A MUCH-LOVED leading light of the voluntary and community movement on Teesside and Saltburn has died.

Bernard Storey died last month and the Saltburn man had a Humanist service at the Kirkleatham Crematorium which was attended by more than 150 people, the biggest number of mourners for a service since the new crematorium opened.

Mr Storey was born in Middlesbrough in1941 and was the youngest of the three children of Lena and Tom and was brought up alongside his older brother, Albert, and sister, Irene. His mother died when Mr Storey was in his early teens.

In the mid-50s, he took up an apprenticeship as a fitter and proceeded to work extensively in the steel and chemical industries.

In his mid-30s he decided to change direction and took a degree in Humanities at the then Teesside Polytechnic and after graduating he worked for several years for the Cleveland Race Equality Council. His next professional move was to Cleveland Council for Voluntary Service, which became Teesside Council for Voluntary Service and finally One Voice Tees Valley where he became director.

His final final job was working as a project coordinator in Loftus for the Loftus Development Trust. He then retired from formal work in 2005 but continued working for the volunteer movement where his commitment was described as "legendary," by regular contributor to The Northern Echo and Darlington and Stockton Times, Mike Morrissey.

In 1993 he was awarded the MBE in recognition of his work in the voluntary sector.

He had two daughters and two sons from his first marriage and later was in a long-term relationship with Sue Featherstone and the couple were together for 23 years. Ms Featherstone said: "Bernard was the love of my life. He meant more to me than anyone or anything on earth."