Jimmy Haythornthwaite's last wish came true today when his coffin was towed by his favourite tractor.

The farmer, who died, aged 71, at his home at Scar Top Farm, Stanbury, near Keighley, on October 13, will be pulled on a trailer behind his red 1956 Massey Ferguson.

A tractor fanatic, Mr Haythornthwaite owned three vintage Massey Fergusons and used a specially-adapted 1960 model as his everyday transport.

And he could be seen trundling down to Keighley in his beloved Massey to pick up his shopping and collect his pension.

His funeral took place at Scar Top Chapel, only 50 yards from the home he lived in for 41 years. The cortege then travelled to Oakworth Crematorium.

The tractor was driven by his friend Colin Moses, of Oldfield, who regularly borrowed the vehicle in exchange for logs for Mr Haythornthwaite's fire.

Sadly, he died 16 days before his daughter Vicky, 35, was to be married at Keighley Register Office.

But Mr Haythornthwaite will not miss his daughter plighting her troth in the conventional manner to 44-year-old Tom Millar.

Before the re-arranged official ceremony in Keighley, on November 14, the couple will go through a Pagan marriage ceremony at Mr Haythornthwaite's home, on Saturday.

"Tom is a Pagan and we will be holding a hand-fast ceremony, in which we are linked together by a cord," said Miss Haythornthwaite.

"Dad will be there in his urn and we will have a book of remembrance for people to put down their memories of him.

Her father's death meant another postponement of her wedding - the fourth in two years.

"He was a bit of a character so there should be some silly stories there," said Miss Haythornthwaite, who works with children with learning disabilities.

"He loved his tractors and regularly took part in local events.

"It was his last wish that he should be towed behind his favourite tractor and that he should be cremated and his ashes scattered at the farm."

Her father was a well known character in the area and could often be seen standing outside his home surveying the countryside.

"He knew everything that was going on - he was like the local neighbourhood watch," she added.

She said he lived an old-fashioned life alone in his house that had hardly changed in decades.

It was several hundred years old and still had a butchery area and between 1870 and 1878 was a brewery serving the men who built nearby Ponden reservoir.

e-mail: clive.white@bradford.newsquest.co.uk