THE funeral of a television repair man who served the Selby community for more than 30 years is being held today.

Derek Hope, who lived in Wistow for 49 years, died on Wednesday at his home aged 81.

The former motorcyclist was born in Selby on October 13, 1927 and attended Abbey School and then Drax Grammar School.

After finishing his education, he became an apprentice at Cussins and Light in York before opening a television repair shop in Selby’s New Lane. Shortly afterwards he moved the firm to new premises in Ousegate in the early 1960s.

He married Barbara, in 1959 at James Street Methodist Church and the couple had two children, Katharine and John.

Mr Hope’s shop was called DS Hope, but his family said it was more than just that, it was also a drop-in point for people who just wanted to have a chat.

Mr Hope’s children said their father would charge people according to how much he thought they could afford, so a television repair for an elderly widow would probably cost less than for a man with a good job. Similarly, he would often operate a bartering system, perhaps accepting vegetables from the garden in lieu of payment.

As a young man Mr Hope was a keen motorcyclist and travelled around much of France on his bike. His love of France continued throughout his life and he and his wife were regular visitors to Carentan in Normandy, Selby’s twin town.

He also enjoyed classical music, reading and was involved with Selby Civic Society. His family said: “He was a very friendly, very knowledgeable guy. He always had a joke for people and would talk to anyone. He was very kind and would strike up conversation with total strangers.

“His shop was very ramshackle, you could hardly get in sometimes but people just used to drop in for a chat – it was a social hub.”

Mr Hope closed the shop in the late 1980s, but continued to work from home for another ten years – although he was still doing favours for friends after that.

His funeral was being held in Wistow Church at 11am.

He leaves his widow, Barbara, children John and Katharine and four grandchildren.