MONEY collected at the funeral of 1960s pop star Trevor Ward-Davies - better known to his fans as Dozy - was presented to Wiltshire Air Ambulance by his family.

Dozy, who was a member of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, died in January aged 70 and his funeral at St John the Baptist Church, Pewsey, was full of family, friends and old-school rockers who gathered to give Dozy the sort of send-off he would have loved.

Instead of hymns there were songs by his band and Monty Python’s Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life which the whole congregation joined in.

He had told his wife that Yvonne that if anyone cried at his funeral he would never speak to them again.

He also wanted money to be collected for the air ambulance which was close to his heart. A total of £575 was raised and last week Mrs Ward-Davies along with her daughter Sarah Smart and son Darren Ward-Davies visited the helicopter HQ in Devizes to hand over the money to paramedic Steve Riddle.

She said: "The last few months have been very difficult for me but I am glad we are able to make this presentation to such a good cause."

Dozy, who lived in the village of Patney, near Devizes, for most of his 46 years of married life, loved to entertain and perform but he always loved returning home to his wife Yvonne, two children, five grandchildren and great grand-daughter who all lived nearby.

At the funeral his eldest grandson Dominic Smart, 23, paid tribute to his grandad as a “real gent” and spoke of their times playing golf together. He remembered him as a person who loved to sing, tell jokes and spend time with the family.

The service was taken by the Rev Jennifer Totney who spoke about Dozy’s two different lifestyles but his ability to bring a smile to people’s faces from both his family and performing sides of his life.

Mr Ward-Davies was the bass guitarist and founder member of the band. His nickname Dozy came about after he unwrapped a bar of chocolate and threw it away and ate the wrapper instead.

The friends got together in Salisbury in 1961 and between 1965 and 1969, the group spent more weeks in the UK singles charts than the Beatles.

They first entered the UK charts in December 1965 with You Make it Move followed by Hold Tight!, Bend It! and Save Me and a 1968 UK number one single with the Legend of Xanadu.