IT WAS a simple Methodist funeral for an uncomplicated man who suddenly found himself coping with the pressures of being an international celebrity.

Bill Foggitt, the amateur weather watcher from Thirsk who proved that he could hold his own against some of the best professional forecasters, made his last journey with none of the international media attention which marked the height of his fame.

A discreet group of about 70 local mourners, joined by a handful of others from such places as Kendal and Scarborough, were present at the quiet service at St James' Methodist Church in Thirsk last Friday.

Mr Foggitt's coffin, on which his familiar deerstalker hat had been placed alongside floral tributes, was taken to the church in a 1936 Rolls-Royce hearse.

Mr Foggitt, who was thrust into the international limelight with his uncannily accurate predictions based on signs in nature rather than science and technology, died in hospital last week aged 91.

He achieved enduring fame in 1985 when he contradicted a Met Office warning of a prolonged spell of Arctic conditions by saying that warmer weather was on the way because he had seen a mole poking its nose through the snow.

He was not infallible, however, and his forecasting methods, supported by records passed through generations of his family since 1830, were less reliable eight years later, when Britain had one of its wettest summers on record.

Mr Foggitt received a number of abusive letters, many from the Manchester area, which had 36 days of consecutive rain. One correspondent threatened to have him shot, but Mr Foggitt blamed St Swithin.

Mourners at his funeral were addressed by the Rev Geoffrey Bruce, who delivered his own warning in a time of climate change.

He said: "Bill Foggitt reminded us of the importance of the world around us.

"It is part of what we are, it is where we have come from and, if we are not careful, we are going to make even more mess of it than we have already.

"Bill Foggitt was a warm, open and quiet personality with a fund of stories about all sorts of things. He always had a twinkle in his eye and humour was always present."

Readings by Mr Bruce included one from St Matthew which, he said, had a special relevance to Mr Foggitt's life.

He added that the three hymns, including Abide With Me, were those which Mr Foggitt felt should have been sung at his funeral.

Mr Foggitt was turned down by both the Methodists and the Church of England in early attempts to become a priest, but in later years acted as a Methodist local preacher.

The arrival of the funeral cortege was recorded on a video camera, and the service in sound, by 86-year-old Harry Whitton, an elder statesman of Thirsk. The results will go on Mr Whitton's web site.

Mr Whitton, a former secretary of the chamber of trade, knew Mr Foggitt well and became his unofficial chauffeur because he was unable to drive.

He said: "I used to drive Bill all over the place to give talks. We once went down to Ripon for a talk and Bill signed 50 autographs before he had even started.

"There's an absolute fund of stories to be told about Bill. He was one of our real old characters and now he's gone."

A retiring collection at the funeral was divided between St James' Methodist Church and Thirsk Community Carers.