ONE of Ludlow’s best known and loved characters has died.

Jack Andow became ill, developed pneumonia and died in Intensive Care in Shrewsbury Hospital.

He defied disability and ill health to raise tens of thousands of pounds for charity.

The 76-year-old was also a great champion of people with disabilities.

He spent thousands of hours every year working with needle and thread on exquisite tapestries that were sold to raise money for good causes.

It was an unlikely pastime for a former Royal Navy seaman.

In the summer, Jack sent one of his tapestries as a present to the Queen to mark her 90th birthday.

This came a year after he had been awarded a British Empire Medal in recognition of his charitable fund raising.

A member of the Royal Naval Association he had his artistic flair and charitable work recognised with a British Empire Medal in 2015.

The Liverpool-born former Royal Naval engine room man was not what people would typically think of when it comes to intricate work with needle and thread.

But in the past 20 years he had produced more than 300 tapestries – many of them of the area in which he lived – and raised more than £37,000 for local charities.

His tapestries have been used on the Ludlow shopping bag and calendar.

What made this truly remarkable is that Jack was severely handicapped with Multiple Sclerosis and was also a cancer sufferer resulting in his having to have part of his nose removed.

However, while this hampered his mobility – confining him to a wheelchair – it took nothing from his dexterity or concentration.

“I can spend 10 hours at a time working on a tapestry,” said Jack before he died.

“It is something that I love doing. I do not have any time for television but I do listen to the radio as I work. It is good for me as it keeps my arms and hands exercised and so keeps the MS at bay.

“People send me a photograph and I work from this to complete the work.

“I cannot move my legs but have a wheelchair. This means that I have only needed one pair of shoes since 2000 but I have had to have three new sets of tyres for the wheelchair.”

Jack lost his wife in 1991 and lived alone in Ludlow, although he did have a home help.

Over the years, he raised nearly £40,000 for good causes.

“I have helped all kinds of charities including the Royal British Legion which has helped me a lot,” he added.

Jack Andow served in the Royal Navy in the late 1950s and early 1960s in a career that took him all over the world. It was tough work as he was in the engine room. His trophies include a ‘blue nose’ certificate for service in the coldest parts of the world.

Life in the Navy gave him a taste for travel and he clocked up more than 20 cruises, many of them in his wheel chair.

Jack Andow was the founder of the Ludlow Multiple Sclerosis Support Group and also a welfare officer for the Royal Naval Association. He visited patients in hospital and gave talks to local groups.

For many years, he travelled on cruises all over the world even helping the ship operators with accessibility assessments.

Active until near the very end of his life, he was a member of the Ludlow Cancer Support Group and his contribution to his community was recognised with an award from Ludlow Town Council.

Despite his ill health and having to use a wheel chair, he was regularly seen around Ludlow and acted as an assessor for the Disability Access Group.

“Jack was a lovely man who never complained and always had a laugh and a smile,” said Vivienne Parry. of the Ludlow Access Group, who had known him for 40 years.

“It must have been a terrible blow when his wife died and he discovered that he had Multiple Sclerosis but he just carried on and will be terribly missed by the Access Group and the town.

“We was so proud of his British Empire Medal and when he got a letter of thanks after sending a tapestry to the Queen.”

Ludlow MP Philip Dunne has also paid tribute describing is death as “very sad".

“Ludlow has lost a true gentleman who always thought of others before himself. He will be much missed by family and friends.”