FAMILY, friends and customers packed out Kingsdown Crematorium to pay their respects to the oldest paperboy in the country.

More than 100 people attended Charlie Reynolds’ funeral yesterday afternoon with many standing outside.

Tributes were paid to the former newsagent owner, who was still working at his son’s shop in Ermin Street two weeks before his death.

Charlie, 96, died on February 27, after suffering a fall from his beloved bike outside the shop.

He broke his hip and then suffered a chest infection while in hospital.

Charlie, who was born in 1916 in South Marston, was one of nine children.

He moved with his family to Gorse Hill and worked as an apprentice boiler worker at the GWR Railway Works before heading for the south coast to work for Saunders-Roe flying-boat company on the Isle of Wight.

After the Second World War he returned to Swindon, where he started a newspaper round with his brother Bob and then opened the newsagent in Ermin Street in 1961.

In 1979 he handed it to his son Charlie Jnr and until last month the great grandfather-of-three would take charge of the family shop every day between 7am and 9am.

Yesterday morning the store was still open, despite the funeral.

Charlie Snr became famous as the oldest paperboy in Britain in 2004, at the ripe old age of 88, and continued to use the same bike he had used for his rounds to get to work each day.

The Rev David Gray, of Stratton Methodist Church, who is a regular customer at Reynolds Newsagent, held the service and said that Charlie would be sadly missed by everybody in the community.

“He was a lovely man and a true gentleman,” he said.

Speaking before the funeral, Charlie Jnr said: “It was just a bit sudden. He was a wonderful chap and everybody around here loved him.

“We’ve had people coming up to say how sorry they are and we’ve had about 30 cards so far. Everyone is so kind.

“He was such a hard working man and he was my inspiration.”

The funeral ended with Matt Monro’s, For All We Know. Donations in memory of Charlie would be appreciated for CALM.