SCORES of people are expected to pack a tiny church near Thornbury for the funeral of well known local farmer, craftsman and churchman Michael Riddle.

Mr Riddle, who died peacefully in Thornbury Hospital last Thursday aged 75, was among the last of a breed of traditional countrymen with deep roots in the local landscape.

Born and bred in Oldbury, for most of his life he was a dairy farmer at Oak Farm in Oldbury Lane and was also a master of traditional rural skills from cider making to hedging and making cattle cribs from willow.

His son Matthew, a local councillor and prospective parliamentary Conservative candidate, said: "He was a countryman and a gentle man with a kind word for everyone.

"In a way he was the last of a breed, a choir member at St Arilda's Church in Oldbury for 60 years and a former churchwarden.

"It was only in the last few weeks of his life that he was unable to get up the hill to the church.

"He will be joining seven or eight generations of Riddles who are buried in the churchyard."

He said although his father spent his life on the land he was academically gifted, winning a scholarship from Oldbury School to Thornbury Grammar School where he excelled.

Mr Riddle, who is also survived by a younger son, Richard, lived his last years in Westmarsh Lane, Oldbury. His wife, Mary, predeceased him in 2000.

His funeral will be held at St Arilda's Church at 3pm on Friday followed by a gathering in Oldbury Memorial Hall.

The Rev David Primrose, vicar of Thornbury and Oldbury, said: "I shall remember Mike Riddle with great fondness, not least because, as a parish representative, he played a part in my own selection as vicar.

"He was a traditionalist and also a lovely, playful man with a huge sense of the place of the church in the community."