ATHERTON LR are mourning the death of number one supporter Eddie Taylor.

The 69-year-old had supported the Crilly Park team for more than 30 years and was affectionately known throughout North West non-league circles as “the man with the rattle”.

Mr Taylor, attended LR’s games home and away and would always take his rattle to matches, usually situating himself behind the goal his favourite team were attacking.

The former administrator/accountant died on Saturday at his home in Astley, and leaves a wife, Joan, and a son, Asa.

As well as being a keen supporter of LR and a well-known figure in the region’s non-league scene because of his rattle – which his father made for him when he was a boy – he was also a member of the Salvation Army from childhood until a few years ago, playing in the band and teaching children to play musical instruments at Tyldesley Salvation Army.

LR chairman Jane Wilcock said: “He is one of those people you expect to see on a matchday, and for him not to be there is devastating.

“He was such a lovely person, he was always shouting encouragement to the players and he never swore.

“He was LR through and through. He had always supported them and to not hear the rattle at games will be strange.

“He always fetched the rattle with him. The kids liked it. That was one of the reasons he took it to games, for the entertainment it gave the kids.”