A POPULAR businessman who was passionate about fishing has died.

Stanley Lewis, of Bewdley, was well known in the town and died on February 15, aged 88.

Mr Lewis was a businessman in Wyre Forest for about 60 years and started by selling toys, cigarettes and fireworks in Coventry Street, Kidderminster.

He then opened a fishing tackle and betting shop next door before opening another fishing tackle shop and a guesthouse in Severnside South, Bewdley, when he moved to the town about 40 years ago.

His funeral was held at St John’s Church, Kidderminster last Friday.

Mr Lewis worked in the carpet industry as a teenager before he was called up during the Second World War.

He was trained for a special secret radar scheme in the jungles of Burma and survived typhoid and malaria during his service, which ended in 1947.

As well as fishing, Mr Lewis also enjoyed snooker, horse and greyhound racing, cricket and tennis. He had written two books about his life and angling, which he had hoped would be printed before his death.

A picture of Mr Lewis feeding the swans during floods in Bewdley in 2000 was featured in publications in other countries including Jamaica and Saudi Arabia.

His friend Ted Taylor said: “He was fantastic. He was a character. He was very well known in the town.”

Mr Lewis leaves a wife, Sheila, and children David and Carolyn.