Tributes have been paid to a former councillor who passionately served the County Durham village he loved for many years.
Bill Blenkinsopp, who lived in the same Aycliffe Village house he was born in for most of his life, died last week after a long career in local politics.
He represented Aycliffe Village on Great Aycliffe Town Council for more than 30 years and also served on Durham County Council and the former Sedgefield Borough Council.
His achievements were even more remarkable given he nearly died in a horrific car accident when he was 17.
The young Bill dreamed of being a jockey and was just beginning to make a name for himself in the horseracing world when the accident which changed his life happened in April 22, 1967.
He was on his way to Ayr races when the car he was travelling in ploughed through a crash barrier, plunged 20ft down an embankment and burst into flames.
The driver, horseracing trainer Buster Fenningworth, and the front seat passenger, jockey Albert 'Brig' Robson were thrown from the vehicle, but Bill remained in the wreck.
Fenningworth was so badly injured he died en route to hospital and Robson's condition was described as “very critical”.
Bill was not expected to survive. He suffered 68 per cent first degree burns and was given two hours to live.
He clung to life and gradually improved, but his burns were so extensive, that the only ‘live’ skin he had was a small square at the base of his collar and below his right eye.
His brothers – Jim, Edwin and Peter – had to donate healthy skin to graft onto his wounds.
He had to learn to walk again and it was 18 months before he could hold a cup.
Doctors severed the tendons of his hands and stitched them together again in an effort to restore the use of his fingers and gradually Bill adapted to a new way of life.
He never fully realised his dreams of returning to the saddle as a professional jockey but threw himself into community life in Aycliffe Village.
Despite ongoing health issues over the years, he served with distinction on the local authorities he was a member of and became a well-known figure in County Durham.
Paying tribute following his death last week, a spokesperson for Great Aycliffe Town Council said: "He cared passionately for Aycliffe Village, where he was born and lived most of his life.
"Bill was a well-known and popular figure in his home village and around County Durham, a man who never let the severe injuries he sustained in a catastrophic car accident in his youth stop him from living his life and working for the local people he represented.
"Bill will be remembered with respect, and missed by all who knew him."
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