Gerry Stokes, who was General Secretary of the Preston Table Tennis League for more than 50 years, and later President, has died at the age of 89.

Mr Stokes only retired from the role about two years ago having, along with Dick Hindle and George Ressall, run the PTTA in its heyday of 12 divisions for a good many years.

Tony Rigby, Vice-Chairman of Preston TTA, said: “Gerry was a kind and generous man, an inspiration to us all, very much a worker, organiser and a willing volunteer.

“He was our general secretary for over 50 years, and latterly our President. He was a league player for about 30 years, until a car accident curtailed this.

“He will be sadly missed but not forgotten.”

Mr Stokes’ funeral took place last week.