THE funeral last week of celebrity steeplejack Fred Dibnah was every bit in keeping with the way he lived.
Fred, from Bolton, had a legion of admirers for his unpretentious and fearless way of life and had many local admirers and at least one person from Huddersfield attending his funeral.
The loveable character had come to these parts to switch on the Holmfirth Christmas lights and more recently to officially open the new miniature railway in Greenhead Park.
He was also said to have at least partly inspired the portrayal of the character Wesley Pegden in Last Of The Summer Wine.
Crowds thronged to see Fred's funeral procession with three steam engines, a Rolls Royce for the family, a police motorcycle escort and several antique cars.
And his trademark flat cap in place of honour on the coffin.
There were four clerics to conduct the ceremony at Bolton Parish Church and the cortege made a last round of the town before making its way to Thonge Lane Cemetery - visible from Fred's home across the River Thonge.
His own steam engine Betsy was unable to make the journey but when Fred was laid to rest it was against the background of a half-minute blast on a steam engine. Fred would have liked that.
Among the mourners outside the church and at the cemetery was Huddersfield eccentric Jake Mangle-Wurzel. Jake was among those who threw earth on the coffin and afterwards described Fred as the "daddy of all eccentrics".
