A LONG-SERVING former York pub landlord and great sporting fanatic has died, aged 79.

Alan Jackson ran three pubs across the York area over many years: the Fox Inn at Stockton on the Forest, the Cock and Bottle in Skeldergate and the Edward VII in Nunnery Lane, and he also worked as a chef at Forest Park Golf Club in Stockton.

One of his regulars at the Fox Inn, Barry Sellers, said that while Alan was in charge, he used to put on dinners for village pensioners, charging them just 50p.

"If they couldn't make it to the pub, he would have it delivered to their home," he said.

Barry said Alan also used to be a director of York Rugby League Club and was also a very good local cricketer, and had many friends and connections with Yorkshire County Cricket Club.

"He was a sports fanatic and opened The Sportsman Bar in a barn at the back of the Fox, where he held many charity does, many attended by Yorkshire cricketers including Geoff Boycott," he said. "He was a good golfer too."

Alan's brother Ken said he was born at Spofforth and lived in Ilkley before moving to York in his 30s, first taking over at the Fox before later moving to the city pubs.

He said Alan played cricket for Stockton on the Forest, and got to know many Yorkshire cricketers well, including Geoffrey Boycott, David Bairstow and Jim Love.

"They used to stop off in the village to go to the Fox on their way back from playing at Scarborough," he said.

He said Alan, who had one son Adam, had retired from the pub trade when he was about 68, and had been undergoing dialysis for the past eight or nine years because of kidney problems.

He added that Alan had died last weekend and funeral details had not yet been finalised.

Alan featured in The Press many times over the years.

In 2003, he and fellow landlord Mike Hird launched York's first dedicated sports bar at the Edward VII, filling it with old York sporting photographs and memorabilia as well as two giant screens.

In 2008, Alan spoke out about the impact of the new smoking ban in pubs, saying he believed his trade was down by between 25 and 30 per cent but he had opened an outdoor smoking area to try to win back custom.

Of the ban he said: "I think there should have been freedom of choice, perhaps keeping one room open for smoking."

That same year, he organised a festive charity fun day at the Edward VII and raised £500 each for York Hospital's Cancer Unit and St Leonard's Hospice.