Digger-loving Wigan borough dad taken to his final resting place by bulldozer

Kenneth Smith from Atherton died in Bolton Hospital on December 13.

The 85-year-old had been a JCB driver for 20 years before retiring at aged 70 and had always had a passion for these giants of the road.

So son Quinton decided to pay a fitting tribute to him with a yellow coffin decorated in the company’s famous yellow and black livery.

Kenneth’s coffin was also transported from St George's Church in Atherton to Howe Bridge Cemetery in the front bucket of a JCB

Quinton said: “He was known in the local area for driving his JCB.

“People always knew it was him causing a tailback of traffic in his vehicle.

"Even after he had a stroke, he still got back up in the cab and fired her up and played around with it.

"It was just his life.

"We wanted to give him an appropriate send-off and take him on his final journey in the JCB and it just all came together.

"JCB in Uttoxeter provided new overalls for him to be buried in.

"It was very fitting that they gave him them to go and take up his new role up in heaven.

"We found we could get a yellow coffin that we could put decals on which was poignant as the JCB 3CX was the last machine he was driving.

"We also hired the machine to take him on that final leg which we thought was appropriate.”

As the coffin entered the cemetery, the sun was shining which Quinton took as approval from his dad.

He said: “It was a lovely turn-out from family, friends and neighbours.

"I couldn’t have wished for a better sort of day.

"From the church to the cemetery it started to rain.

"When we came to transfer him, it stopped.

"A massive rainbow appeared which was awesome and the sky cleared to blue and the sun was just so bright.

"We took that as approval that he wanted that final journey.

"I was talking to people who said ‘oh I took a picture do you mind?’ and I said ‘no I don’t mind because its a way we can carry on his memory now we’ve lost him’.”