Hundreds of firefighters to form guard of honour at colleague's funeral in Bedford

Father-of-two Chris Swallow’s coffin will be slowly driven from Bedford Fire Station on the back of a gleaming red turntable ladder vehicle.

Two more fire tenders – one from London and one from Ampthill – also plan to join the cortege, which will be given a police escort through the town.

Chris, 47, a well-known Freemason in the county, died in Bedford Hospital with his family by his side last month after a short illness.

Former colleague Mark Fensome said: “He was a charming character and a great character who was taken from us too early and will be sorely missed.”

Born in Lidlington, Chris joined the Army after leaving school but always dreamed of becoming a station officer in the fire service like his father.

He became a retained firefighter at Ampthill but later worked as a window cleaner and also supplied bouncy castles to the local community as “inflatable fun at deflated prices”.

“No wonder he was known as Del Boy!” quipped Mark.

Then he joined London Fire Brigade, rising through the ranks to achieve his ambiton of becoming a station officer at Wembley, the capital’s largest fire station.

He was in line for promotion to assistant divisional officer before his health deteriorated.

Mark added: “Away from the fire service, Chris was a loyal Freemason and member of the Ampthiull Lodge, who always regarded charity as a priority – as he did as a firefighter. He was loved by many.”