A FORMER clerk to Atherton Urban District Council, Kenneth Hanney, has died. He was 82.

War hero Mr Hanney, a pilot officer in the RAF who trained in Canada, was awarded the DFC, Distinguished Service Cross, for his bravery.

The former Leigh Grammar boy, whose wife Elsie worked at the Journal's Atherton office, was Atherton's town clerk during the 1960s and 1970s until local government reorganisation.

He leaves wife Elsie, daughters Susan and Lesley, four grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

A funeral service will be conducted at Howe Bridge at 1pm on Monday. The family have requested no flowers, but donations should be sent to the coronary care unit at Bolton Royal Infirmary.