FRIENDS and family have been paying tribute to keen actor and community volunteer Albert Molineux MBE, who has died aged 82.

Albert, of Tamworth Avenue, Whitefield, died at North Manchester General Hospital on Sunday after suffering from tuberculosis.

A retired employee of the University of Manchester, Albert was a star of the stage and had even made several appearances on television shows in his heyday.

He was well known locally for his work with the Garrick Theatre in Whitefield and with amateur dramatics groups, including PADOS, of which he is a former chairman.

One of his most memorable moments was being presented with an MBE for services to charity in 1992. Albert never had children and never married.

His nephew, Steve Molineux, of Bolton Road, Hawkshaw, said: “It has been a strange week and it all happened so quickly. Though Albert was a bachelor, he had a large circle of friends who loved him dearly. He was thought of very highly.

“I have been trying to inform people via email, as some friends and family have emigrated.

“The response from people has been phenomenal. Everyone is saddened by it.”

The death was referred to the Manchester Coroner, though the coroner’s office has made it clear that there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

Because of the coroner’s involvement, no date has yet been fixed for the funeral, but a cremation is expected to take place at Blakely Cemetery in Manchester before a gathering at St Margaret’s Church, Prestwich.