FAMILY, friends and colleagues paid tribute this week to Tony Dolding, treasurer of Darlington's Talking Newspaper for the Blind.

Mr Dolding died suddenly on Easter Monday after a heart attack. He was 73.

A former engineer, he came to the region in the Fifties and worked at ICI and Redpath Offshore as a chief estimator.

He had a keen interest in wildlife and gardens and was a member of Darlington Amateur Gardening Club and Darlington Orchid Society.

Mr Dolding was also a member of the Royal Air Force Association, after completing national service in the RAF. He leaves his wife Barbara, daughters Gillian, 42, and Heather, 39, and grandchildren, Robert, 15, Hayley, 13 and Sophie, 12.

Heather said: "He was a quiet family man and very kind. He was very thoughtful and never had a fuss about anything and was always there for everybody."

Mr Dolding joined the Talking Newspaper for the Blind, which is based at The Advertiser and Northern Echo offices in Priestgate, two years ago as treasurer and soon became a team stalwart.

The charity records news, sports and features for visually impaired people. Using his knowledge of computers Mr Dolding had devised a barcode system for scanning tapes in and out of the building.

Carl Ottolini, of the Talking Newspaper, said: "Tony was much more to us than a treasurer.

"He was interested in computing and brought us into the computing age.

"We send out around 300 tapes a week which all have to be checked in and out. Tony was in the process of setting up a system of barcoding to make this system easier."

Mr Dolding's funeral was held yesterday (Wednesday) at Bondgate Methodist Church.