A “natural showman” who wanted to go out in style got his wish when a steam engine accompanied him to his funeral.

Stan Martin, 78, of Spring Lane, Bassingbourn, died last month after suffering kidney problems.

His funeral took place last Thursday at Bassingbourn Parish Church, and saw his body taken to the church on a horse-drawn carriage, before it left the service and was taken to be buried in a procession led by a steam traction engine.

Mr Martin’s daughter, Christine Lawrence, said: “He was a natural showman who liked being the centre of attention, and he said he wanted to go out in style, with the horses and the steam engine.

“He was a steam engine enthusiast, and went to a lot of the rallies, and the one that came to his funeral was from some people he knew in Stotfold.”

Born in Barley, Mr Martin moved to Bassingbourn in 1967, and worked as a shed builder in the village until a few weeks before his death.

Mrs Lawrence said: “He was a well-known character in Bassingbourn who had his own particular ways and mannerisms, and a very distinctive way of speaking. There will never be another one like him.

“It was his wish that his funeral would bring the village to a stand-still, and it certainly did that.”