Family and friends have paid tribute to former newsagent Rod Richens, who died last week after losing his five-year battle with bowel cancer.

Mr Richens, 60, of Rochdale Avenue, was born in Swindon but moved to Calne in 1966 to run Tich's newsagent with his parents.

"He was very well known in the town and very popular," said his widow Chris Richens, 61. "The family newsagent was called Tich's because they were all very small."

Mr Richens began delivering newspapers when he was nine. He left school when he was 15 and worked in his parents' newsagent shop. He was 16 when he met his future wife while roller-skating. They were married four years later.

They moved to Calne in 1966 to run a newsagent's with his parents and had two children Nick, now 39, who lives in Melksham, and Deb, 37, of Calne.

When his parents retired Mr Richens took over the shop until he sold it eight years ago.

"He took a year off from work and went to college so he could open up a bike shop," said Mrs Richens.

He opened a shop and did repairs and sold new bicycles. He had to close the shop due to ill health last year.

Mr Richens was known as a kind and generous man and he was the founder member of the Round Table in Calne and later a member and president of the 41 Club, a group for ex-tablers over the age of 40. He was also a freemason for 20 years.

"He was always raising money for charities from his early 20s until a couple of weeks ago," said Mrs Richens.

Mr Richens had recently raised money for the oncology unit at Bath's Royal United Hospital through a name the teddy competition and giving them a scooter to raffle off.

Edward Spearey, a member of the 41 Club, said Mr Richens always enjoyed their outdoor activities.

He said one of his fondest memories of Mr Richens was from a bicycle ride last year. The club had arranged to cycle from Calne to Chippenham along the cycle path but events did not go according to plan.

"In true 41 Club and Round Table fashion we left it much too late to leave Chippenham," said Mr Spearey. "By the time we had a pint in the pub and some chips it was too dark to cycle. Hardly any of us had any lights on our bikes.

"But Rod rode in front of us, leading us with his lights. Because he owned a cycle shop he was properly equipped. I don't know how we made it back without falling into a ditch."

Mrs Richens said her husband was always the designated mechanic on the club's cycle rides. But she said her husband would be best known for his tremendous sense of humour.

"It was wicked. He was always laughing," she said. "He even bought himself a motorbike when he retired from the newsagent. He rode it until he couldn't ride it anymore."

He also enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren who were known to him as Nicky, nine, Pug, nine, Lou, 12, Robbie, 15, Dee, 15, and Jay, 16.

Mr Richens was first diagnosed with cancer five years ago and it returned two years ago. The funeral was held at Semington Crematorium on Tuesday.