AN ‘heir hunter’ who specialises in tracking down long-lost relatives has been helping to trace the family of a North East war veteran.

Maurice Winspear died this month in a Nunthorpe care home at the age of 98.

Last week, funeral celebrant Sue Dicken appealed for people to go to the funeral of the Second World War veteran after being unable to find any relatives.

After reading the story, Fraser Kinnie, from Hartlepool, who owns HeirHunter UK, decided to step in and see if he could help.

Read more: Appeal for mourners after Second World War veteran dies at age of 98

Mr Kinnie, who plans to attend the funeral on Tuesday,  said: “I’ve done a few searches and come up with a family tree. Everybody in his family seems to be long lost.

“The guy put his life on the line so people like me and you have a better life so I thought it was the least I could do.

“It’s the right thing to do.”

The 55-year-old, who has previously appeared on the BBC Family Finders programme, added: “I like doing the searches. It’s a challenge. It’s like doing a jigsaw with some of the pieces missing.”

He has so far uncovered a handful of relatives who are descended from Mr Winspear’s father and is trying to get in touch with them.

Mr Winspear, who was described by Ms Dicken as “unassuming and humble”, died on May 13.

She has appealed for people to go to his funeral, which will now be attended by the Royal British Legion, because she was concerned there would be no-one else to send him off.

Originally from Whitby, he served in the Royal Scots Fusiliers, spending four years on the front line in Italy in the Second World War.

He also served in Syria, Palestine and Egypt and after returning to Teesside worked as a fitter at the United Bus Company before spending the remainder of his career at British Steel.

Read more: Dibbles Bridge: Survivors and families gather for new memorial

After losing his sight in recent years, his favourite thing was to listen to Boro matches on the radio. He also held dear his campaign medals from his time in service.

Mr Winspear’s funeral takes place on Tuesday, May 31 at 2pm at Kirkleatham Crematorium.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054