TV steeplejack Fred Dibnah dies

TV steeplejack Fred Dibnah has died at the age of 66 following a three-year battle against cancer.

17:27 06 November 2004

TV steeplejack Fred Dibnah has died at the age of 66 following a three-year battle against cancer.

The father-of-six died at Bolton Hospice, Greater Manchester, surrounded by his family.

The colourful TV presenter first rose to his unlikely fame when the BBC made a documentary about him in the late 1970s detailing his work in servicing the hundreds of chimneys that once crowded the skies of Bolton.

After the success of Fred Dibnah Steeplejack, Dibnah became famous for demolishing chimneys on film and later presented programmes that reflected his passion for engineering.

He was the subject of several documentaries during the 1990s including Fred Dibnah's Industrial Age, Age of Steam and the Building of Britain.

The famous steeplejack received the MBE from the Queen in recognition of his work in July.

Mr Dibnah was in the process of filming his latest television programme Made In Britain when he was taken ill. He spurned treatment for his illness to tour the country on a traction engine as part of the forthcoming BBC Two series.

Tributes have been paid to the man whose trademark flat cap and Bolton accent viewers came to love.

"I haven't seen him for a couple of weeks. It's been family only at the hospice for some time but I was told by his son earlier today that he passed away peacefully surrounded by his family," said Mr Dibnah's best friend Alf Molyneaux, who accompanied the presenter on his final trip filming the Made In Britain show.