A STEAM enthusiast who spent more than £2,000 on Fred Dibnah memorabilia has paid tribute to Bolton's favourite son.

David Barns paid £2,105 for the Fred Dibnah Memorial Collection - containing one of Fred's famous flat caps, a battered brass oil can, a can of his favourite tipple, Guinness, and a CD-Rom with 60 pictures of the celebrity steeplejack.

And David, aged 40, of Barking, Essex, said he would have paid even more.

"I'm very happy and would have gone above that figure, because it's not every day you get the chance to own something from someone so special," he said.

"I became interested in Fred about four years ago. Like a lot of Bolton folk, he was so down-to-earth and honest. He wasn't false at all, and that really came through.

"I met him at shows and he got me really interested in it all. He brought everything to life and made it interesting."

The money will go towards creating a lasting memorial to Fred in an extension to the glass case on Oxford Street containig the Hick Hargreaves steam engine.

David, a controller for London Buses, said: "He has a really big following in the south.

"I wanted to help make sure the monument to Fred is built, because he highlighted to the masses how important preservation is."

The Bolton Evening News has teamed up with the Bolton and District Civic Trust to raise money for a permanent memorial to the town's favourite son. The fund now stands at £13,000.

Anyone wanting to make a donation can take a cheque, made payable to The Fred Dibnah Memorial Appeal, to any Lloyds TSB branch in the Bolton area.