Local cricket umpire Suresh Patel had died following a recent health issue.

Born in Tanzania in 1955, he moved with his parents to India in 1964, before arriving in the UK in 1976.

He met his wife Christine in 1984, they settled in Bolton and had four children plus grandchildren.

He started umpiring in 1990 in midweek cricket in Bolton and was encouraged to take his umpiring exams by the late Fred Elmore.

In the Bolton League he umpired two Hamer Cup finals, and outside the Bolton League officiated in two Lancashire Knockout semi-finals, and the ECB Village Cup Final at York Cricket Club.

Apart from his umpiring activities, he was a Level Two coach, and was an official for a number of years in the Bolton Cosmopolitan League, as well as being an active member of the former Bolton League Umpires’ Association.