A FORMER Blackburn firefighter is to make his last fire engine journey - en route to his funeral.

George Thomas' coffin will be transported to Pleasington Crematorium tomorrow on the turntable of an engine from Blackburn fire station, where he worked for 25 years.

His daughter Sheila, 56, said: "The fire brigade was his life and he continued to go to the retirement meetings after he left.

"Having the funeral this way was his last wish."

George, who died on March 29 after two years fighting prostrate cancer, was the last surviving member of Blackburn Borough Fire Brigade which existed between 1948 and 1974 before becoming Lancashire County Fire Brigade.

He joined the service in 1946 when he was 30 after serving in the army and worked his way through the ranks to become station officer.

During his time in the service there were three different fire chiefs and he even spent a short time working with his wife Joan who was employed as a cook by the fire brigade.

Crews at that time attended around 1,600 fires a year - it is now closer to 3,500 including incidents such as car crashes.

After his compulsory retirement at 55, George, of Countess Road, Blackburn, worked for a number of companies carrying out maintenance work and as a postal clerk for the Lancashire Evening Telegraph.

In line with his wishes George's coffin will leave Blackburn Fire Station, in Byrom Street, on a fire engine and be carried to Pleasington Cemetery for a service and cremation at 11.30am.

The coffin will be covered with the Union flag and topped with a flower display in the shape of a firefighter's helmet.

The option of using a fire engine for a funeral is available to all members of the fire service but this is the first in Lancashire for several years.

Sheila described her father, who was a Blackburn Rovers fan throughout his life, as a quiet man who had friends across the UK who he had met on various holidays abroad and kept in touch with over the years. George leaves his wife of 59 years, Joan, 84, his daughter Sheila, son-in-law Barrie, 58, granddaughter, Rachael, 25, and sister Irene, 85.

John Taylor, spokesman for Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said: "George would have seen a marked change during his service and made a lot of friends. There is a special bond between fire service staff as you really are a team and place your safety in their hands and theirs in yours.

"No doubt all sorts of emotions will emerge on Wednesday when he is laid to rest."