FORMER Darlington Football Club chairman and cinema manager Archie Heaton has died, aged 81.

Mr Heaton, who was a popular Darlington personality, died on Wednesday at Middlesbrough General Hospital.

He was born in Haworth, West Yorkshire, in 1920, and moved to Darlington in 1955 to manage the Northgate ABC Cinema, at a time when the town had eight other cinemas.

He took over as chairman of Darlington Football Club from businessman Ken Warne in 1985, and remained at the helm of the Quakers until the early 1990s.

Mr Heaton served as president of the local Rotary Club and was a Freemason. He was also a keen gardener,

His daughter, Helen, said: "He loved this town. He really did. He was not born here, but he chose to live here".

She said her father would be remembered as "a great showman who was always full of life and active until the end".

Mr Heaton leaves a widow, Doris 79, and three children, Helen, Howard, Anthony, and five grandchildren.

A funeral service will be held next Tuesday, at 11am, at All Saints' Church, Ravensdale Road, Darlington.