Crufts-winning dog to walk ahead of hearse at dog-lover's funeral

Trevor, who was born in Burnley, had been treated at Airedale General Hospital for his illness prior to his death on March 16th, with his wife, Trish, saying that her husband will be "sadly missed."

Trevor and Trish, who is from the South West, met in Bristol in 1989 when Trevor was working in the city, with Trish moving back to Burnley with him just five months after their meeting. The couple married in 1991 and lived just off Padiham Road.

Having picked up his love of dogs from his wife, who owned three Afghan Hounds when she moved North, the couple's four dogs will walk ahead of Trevor's hearse at the funeral, which takes place at Burnley Crematorium at 2.20pm on March 29th.

"Trevor was working in Bristol and that's how we met; I moved up within five months of meeting him," explained Trish (66) "It was through me that he got a love of Afghan Hounds, because I had them and I said, 'love me, love my dogs'.

"Trevor and I didn't have any children: our children were the dogs," she added. "When he was in Airedale, he said, 'I want to be at home when I die with my girls around me.'"

With Trevor once a frequent visitor to Turf Moor, the pair's four Afghan Hounds - Crufts winner, Asianskies Claret N'Blu; Storm, who was imported from Australia; Armani, Blu's brother; and Spice - will be dressed in the team's claret and blue colours for the ceremony.

"He used to be a regular at Burnley matches, but work meant he couldn't get [to games]," said Trish. "But he avidly followed them, and his one wish was that before he died he knew they'd be safe from relegation."

Having spent time working for Michelin, Greenwood Hire, LG Philips in Simonstone, and in the Army during his life, Trevor spent most of his career with Turkington Engineers, and was nicknamed Jason King because of his curly hair and moustache, which resembled those of Peter Wyngarde.

"He was just such a generous person," said Catrina Higson, Trevor's sister. "He was a good listener, and a practical joker: he loved to play practical jokes on people; well, he did on me when I was a kid.

"He's going to be missed by a lot of people," she added.