A MAN who played Santa to hundreds of East Lancashire's poor and orphaned youngsters has died at the age of 96.

Arthur Farmery joined the Northern Daily Telegraph - forerunner of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph - at the age of 14 as an office boy and worked there until retirement.

He became company accountant before retiring in 1965, but will perhaps be best known by thousands of people as secretary of the newspaper's Santa Fund.

Born within the sound of Bow Bells in London, Mr Farmery moved to Blackburn as a child and stayed until recently.

His daughter Joan Woodhouse, who lives in Timperley, Cheshire, fondly remembers her father's role with the Christmas fund.

She said: "The Santa Claus Fund started out by providing a Christmas day breakfast and presents for poor children at King George's Hall.

"When the war it came, it changed to children who had lost their fathers and the newspaper started taking them to the cinema on Boxing Day. But they still got food and toys. I remember him helping out and thinking how wonderful it was. He was like a real-life Santa Claus."

Mr Farmery, who served briefly with the army towards the end of the First World War, moved to be nearer his only daughter in Timperley following the death of his wife Molly several years ago.

He continued to lead an active life and followed his team, Blackburn Rovers, for as long as he could.

Mr Farmery was a member of the former Four Lane Ends Church where he was a warden.

Mr Farmery died in hospital on Monday. Cremation will take place at Altrincham tomorrow.

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