A ‘BELOVED’ veteran and father of 10 has died, aged 52, after a short battle with cancer.

Craig Emmott, from Colne, died on November 7 just three weeks after getting diagnosed with lung cancer.

His diagnosis rocked the family and shortly after Craig, who had osteoporosis, was moved into a hospice where he broke his leg, leading him to be moved to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Due to the severity of his cancer doctors said they were unable to operate to fix his leg and he died shortly after.

His daughter Sheona Emmott, 30, said: “He was a really caring father. He just had a heart of gold.

“He would really go out of his way to help others.

“He was a beloved member of the community in Colne and known to so many.

“It’s come as a massive shock. We got told three weeks ago he had cancer and from there is just spiralled.

“He was sat up talking to us on the Saturday afternoon and in the early hours of the Sunday morning he passed.”

Craig served as a private in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps for three years after joining aged 18 in 1986.

After he completed his basic training at Blackdown Barracks in Aldershot and was then posted to Bicester, where he joined ‘A’ Company, 16 Battalion.

After three years Craig, who is also a grandfather of four, decided to be a stay at home father after his partner at the time fell pregnant with Sheona, who is the oldest of 10 siblings – the youngest being just two.

Sadly, following a relationship breakdown, Craig found himself homeless and went to Bancroft House veterans centre in Burnley for help.

He lived at Bancroft House for about four months with Andy Powell, who runs the home, saying he was a hugely cherished member of the house.

Andy said: “Craig was an active member of the house and cherished by everyone in here.

“Whilst he was here, we helped him back into independent living.

“He was living his life; it was fantastic then he found out he had cancer.”

Andy helped Craig get back on his feet and find him a new home in Colne.

Because of the friendship forged at Bancroft House, Andy started a fundraiser for his funeral to help the family.

Due to the sudden nature of his death, the family have not had much opportunity to bring finances together to pay for his funeral.

Sheona added: “The support we have had been quite overwhelming. Andy has been amazing.

“We are on quite a few veterans’ pages on Facebook who have responded quite well to the fundraiser.”

If you would like to help, you can donate to help pay towards the funeral on the GoFundMe page https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-pay-fir-a-veteran-funeral?qid=8b5b40114f7c4b7864b81b42cc470151