WELL-KNOWN Mirfield window cleaner Dennis Laycock has died at the age of 53.

Mr Laycock was born in Knowl at Mirfield and grew up in the town.

During that time he was a teenage boxer and among his opponents was John Conteh, who went on to become light- heavyweight world champion.

In later life, Mr Laycock moved to Ravensthorpe and lived at Duke Street. He had various jobs, but for the past 10 years he had worked as a window cleaner in Mirfield and Ravensthorpe.

Despite suffering a stroke, he carried on with this job, as well as tackling gruelling runs for charity.

Mr Laycock raised up to £3,000 a year by completing charity runs from Leeds to Ravensthorpe.

Most recently, he ran to raise money for amateur rugby league player Lee Massey, who is wheelchair-bound following an incident in October, 2003.

Mr Laycock was a regular at the New Albion pub in Ravensthorpe and asked people to sponsor him to not drink alcohol for months at a time to raise money for charity.

His generous streak extended to taking in dogs from people who could no longer look after them. He also had exotic pets, such as snakes, tarantulas and lizards.

His brother, Anthony, described him as someone who would help anyone.

Mr Laycock is also survived by his other brothers, John and Chris, sisters Carol, Susan and Yvonne, his partner, June, and sons Shane, Dylan and Dominic.