A CHESTER suburb was brought to a halt as an entire community came out to pay their respects to a man known as 'Mr Blacon'.

Dozens of cars lined the roads and hundreds of mourners packed Holy Trinity Church in Blacon on Friday (September 24) for the funeral of Joe Rose who died on September 14, aged 86.

As chairman of Blacon Community Trust (BCT), Joe was responsible for numerous projects which have raised thousands of pounds and benefited every section of the Blacon community from youngsters to the elderly.

Joe, a former railway worker who was a social worker later in life, had lived in Blacon since moving to the area in 1953 with his late wife Ethel, and he had been involved with BCT for more than two decades.

His achievements include establishing a successful after-school club and the development of the Blacon Young Person’s Project, for which he and his volunteers received the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2004.

After meeting Her Majesty and Prince Philip at St James’s Palace, Joe said the experience was something he would never forget, and he was also thrilled to meet the Prince of Wales when he paid a visit to Blacon in 2009.

Joe was at the helm when the Blacon Project moved from its old base in Maitland Way to the former Dee Point Infant School building in 1995 and became known as Blacon Community Trust.

Two years after the move, he was awarded a Director of the Year award in the Social Enterprise Awards for his pioneering leadership in transforming the trust.

When Joe celebrated his 80th birthday, he asked guests at his party to forget about presents and donate to the Blacon Mini Bus Appeal. The event raised more than £5,000.