"A MAN Malton should be proud of" was one of the tributes paid to a well-known character from the town at his funeral yesterday (Tuesday).

The funeral of David Snaith, who was a familiar figure in Malton, where he had lived for a number of years, was held at St Leonard's and St Mary's Church in Malton.

The congregation heard that no relatives of David had been traced, but friends and acquaintances from the community filled the church.

Father Tim Bywater said he had been delighted to witness how Malton had responded to the news of David's death with offers of help flooding in for all aspects of his funeral.

"If David was stood here now I wonder what he would be thinking?" he said. "He would certainly be very pleased, but sooner non-plused that we are all here in the same place at the same time for him and what is certain he would have a word or more likely a lengthy conversation with each of us."

Four years ago, the Gazette & Herald ran a story appealing for information when David faced being made homeless because he was unable to provide any form of identification.

Following pressure from Ryedale Citizens Advice Bureau, a member of the pension service agreed to meet Mr Snaith and allocated him a National Insurance number, enabling him to claim his legal entitlement to benefits and also a tenancy by a local housing association in Chandler’s Wharf.

The congregation was told that David had been born on November 24, 1944, in Lytham, St Annes, and had studied a law degree at Manchester University as well as serving in the army.

Local stonemason Nigel Copsey said most people knew David as a bookseller who had worked in York before moving to Malton.

"He found a warm welcome in Malton and I don't think it was an accident that he ended up here," he said.

"When I moved here I wanted to find out more about the history of the town and walked into his bookshop in Market Place and quickly realised it wasn't the sort of shop you just walking into."

Nigel said he still had all the books David had passed onto him as he was always keen to invest his knowledge with others.

"He was a passionate man, interested in politics and history and deeply knowledgeable and intelligent," he said.

"David was also deeply cynical of power and authority, but never of ordinary people.

"In this society, which is one of the most monitored in Europe, if not the world, he managed not to exist which is a phenomenal achievement.

"David lived very simply and many times I envied his life and while we all knew David on a one to one he kept himself to himself."

Nigel said David had enjoyed conversation and learning more about the world, as well as sharing his own knowledge.

"He was a strand running through Malton with always an eye or an ear to the ground," he said.

"Malton should be proud of David and Malton should be proud of itself that someone like David felt safe to live and be appreciated here."