A REAL character who wrote books about the Bolton of yesteryear has died at the age of 83.

Norman Kenyon passed away last Sunday morning after a lifetime of entertaining and caring for the many people who got to know him.

The author, who lived in the Chorley Old Road area of town, discovered he had a talent to write books just over ten years ago.

He was walking through Bolton one day when he noticed the Kings Arms Hotel, where he was born, was being redeveloped.

Norman began thinking about his childhood in the 1920s and friends persuaded him to write a book.

He released 'I Belong to Bolton' in 1989 and it became a local bestseller with many copies also becoming popular with people who had moved out of the country. Two more novels followed; 'Chippy' told the story of his working life as a master craftsman, and 'Bolton Memories", from 1993, which recounted detailed tales from various stages in his life.

Mary Vaughan was one of many friends Mr Kenyon made in his life. She and her sister Barbara Cowell met Mr Kenyon at church when they were children and they began looking after him when his wife Anne died in the mid-1990s.

She said: "So many people said his books were really good, a lot of people bought them all, because they brought back many happy memories for them.

"People would talk to him for hours, he was so interesting. He will be sadly missed by a lot of people. He was a real character and there aren't many left in Bolton now."

Mr Kenyon's funeral is being held at 2.30pm at the East Chapel at Overdale on Monday May 14. He was so popular even the home care staff who helped look after him will be attending the service.