FORMER post man, keen cyclist and amateur astronomer, Tom Kercher, has died at the age of 56.

Born in Winchester, his father, Fred, was a farm manager, while his mum, Joan, worked as a midwife before changing jobs to become a district nurse. Tom also has a sister named Eleanor.

The family left Hampshire when Tom was still a baby and moved to Hampreston to allow Fred to work on the estate of Sir Richard Trehane.

Tom attended Hampreston Primary School before going on to Ferndown Upper School and leaving education aged 15 to work for Flight Refuelling Limited. He was made redundant from the firm when they moved to Cobham.

Afterwards he went to work for Royal Mail delivering post across Wimborne including Holt, Merley and Corfe Mullen.

His sister, Eleanor, said that he never rushed his round and loved to chat to residents who he got on really well with. She said that the customers would often give him cards and presents on special occasions and he was famed for wearing an orange hat, colourful socks and brightly-coloured cycling gear.

He was forced to leave Royal Mail around four years ago due to ill health caused by his Type 2 diabetes. He spent all of his adult life living in Hurn with his mother, Joan and gave his time to being her full-time carer before she died around two years ago.

Thereafter he took up cycling, where he would pedal to Sea View in Parkstone and across Poole as well as heading over to Wareham.

Eleanor said that he was a quiet and shy person who left school with just a couple of CSE qualifications. She said that he enjoyed reading the New Scientist magazine every week to further his interest in science and also had a passion for astronomy, owning a telescope to look at the night's sky. Tom was also a member of Wimborne Chess Club for over 20 years and volunteered to teach young people how to play chess at The Point, which is based in the Streetlight Centre, Stone Lane, in Wimborne.

He died on Monday, August 1 from a heart attack which was caused by an undiagnosed heart disease. His funeral took place at Poole Crematorium on Thursday, August 18, with donations going to Diabetes UK.