LIFELONG steam enthusiast John Henderson was buried on Friday - and he travelled to his funeral just as he would have wanted to.

Followed by mourners and preceded by a walker, he journeyed to the church in the style he had always preferred.

Instead of a hearse he was borne along by a gleaming steam traction engine which he once owned.

Mr Henderson, of Romanby, once worked for the heavy haulage firm Sunters in Northallerton and then later as an engineer with the National Railway Museum in York.

But for decades he had a passion for steam and he owned the spectacular Aveling and Porter engine for 20 years, travelling to rallies and fairs with his daughter Kathryn as his co-driver and wife Mary as his assistant.

He also restored the Little Giant, an old scaled-down, three tonne steam engine, which is housed in Darlington Railway Museum.

Mr Henderson, 72, was also interested in model engineering and made many miniature examples, most powered by steam and was also actively involved with vintage and classic motorcycles and cars.

Mrs Henderson said: "For the coffin to be taken to the church by steam engine is wonderful. It is just what he would have wanted."