TRIBUTES have been paid to a man whose exploits as the "gentleman" bus driver made him a legend in a North-East dale.

Tommy Spoors retired three years ago after more than 20 years of driving to isolated villages like Cowshill and Rookhope, in Weardale, County Durham.

At 82, he was recorded as being the oldest bus driver in the North-East and probably the country.

Mr Spoors died last week in a Stanhope nursing home after a long illness. He was 85 and leaves a son, Howard, and two daughters, Judith and Joanne. His funeral takes place on Wednesday (May 8) at the Wear Valley Crematorium at 2.45pm.

Mr Spoors, who was born at Tow Law, worked as a wagon and bus driver nearly all his life.

But to villagers in Upper Weardale he was more than just "Tommy on the buses".

He became famous for his unscheduled stops to pick up prescriptions and "bits of shopping" for pensioners and visiting caravanners.

One long-time passenger and pensioner, Audrey Ainslie, recalls fondly how he helped her transport four "rather large" flower tubs up the dale to her new home at Wearhead.

"He could only get two on the bus at a time as they were very heavy," she said.

"But Tommy being Tommy he managed to pick them up on different journeys up the dale. and then carried them to my front door. He was a real gentleman and true friend."

Mr Spoors determination to get his passengers home, even in raging blizzards, provided the inspiration for a cartoon by artist and musician Alan Mayes.

It depicted an old lady with her shopping being transported on a sledge to her door by Mr Spoors.

He also admitted to making the odd unscheduled stop early in the morning to skip over a dry stone wall and pick bags of mushrooms.

"They made a lovely breakfast," he recalled at the time.

The great love of Mr Spoors life was music and he would regularly entertain his passengers with renditions of Scottlish ballads by Harry Lauder. He became well-known around clubs in the area for his singing act as Johnnie King.

Mr Spoors boss at Weardale Motors, in Stanhope, Roland Gibson, described him as a "very special bus driver."

"It was when I spotted a bus standing outside the chemists that I discovered what Tommy was really doing to help people in the dale.

"It was a privilege to have had him as a driver for such a long time."