A family has paid tribute to their dad after he died this month. 

John Deakin, who died aged 85, moved to Cumbria in the late 90s after 'falling in love' with the Lake District. 

He had a long and successful career with British Nuclear Fuels and regularly worked at Sellafield which sparked his love for the region.

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He retired with his wife Joan Deakin, now aged 78, in the village of Sedgwick. 

He leaves behind two twin sons - Jonathan, a fitness trainer, and Martin, a HGV driver, both aged 54, along with his two granddaughters Ebony and Brook.

Jonathan, who now lives in Manchester, said: "He was a big motorcycle enthusiast. He used to be called the James Dean of Warrington but gave up riding in his 50s.

"He did a good job of passing his interests on to me and my brother though and now we have bikes. In his later years, he really enjoyed seeing us with them.

"We're such a tight knit family so he has been a massive loss."

(Image: Jonathan) After reporting dizzy spells in the summer of 2023, Mr Deakin collapsed while in a shop in Kirkby Lonsdale in August.

He fell on his face and the impact was so hard it severed his spinal cord leaving him paralysed.

He fought hard for a year but in that time complications developed such as lung cancer and he died on August 6 2024. His funeral was August 16.

Jonathan said: "It destroyed him at first, the quadriplegia, but eventually he came around and he was more obsessed with making sure his family were all OK rather than him.

"He loved Liverpool Football Club and I think that helped keep him going. When the family would visit him in the hospital he always questioned us about Klopp and what's next.

"Overall, he dealt with it really well as he was always just so full of life. He had many interests, he loved bikes, he was very athletic and when he was younger he loved surfing and he loved travelling.

"His main passion was for us though, his family, and he had that special bond only a grandfather can have with his beautiful granddaughters.

(Image: Jonathan) "My parents doted on each other and in the decades they were married they were rarely away from each other - they were such a glamorous couple. 

"They were never happier than when up on the fells with their Old English Sheepdogs. More recently, they enjoyed trips to Kirkby Lonsdale and they loved sitting in the cafes with a coffee.

"I'm just glad they just got to spend their later lives in a beautiful village where every day was a holiday. 

(Image: Jonathan) "So many people attended dad's funeral and no-one had a bad word to say about him - we all miss him.

"I've always said, if Carlsberg made a dad, it would be our dad.

"When he was younger, he could have quite a temper and he'd come down on us like a tonne of bricks, but we realise in hindsight that he was right."

Brain cancer research was a cause that was dear to John's heart so his family are now raising money through a Go Fund Me page which you can donate to here.