A MEMBER of Honley Male Voice Choir died three days after collapsing on a ferry to Holland.

Retired farmer Norman Haigh, 66, and 50 other members of the choir had just finished performing on the P and O ferry Pride of Rotterdam on Thursday, when he suffered a major stroke.

A Sea King helicopter with two paramedics flew out to the ship from Leconfield, near Beverley, East Yorkshire.

It landed on the upper deck despite a 25-knot wind and Norman, his wife Cynthia and sister- in-law Annie, were flown to Hull Royal Infirmary.

Norman died in hospital on Monday after suffering a heart attack.

The choir, in which Brian sang as a tenor, continued its journey to Holland to renew its long standing friendship with a male voice choir in the town of Ulft, near Arnhem.

The trip coincided with the 60th anniversary of the airborne attack by the allies in the Arnhem area during the Second World War.

The choir, accompanied by 76 family members and supporters, returned home on Tuesday.

Choir secretary Steve Hepworth said: "Norman's death has come as a great shock to all of us. He was a very popular member of the choir and will be greatly missed."

Norman joined the choir as a tenor in November 1991. He had also played cornet for many years in the former Blackburn Valley brass band and in his youth played for Ovenden Park RU club.

He had two daughters and three grandchildren.

Norman was the youngest of seven children and was born at the family's Ryefield Farm, Scammonden. He and his brothers Brian and George, who were both on the choir trip with their families, ran Bent Ley Farm, Meltham, for many years. The funeral will be held on Friday at Barkisland Parish Church where he married 41 years ago.