HUNDREDS of people poured into St Mary’s Church to pay their last respects to John McAlinden on Friday.

The funeral was so packed that many had to stand at the back of the church as relatives and friends from as far as Portugal came to celebrate the 56-year-old’s life.

John, who helped set up Middlewich Transport Festival, died on November 6 of a suspected heart attack.

“He’s going to be really, sorely missed by everybody,” said John’s wife Debbie, of Chapel Lane, Wimboldsley.

“He knew everything about Middlewich and he knew everyone in Middlewich.”

John’s sister Alba Shore told the Guardian she was overwhelmed by the community’s support during the funeral.

She added: “People came out of the woodwork. People I’ve grown up with - neighbours and school friends - they were all there.

“John was one of those people who could get on with everyone. He’d have a drink with the young people and then switch and play dominos with older people.

“He’d speak to them for hours - he loved talking about the old days.”

John, who was brought up in Mill Lane and Hayhurst Avenue, was well known for restoring classic vehicles and he was working on a Bedford OB bus before he died.

One of his greatest achievements was restoring Sir Malcolm Campbell’s Lagonda LG45 which was found in Burma in 1991.

John spent seven years fixing the vintage car and he travelled all over the world to find the original parts.

The car appeared on the front page of the specialist magazine The Automobile in 1998.

“He was so proud when it was published,” said Debbie, who met John in Delamere in 1978.

John, who has two children Jonathan, 20, and Caroline, 12, also owned a 1942 ‘Jimmy’ truck which saw action in Omaha Beach and appeared in Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers.

Debbie said: “John was fascinated by the history of vehicles. People loved seeing the truck at the Second World War festival.”

Alba added: “He’s had his head under a bonnet since he was six years old.”

John often helped Debbie run D’s Delicatessen in Wheelock Street.

Debbie said: “He was always there when I needed him - when I went to hospital he ran the deli for me.

“I must say a big thank you to everyone who has been so kind. I had more than 70 sympathy cards and the messages on Facebook have been overwhelming.”

Alba added: “Whatever he did and wherever he went John always had a story to tell. He was irreplaceable that lad.”

================================ JOHN McAlinden’s son Jonathan wrote the following tribute to his father.

The 20-year-old said: “He was a man who gave his hand to help anyone in need and never murmured for a return favour.

“As his son, whenever I was in distress he would always come running.

“He was a man who grafted to make his life and made many bonds along the way which are here today. He was a character.

“As his son, he taught me: ‘If you’re ever knocked down, you get back up again’ and I will always carry that through life and the next time I have to face adversity again.”