A Beatles fanatic has forked out a small fortune to repair the grave of the bands former bassist Stuart Sutcliffe.
Kind hearted Colin Unwin, took it upon himself to have the vandalised granite slab repaired and set upright by a stonemason before re-painting the gold lettering himself.
The gravestone of Sutcliffe, who was the band’s original bass player in the early 60's, had been kicked over and left neglected on the ground in Huyton cemetery.
Colin, a Janitor at Rochdale fire station, has now fixed up the entire plot and hopes fans will visit the grave to pay their respects.
Mr Unwin, 61, said: "Stuart contributed so much to the band and it broke my heart to see his grave so neglected.
"Before there was John and Paul there was John and Stuart, so in my eyes the money was well spent."
Having been credited with coming up with The Beatles name, Sutcliffe fell in love with a German photographer called Astrid Kirchherr and left the band before to study art in Hamburg.
Sutcliffe collapsed while at art school and later died in the arms Astrid inside the ambulance rushing them to hospital.
Colin added: "I hope people will now visit the grave to pay their respects to a great man."
david lee, royton around 4 months, 3 weeks ago