A Martham garage owner who could fix anything and loved all things mechanical still had a spanner in his hand weeks before he died.

For more than 30 years Alan Pynegar was the go-to man for any vehicle problems in the Norfolk Broads village, earning a reputation for honesty and hard work.

Often working seven days a week at Alan's Motors in Back Lane he prided himself on being able to fix anything - and having a good think about it if he couldn't and working out a way.

His daughter Tamsin Pynegar said his life had been lived in perfect health, problems only heaping up in the last few years.

Despite almost dying from heart failure and being flown to hospital by air ambulance two years ago he was determined to carry on working, driven by his love of the job and his loyalty to his customers.

Mr Pynegar hailed from Derbyshire but came to the Great Yarmouth area to work in the oil industry. He met and married his second wife Pamela and lived at first in Winterton where they welcomed their daughter.

He enjoyed working in hot countries and learnt Portuguese in Brazil. The family spent two years in Nigeria, but the prospect of working in the North Sea was less attractive, and when they returned he set up the garage.

At first he worked from his home in a thatched farmhouse which burned down 32 yeas ago - and again more recently. After that he operated from the building next door.

He and Pamela separated and she died in 2008. He and his third wife Helen married six years ago after many years together.

His daughter said she was touched by the number of people sharing their sadness, as well as stories about her dad who loved a chat and a joke.

His last day at work was June 24 and he died on July 17 while recovering in hospital from a stroke.

Because of financial difficulties there is no money to pay for the funeral and his daughter has launched an online donation page to cover the costs and is selling all his tools.

Mr Pynegar also leaves two children Karen and Carl in Derbyshire from his first marriage.

His funeral is at 1.45pm on Friday August 5, followed by a wake at the Albion in Great Yarmouth.

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