Mr Kennedy (80), of High Street, had been connected with darts in the town for the best part of a half-a-century as a player, team captain and competition official.

He also organised annual outings for members of the Colne and District Society for the Blind, paid for by darts players in Colne at collections taken at games each week down the years, and was a life president at the RAOB Club, having been club president for 15 years.

Mr Kennedy played darts for the Queen Hotel for many years, captaining a team there for 30 years and also skippering the Colne town team for 15 years.

He was an instrumental figure in the setting up of the Colne and Nelson Ladies' Darts League, and was also the Colne representative for the "Golden Arrow" darts competition run by East Lancashire Newspapers for a number of years.

Mr Kennedy was born in Ireland and came to Colne as a young man. He worked in the building and engineering trades for much of his working life and is survived by a daughter, June, and son, Michael.

His funeral takes place on Thursday at Colne Cemetery after a service at Sacred Heart RC Church, Colne.