The coffin of a motorcycle enthusiast has been driven around Merton in the sidecar of a classic Triumph motor cycle.

The tribute yesterday afternoon for Alan Elkington was laid-on for the former car mechanic who had rebuilt countless Triumph bikes in his spare time over the past 30 years.

The procession left the 57-year-old's family home in Brocks Drive, Morden, where he lived until his recent move to Sutton.

Mr Elkington's three sons organised the funeral which involved recruiting the two-wheeled hearse and driver from Southampton.

His oldest son Steve said: "The idea first came when I saw the picture of the Triumph in the window of the funeral directors. The more I thought about it, the better an idea it seemed so I spoke to my brothers and they agreed.

"There must have been a good 70 people following the bike. Lots of people were giving us brilliant looks as we drove past, I guess they'd never seen anything like it before. It was a magnificent sight.

"Everyone at the funeral thought it was fantastic too. We just couldn't have asked for a better reaction and I'm sure it was something Alan would have wanted. He's going to be sorely missed but I'm sure in one way or another he's still looking down on us."

Mr Elkington died suddenly from lung cancer and his family are encouraging people to donate money to the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. For information call 0871 220 5425 or visit roycastle.org