FORMER North Yorkshire jockey Lindsay Charnock, a top lightweight on the northern scene, has died at the age of 60.

Apprenticed first to Ron Barnes and later Denys Smith, Mr Charnock's first winner came at Lanark in 1971. He retired in 2000 after a career tally of around 600 winners.

He had a successful association with Great Habton trainer Tim Easterby, for whom his victories included the Windsor Castle and Weatherbys Super Sprint on Flanders in 1998 and the Lowther Stakes at York on Jemima the following year.

Mr Charnock also played a key role in the early career of Group One-winning sprinter Pipalong. He steered the filly home in the Redcar 2-Y-O Trophy in 1998 and the Great St Wilfrid Handicap at Ripon and the Listed Wentworth Stakes at Doncaster in 1999.

Among his other notable triumphs were the 1987 Northumberland Plate on the Jimmy Fitzgerald-trained Treasure Hunter and the Ayr Gold Cup on Last Tango for Epsom trainer John Sutcliffe in 1976.

Mr Easterby said: "It's very sad. He was a cracking jockey, good work rider, a good judge and he rode Flanders for me among others.

"He rode Jemima and won on Pipalong a few times when she was a two-year-old.

"He was a really good jockey and a nice guy. We'll all miss him."

Tom O'Ryan, The Press racing correspondent, said: "Lindsay and I go back a long way. We were apprentices at exactly the same time and so our paths crossed frequently.

"I can well remember when we were teenagers going up to Ayr for the Western Meeting in September. I won the Bogside Cup on Alverton and he did even better by winning the Ayr Gold Cup on Last Tango.

"He was a very good jockey, a lightweight, who had a great record in major handicaps as well as having a wonderful association with the likes of Flanders, Pipalong and Jemima, three top-notch fillies for Tim Easterby.

"He was a good guy who left his mark on racing and who will be missed. My thoughts go out to his wife Gloria and his two daughters."

Mr Charnock's former colleague Kevin Darley said: "I've known Lindsay a long time. It's a shock.

"He was associated with Denys Smith years ago and he was one of the lightweights everybody would call upon, especially for a big handicap."

Mr Charnock had his right leg amputated below the knee nine years ago which was thought to have been caused by a succession of falls.

He was married to Gloria and they had two daughters, Kelly and Selina.