A MEMORIAL fund has been established in the memory of a man who spent the last years of his life needing round-the-clock care.

Keith Murgatroyd, of Middleham, near Leyburn, died in hospital on Sunday after living with damage to his spinal cord for the last 12 years.

The damage, caused by an inflammation in his neck, left the graphic designer paralysed from the chest down.

He spent 14 months at the Spinal Injuries Unit in Southport, Lancashire, learning to speak, eat and sit in a wheelchair. He returned home needing 24-hour care.

Mr Murgatroyd's wife Nancy said it was the help provided by her husband's care assistants that prompted her to set-up the fund.

"Keith was always interested in his carers' lives and supported them through their personal initiatives," said Mrs Murgatroyd.

"They in turn immensely enhanced his quality of life through their acceptance of him as an individual, their steadfast and good- humoured initiatives and practical care.

"It therefore seems wholly appropriate to set-up a charitable trust to help develop support services for carers in the community."

Mrs Murgatroyd, a painter and non-executive director of Tees, East and North Yorkshire Ambulance Service, said the role of carers in the community was not fully appreciated and that they were often undervalued and given little support.

She said the Keith Murgatroyd Memorial Fund would offer support to carers, initially in the Hambleton and Richmondshire area, and help them in developing their careers.

Mr Murgatroyd's funeral is at St Simon and St Jude's Roman Catholic Church, in Ulshaw, near Middleham, on Monday at 12noon.

Donations to the Keith Murgatroyd Memorial Fund can be made in church or to the funeral directors, Sanderson and Co, St Matthew's Works, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 4EG.