THE daughter of a man who lived life to the full but died alone has been found, ending a desperate two-week search.

Tragically, Christine Mason, 36, of Ashington in the north east had spent six years trying to find her father William Young, 62, after regretting a fall out 11 years ago.

She was devastated to hear he had died from a heart attack on January 24 at his home in Hilton Road, Darwen, before they could make up.

Today she said she wished she could have seen her father one last time to give him a hug.

Mr Young's landlord Twin Valley Homes launched a search for his relatives.

A woman reading a paper in Newcastle recognised the name and alerted Christine.

And his friends joined in the hunt and said they were shocked he had died alone after they heard him talk about his eventful life, in which he drummed in Coronation Street star Bill Tarmey's band. He even played with rock legend Sting in the late 1960s.

Mr Tarmey, who plays Jack Duckworth in the soap, issued a plea for family to come forward and give Mr Young "the ending he deserved".

William had moved to Darwen two years ago from Ashton-under-Lyne to be closer to Blackpool where he played many gigs.