LOCALS at a pub in Wensleydale were delighted when their favourite Frenchman returned - even if it was inside a funeral urn!

The urn, containing the ashes of Jos Loarte, takes pride of place on the mantelpiece at the Wyvill Arms at Constable Burton. But once most of the visitors have left, it's time to lift a pint with their friend.

"He used to expect us to stay with him for one or two hours after he had finished work," said farmer John Fall.

The licensee and chef, Nigel Stephens, 41, said: "We held his wake at the pub before he left. It was a great night. Jos was a true professional and I miss him. He was like my brother. I knew him for 21 years. It's like losing your left hand."

Mr Loarte died of lung cancer on April 28.

They met at the Hotel Ronceray in Paris in 1980 when Mr Stephens was in training as a chef and Mr Loarte was the head waiter. For seven years they always spoke in French, shared a sense of humour, supported Marseilles football club after meeting the owner, and went drinking together.

Then Mr Stephens returned to Wensleydale to help his dad, Roger, run a pub at Finghall.

"I told Jos 'if you ever want a job in England come over and try the beer and if you like one you can stay. There's always a room for you'."

Seven years ago, when Jos's marriage fell apart, he headed for Yorkshire where his friend was then running the King's Head at Redmire.

"We set out the John Smiths, the Theakstons and the Hambleton Ales," said Mr Stephens. "He liked John Smiths and he stayed. He became a John Smiths man through and through."

Mr Loarte had been managing one of the largest catering franchises in France, supervising about 900 people and meeting VIPs like Jacques Chirac. And yet he happily settled into life in the Yorkshire Dales.

"He said he was a trainee Yorkshireman. He just fitted in. In personality he was the double of Sammy Davis Jnr. He was quite a character," said Mr Stephens.

"He wasn't a typical Frenchman. Both his parents were Basque separatists who had fled from Franco's regime."

In 1998, Mr Stephens bought the Wyvill Arms and planned the revitalisation and refurbishment of that pub with Mr Loarte. While Mr Stephens took care of everything in the kitchen, Mr Loarte ran the bar, took orders for food, and kept a watch on the waiters.

"He ran up front like a regimental sergeant major. He did three jobs where others could only do one. And he was always dressed properly for work."

His odd accent, a mixture of Yorkshire and French, led to some calling him Manuel, after the character in Fawlty Towers. Mr Stephens, however, likened him to Napoleon.

"He was also small, but didn't put up with any rubbish and could deal with men bigger than he was."

They continued to speak French to each other because it was quicker. Or as John Fall said: "We always knew when Jos was in a mood or under pressure because he spoke in French. Jos was a straight-up lad. He seemed to make his life here and never wanted to go."

But in December 2001, Mr Loarte said he was in pain and had found a lump in his chest.

"He said he would wait until after Christmas and New Year before going to see a doctor," Mr Stephens remembered.

When lung cancer was diagnosed, Mr Loarte was sent to several hospitals but was finally told he only had a few months to live. In May 2002, he decided to go to his mother's home in Rouen. The medical treatment he received helped him to survive for another year.

"He was a fighter," said Mr Fall. "When we went over for his 40th birthday he put on a brave face for us. He wanted to give us a good time. But at the end he was knackered. He enjoyed life to the full and kept his sense of humour right to the bitter end."

Mr Loarte told his friends in Wensleydale and his family that he wanted to be cremated wearing his best jeans, new shoes and a Wyvill Arms shirt. And that he then wanted to return to the pub.

A few weeks later, after his funeral, his two sisters brought the urn of ashes to Constable Burton exactly a year after he had left.

Roger Stephens, 70, said: "They must have had their doubts, but once they got here and met us they completely chilled out. We had loads of fun, because that was what Jos wanted. All the locals lifted a glass to him."

The family connection will continue for soon Mr Loarte's daughter, 13-year-old Ines, will spend two months at Constable Burton staying with her godfather, Mr Stephens, his wife, Trisha, 39, and their children, Nicole, four, and Simone, one.

Mr Loarte was godfather to Nicole and Simone and one of the last things he did was to make sure they received Easter eggs from him. "It's a big loss," said Mr Stephens. "There will be no one else like him.