FORMER Teignmouth mayor and talented boxer Fred Tooley, who died recently at the age of 81, was given a champion send-off by locals.
Hundreds lined the route of his final journey on Monday through the streets of the town.
The funeral cortege drove slowly along the town centre and seafront on its way to Torquay crematorium.
Numbers were limited at the service because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and his family wanted to give as many friends and colleagues as possible the chance to say farewell.
Fred was a popular councillor for many years, and became mayor on three occasions.
A group of past and present councillors gathered by the war memorial on the prom, and clapped as the cortege drove slowly past.
Current mayor, Cllr Pete Williams, said: ‘He was a true Teignmouthian and loved his town and the people who live in it.
‘His passing was not unexpected because he had been ill for some time, and we wanted to show our appreciation for all his civic and other work.’
Fred Tooley, 81, was one of six brothers and a sister, and a former champion boxer and councillor, who became mayor of the town a record three times.
Helped by friends, he built a boxing club on the site of an old cinema in Somerset Place, and it was opened by the British heavyweight champion Henry Cooper.
The club was one of the best in the region, and produced many junior champions, including one of his sons, Martin, who boxed for England.
He was one of the resort’s longest serving councillors, and his wife, Myra, said: ‘He really loved his council work, and virtually everybody in the town knew him. He would help anybody if he could.’