IT was a fitting send-off for avid Morris fan Tony Hale on Thursday as a fleet of vintage Morris cars followed his coffin to the West Wiltshire Crematorium.

The vintage car enthusiast, of Meadow Lane in Westbury, died last week at the age of 82 after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in January. He planned every meticulous detail of his own funeral from his hospital bed.

His main wish was for his coffin to be taken to the crematorium in the 1937 Morris van owned by his good friend Paul James, which was remarkably bought in the garage that was later demolished to become the nursing home in which he spent his final days.

Daughter Sharon Mould, 53, from Westbury, said: “I’m still reminiscing about the funeral, it was an absolutely brilliant send-off and exactly what he wanted.

“Dad arranged everything about his own funeral when he was ill in hospital and everyone involved made sure it went just to plan. It was very emotional seeing the Morris van he was in followed by the cars, I know he would have been uncharacteristically speechless if he had seen it.

“He absolutely cherished his friends, his Morris cars and his family, and they were all at his funeral.

“The crematorium was completely packed with friends, family and former work colleagues from far and wide, we didn’t quite realise how much of an impact he had made on so many people.

"I'm just delighted with how it went, it was wonderful."

Mr Hale had belonged to the Morris Register – a club for Morris vehicles designed before 1940 – since the 1970s.

When his wife died at the age of 73, Mr Hale dedicated his time to helping people by driving them around town to see friends and have a chat, so they didn't feel lonely.

He began working at Elton’s Motors in Westbury in 1949 and started to rebuild engines in the 1950s.

Also in the early 1950’s, he drove from Land’s End to John o’ Groats in a Morris Eight with a friend and was amazed that the car made the journey without faltering.

He celebrated his 80th birthday by organising the motor tour for vintage Morris cars for the final time, after starting it in 2007.

The procession set off from Mr Hale's house in Meadow Lane and made its way through Steeple Ashton, where he used to love visit with his late wife.