A FORMER landlord of a Burnley pub has died just 10 days after he finding out he had terminal stomach cancer.

Frank Fleming, 55, ran the Angel Inn, Accrington Road, for nine years with wife Ann after taking over from her parents, Irene and Kenneth Gawthorpe, in 1994.

He had been married to Ann for 34 years after meeting her not long after moving to Burnley from Glasgow as a teenager.

After spending time working in Preston he became well-known throughout the town when running the Angel.

Ann said: “It was a really popular pub when we had it. We had a football team and men’s and ladies darts and dominos teams.

“We had always wanted to run a pub so when my mum and dad retired it was a chance to do just that. Frank loved it, it was a great time.”

After running the pub Frank went to work for Futaba-Tenneco and then as a receptionist at the Travelodge, Burnley.

Ann said: “He loved his football, he was a Celtic and a Manchester United fan and he used to love telling stories about seeing George Best.

“He was a very happy person who enjoyed life to the full. People used to say to us ‘are you going on holiday again’, we would go away three times a year, we had been all over the world but we went to Tenerife a lot.”

Frank leaves a daughter, Emma, and a son, Francis, and four grandchildren Mia, Macy, Kian and Aimee.

His funeral is on Friday from 10.40am, at Burnley Crematorium.