ENGINEER and motorbike bike racing enthusiast, Handel Hurrell of Canford Heath, has died at the age of 67.

Born in Glamorgan in Wales, as a younger brother to Hugh, Handel moved with the family to several locations before they stopped in Dorset when he was seven.

Handel attended Sandford Junior School and Wareham County Modern School, while outside of school he was a member of the Air Cadets.

After leaving education, he took on an apprenticeship in motor engineering and then added on an extra year as a diesel fuel injection engineer.

He worked for Hunt's Engineering from 1966 to 1973, where he gained the nickname Andy. It was the place where he met his future wife, Lynda, who worked in the accounts department.

In 1973, Alvin Tubbs, who ran the workshop at Hunt's Engineering, started a new venture named Poole Diesel.

Lynda said that her husband enjoyed his job as a qualified fuel injection engineer, working initially alongside Alvin, before he passed on the business to his son, Jonathan, who described Handel as having an encyclopaedic knowledge of the business.

He was well thought of in the industry and enjoyed sharing his skills with others.

She invited him to attend the work Christmas party together with her and the couple went on to marry in 1975.

After moving around a lot as a child, Handel bought a bungalow with wife, Lynda, which they stayed living in throughout his life and which became the home to son, Owen, in 1980 and daughter, Laura, in 1984.

In his spare time, Handel enjoyed gardening, various family holidays around the country and spending time with his little 18-months-old grandson, Ioan.

Along with his son, Owen, Handel had a passion for motorbikes and enjoyed going to live shows, including events in Daytona in the USA and Le Mans in France.

Lynda said that her husband was interested in anything with an engine and for his 65th birthday, he got the opportunity to fly in a Tiger Moth plane.

Handel died on Thursday, December 22 and his funeral was attended by around 100 people, including former colleagues, at Poole Crematorium on Tuesday, January 10, with donations going to the specialist bone marrow transplant suite at Royal Bournemouth Hospital.