FRED Dibnah's farewell tour of Britain - which he filmed just weeks before he died - is to be screened next week in a tribute to the famous steeplejack.

The 12-part series, Fred Dibnah: Made In Britain, follows the Bolton legend on his epic journey around the country on his 1912 steam traction engine, which he spent 27 years restoring.

He was still filming a few weeks before being admitted to Bolton Hospice where he died on November 6, 2004.

Series producer David Hall, who worked with Fred for seven years, said: "He knew before we started that he hadn't got long to live."

He added: "But Fred was absolutely insistent about doing it."

Fred's journey took him from his Bolton workshop to Cumbria, Scotland, the North-east, the Midlands, the North-west, Wales and London where he received an MBE for services to heritage and broadcasting.

In each programme, he builds up a picture of the industrial activity which shaped Britain, visiting grimy workshops tucked away in back streets where things are still made as they were 100 years ago and to old iron works, factories and coal mines.

Fred was given a huge send-off in Bolton on the day of his funeral, with steam engines lining up outside Bolton Parish Church where a service was held before his cremation at Overdale Cemetery.

The series begins next Tuesday on BBC2.