Steam fan makes final journey in vintage style

A steam engine enthusiast who spent more than 40 years living on Rock Road, Midsomer Norton, had an usual final journey.

Roderick Tampin, 82, known as Uncle Rod, was transported in a coffin along the High Street on the back on a vintage steam engine to his funeral at the Methodist Church.

Mr Tampin was evacuated as a child to South Wales but later rescued by his mother and brought back to his native Kingston upon Thames where he was celebrated for helping save the life of a pilot he pulled from a crashed Spitfire.

He later moved to Binegar with his brother Les and his family, and began working as a tool maker at Clarks where he spent the rest of his career.

After nursing his mother with diabetes before she passed away in Holcombe he moved to Rock Road.

His nephew Steve Tampin said he would have been "over the moon" to see his final send off. He described his uncle as a wonderful man who had always been crazy about trains and steam engines.