THE family of a former businessman who collapsed and died after going missing from home, have spoken of his tireless work for his community.

Speaking yesterday at the home he shared with his wife, Ruth, in Cotherstone, County Durham, relatives of Sunderland-born Kennedy Dinsmore said he had continued to involve himself in community projects, despite failing health in recent years.

The 70-year-old, who was found collapsed in a street in Middlesbrough after he went missing from home on Friday morning, had owned a clothes shop in Barnard Castle before his retirement in 1985.

An avid and life-long Sunderland football fan, Mr Dinsmore moved to Cotherstone in 1968, and set up JK Dinsmore's ladies fashion store in Horsemarket, Barnard Castle.

As well as his clothing business, he had also been a member of Cotherstone Parish Council and was instrumental in securing a £150,000 restoration scheme at St Romald's Church, Romaldkirk.

A keen sportsman, he coached both tennis and badminton at Teesdale Sports Centre, and also set up a junior badminton league for youngsters in Cotherstone.

His daughter, Elizabeth, 35, and son, Bruce, 33, described their father as an active and generous man.

Bruce said: "He was selfless. He put 101 per cent into everything he did, and never expected anything back.

"He was just happy to help people."

He also leaves behind another daughter, Caroline, 34, and four-year-old granddaughter Zoe Marie.

A family burial will take place in the grounds of a nature reserve he and his wife created close to their home, following a thanksgiving service at St Augustine's Church, Cotherstone.