AN “AMAZING man” who provided refuge for Poole’s homeless community has passed away at the age of 70.

Tony Dodwell and his late wife Chris took over the town’s Bridge Corner Cafe in 1976, running the much-needed sanctuary on a shoestring.

As well as the cafe venture, Tony developed the first fitness tests and the formula for artificial sausage skins when he worked at Walls. He lived on Kefalonia for several years and worked as a tour guide on the Greek holiday island after studying its local history.

Paying tribute to her father, Hazel Kent from Bracknell, Berkshire said: “He wasn’t a perfect man but he was my dad.

“He bought his first computer in 1980 and was so intelligent he learned to programme it himself.

“He even bought it to my school to show everyone which was a bit embarrassing.

“Dad had an amazing brain and ideas which were too early for their time. Many hours were spent around the table with friends and relatives talking philosophy, science and the cosmos. He could make the most narrow-minded person think outside the box.”

Tony died on Saturday, September 15 after suffering massive bleeding on his brain.

Hazel said: “He really was an amazing man, in his own way, and there will be many people who will remember him for what he did rather than what he was.

“Sadly a bad diet and lifestyle caught up with him.”