AN EAST Yorkshire village is in mourning after its former parish council chairman died on the way to Blackpool to watch his granddaughters dance.

Robbie Preston, 76, of Sunnyside, Seaton Ross, was on his way to Blackpool to watch his three granddaughters dance on the Winter Garden stage. He suffered a massive heart attack in a layby and was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary where he died.

Robbie, who lived in Seaton Ross all his life, was chairman of the parish council for more than 20 years until he retired only four days before his death. A church warden at St Edmund's Church in Seaton Ross, and a parish councillor for 50 years, he was a well-known figure in the community.

His widow, Nan, 79, spent many years as clerk to the parish council and was deputy headmistress at Melbourne Primary School until she retired in 1983.

She told the Evening Press: "It was a terrible shock. He is very sadly missed."

He leaves a son, Nigel, daughter-in-law, Jill and three grandchildren, Nicola, 14, Fiona, 11 and Katrina, eight. He went to watch his granddaughters perform ballet, tap and modern dancing in Blackpool every year.

Nan said: "He loved to go and see them dance. They were the pride of his life."

About 300 people attended Robbie's funeral at St Edmund's. Five clergymen took part in the service including the new vicar of Seaton Ross, the Rev Nigel Strafford, the Very Rev Henry Stapleton and the Rev Peter Thornton.

Nan added: "Judging by the number of people who came to his funeral he was very much loved by a lot of people. He was a very proud Yorkshire man."

She said more than £1,000 was raised at the funeral to be split between the church, the Wishbone Trust and the hospital where he died. The only floral tribute was a heart made of his favourite flowers, Sweet Williams, and a posy of white roses to represent Yorkshire.

Robbie, a former pupil of Pocklington School, farmed 60 acres of land at Sunnyside, where he had lived since he was three years old. He married Nan 52 years ago and became a father in 1956.

Local government ran in the Preston family as Robbie was a member of Pocklington Rural Council for three years after his father, Henry Preston, served the authority for 28 years.

Updated: 10:22 Wednesday, June 04, 2003