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Tributes have flooded in for a man described by his peers as a ‘giant in the community’ who was honoured posthumously after losing his fight with cancer.

Brian Herrity, who passed away in September aged 79, was the winner of the Judges’ Award at our recent Stars in the Community Awards, which reward individuals who have gone the extra mile to improve their communities.

He's pictured here after winning a customer achievement award in 2011.

Brian was the longest standing board member of Hoot, Bolton’s credit union, and having once run a successful business that fell on hard times, was very aware of the need to help those who find themselves in financial difficulty and unfalteringly offered them support.

Chair of Hoot’s board, Steve Bottrill, said: “Brian could always be relied upon to give voice to grass roots membership and the volunteer force that lies behind our credit union. He was a constant reminding light of the reason we’re in business. The views he shared with the board and management were always passionate and firmly held, borne of his longstanding experience and wisdom.”

Brian was also determined to build his vision for a strong and vibrant community and in 2007 he set up Hall i’ th’ Wood and Tonge Moor Football Club. He managed the club and co-ordinated local volunteers to deliver evening coaching sessions and Saturday league football for varying age groups.

A keen Bolton Wanderers fan, Brian arranged for children and their families to attend BWFC football matches, sportsman’s dinners, and day trips to the stadium. He also recruited local parents as volunteers and coordinated fundraising to pay for training to enable them to become FA coaches or explore a career in refereeing.

Significantly, Brian was committed to ingraining a sense of pride into the youngsters, and used football training as a vehicle to teach values that were important to him, such as good manners, respecting others, and being proud of where you live.

He also organised for the young people to attend other sessions, such as life-saving training, to learn new skills he believed would be useful in their day-to-day lives and improve the chances available to them. He also helped to introduce futsal sessions, a fast-paced, Brazilian style of playing football, into primary schools in the Tonge area.

Sam Higham, our neighbourhood manager for the north, said: “Brian was truly woven into the fabric of his community and worked tirelessly to support it. Although physically small in stature, he was a giant of a man with a big heart and a tenacious determination to build his vision for a strong and vibrant community.

“His voluntary work touched countless lives, both young and old.”

Brian’s wife, Sylvia Herrity, accepted the recent award from Bolton at Home. She said: “Brian was very sociable and totally committed to all that he did.

“He did things to make people happy, he had a special way of inspiring others and it’s lovely to see him honoured in this way.”