Brian Miller left school in 1953 aged 15 and immediately joined The Cherry Tree Machine Co. as an apprentice. Following National Service, he rejoined Cherry Tree and continued to work his way through the company before finally leaving in 1973 to form his own company Brymill Technology, based in Brinscall near Chorley.

Brian, who would have celebrated his golden wedding anniversary next month, leaves wife Hilary, daughter Karen and grandchildren Richard and Sarah.

Chris Shepherd, advertisement manager of LCN and who had known Brian for more than 30 years, said: “I shall always remember Brian as a “gentle giant”.

He added: “Renowned for his thorough knowledge of laundry and drycleaning equipment, Brian was always prepared to go the extra mile for a customer, often working into the small hours to get a piece of equipment up and running. Behind this workaholic with a largely shy and unassuming manner lay a dedicated family man, a prankster with a great sense of humour, and always with a twinkle in his eye. This was a side of Brian rarely seen outside of his close family. To customers near and far, Brian was an honest hardworking man who never knew the meaning of the word “can’t”. “

A full obituary will appear in LCN‘s next issue.