FARM vehicles lined up to pay a touching tribute to farmer Gordon Capstick, who had passed away, aged 75.

Well-known and respected, Mr Capstick will be remembered for his work as the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) county chairman, helping to steer farmers through the foot and mouth crisis in 2001. At the time of his death he was still an active member of the NFU’s regional livestock board.

He reared and cared for beef and suckler cows at Park House Farm in Heversham, near Kendal, which was 750 acres at its peak.

His coffin was carried to his funeral service at the Chapel at Beetham Hall on a trailer pulled by a tractor.

A keen motorsport enthusiast, Mr Capstick started racing in the 1960s as an international rally co-driver, his last competitive drive being the 1995 RAC rally.

At the time of his death he was the president of Kirkby Lonsdale Motor Club.

He died of a coronary condition at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary last Saturday, surrounded by his family.

His wife Mary said: “Gordon loved being involved with Cumbria Young Farmers Clubs, both as a member and as a parent adviser.

"He was southern district president and county president. He was also proud to sit on the Westmorland County Show management committee.

Other roles Mr Capstick held included as a Heversham parish councillor and committee member at the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution.

For more than 20 years, he was NFU Mutual’s local insurance assessor for farms in the South Lakes area. Along with Mary, he opened the farm gates to school visits, and also wrote a farming diary for The Westmorland Gazette.