treated her badly, and she treated Mark badly.”

Mark moved to Saltcoats about a year and a half ago “to lead a peaceful life” said Tig.

Gordon and Lyndsay Patterson lived across the landing from Mark and called 999 the night he died.

Gordon told the Herald: “I smelt burning wood, opened the door and the whole stairwell was full of smoke.

“I shouted to my wife to get out now, grabbed some coats and got out.

“I battered Mark’s door while Lyndsay phoned 999.

“It’s so sad. I enjoyed our conversations. He was a lovely chap.”

Lyndsay said: “He would leave wee handwritten notes for me.

“He was a sweet man.”

Councillor Jim Montgomerie knew Mark and when he heard the tragic news said: “A beautiful, gentle, kind man... Very, very sad.”

A post-mortem has still not been carried out but a funeral is expected to take place in the next few weeks.