A MUCH-LOVED publican and cornerstone of the Campaign for Real Ale in Westmorland has died, aged 80.

Alan Frederick Coulthwaite was born in Barrow on August 15, 1927.

He lived on Walney Island and was educated at Ulverston Grammar School. When his father took a post as chief clerk to the courts in Birkenhead, the family moved to Merseyside.

Mr Coulthwaite transferred to Wirral Grammar School where he excelled in many sports and also took a keen interest in amateur dramatics, particularly comedy at the YMCA in Birkenhead. He also developed a love of music and he played the drums in a four-piece band.

He met his future wife Barbara during a dance at St Saviour's Church Hall, on the Wirral, and they married in June 1952 and raised two children, Brian and Ann.

Mr Coulthwaite worked as a wages clerk at the famous Cammell Lairds Shipyard for more than 11 years before becoming a top fire extinguisher salesman for Nu-swift International, based in Elland, Yorkshire.

Despite the family living in Chester they spent annual holidays in Mr Coulthwaite's beloved Lake District where he longed one day to return.

He was a great supporter of real ale and dreamed of one day running a pub and his wish was to come true when he moved his family to the Cornwood Inn, near Plymouth, where he set about introducing the pub-goers of Devon to good beer, and northern warmth and wit.

In 1987, he fulfilled his ambition to return to the Lakes after buying Millholme guesthouse, in Ings, with the intention of converting it into a pub.

And three years later, after much hard work and in the midst of a Lakeland blizzard, the Watermill Inn threw open its doors with Mr Coulthwaite as the self-styled chief entertainments officer.

After only attracting five customers on its second day of opening, the Watermill established itself as a popular and award-winning venue for visitors and locals looking to enjoy good food and real ale.

Mr Coultwaite was a passionate supporter of real ale and the pub allowed him to indulge his love of company and he enjoyed regaling customers with his legendary witty tales and one-liners.

He retired next door to his beloved pub where he stayed until the last 14 months of his life which he spent at Hillcroft nursing home, in Lancaster.