Wife pays tribute to her motorcycle fanatic husband and father of three from Daventry

Adrian Bolton, 53, known as Ady, died following a collision on the B4386 Yockleton near to Lynches Bridge in Shropshire last Saturday.

His wife, Alison, has paid tribute to her "selfless, kind, gentle and welcoming" husband.

"An awful lot of people loved him for an awful lot of things," said Mrs Bolton.

"He was just very generous, a loving guy and always there for a hug for everybody."

Mr Bolton was part of the St Mary's Church fundraising committee, and would often raise money for the Air Ambulance and Help for Heroes and, because his colleague's child was suffering from leukaemia, he also collected for Clic Sargent.

A selfless man, he would set off on charity bike rides, one of which took him from the most eastern point in the UK to the western point in Ireland... all in one day.

Mr Bolton was a motorbike enthusiast with his collection boasting two Triumphs and a BSA. Such was his love of two-wheelers, he had planned to drive his daughter Charlotte to her wedding in a sidecar.

"The bike that Ady died on, he had bought because he wanted a sidecar to take Charlotte to her wedding in next year," said Mrs Bolton.

"Ordinarily he would not have bought a BMW, but he liked the sidecar because it looked like the Wallace and Gromit on."

He would often go on long road trips to France with his friends, where he had a family holiday home.

Mrs Bolton said that her husband had chosen France because of its culinary delights, as her husband was always happy to cook and enjoy food in the company of family, friends and neighbours.

"One of his greatest loves was cooking, particularly outdoors. He would stand at the barbeque the whole afternoon and evening, and would cook hundreds of burgers and sausages for everyone," said Mrs Bolton.

But above all Mr Bolton was a family man. "He spent quite a lot of time just being with family," said Mrs Bolton.

"Every weekend there would be somebody round. He was always a great entertainer.

"We always used to laugh because it wouldn't matter what was on the stove or the cooker, he would always make it reach to whoever had turned up.

"It was an open home, and everyone who wanted a meal could always guarantee one at our house."

When regular trips to France became less frequent because of Mrs Bolton's commitment to her flower shop, the Blossom Shop in Woodford Halse, the couple bought a canal boat and would spend long weekends and summer holidays on it together.

"That was our escape, we went out very regularly, weekly or bi-weekly through the summer," said Mrs Bolton.

A fan of craft ales and beer, Mr Bolton came up with the idea of a guilt-free beer shop, which was adjoined to his wife's Blossom Shop.

The premise behind it was that men who came into the shop to buy their craft beers and ales would not feel guilty about doing so, as long as they bought their wives or girlfriends a bouquet of flowers before leaving.

Mr Bolton was a well-respected and well-like colleague. He worked as a global product manager for Alimak Hek, a supplier of mast climbing equipment, and had also been vice chairman of the IPAF International Mast Climbing Work Platform Committee.

Mrs Bolton said that many people from around the world had been in touch to offer their condolences, having met Mr Bolton through his work, and would fly in for the funeral.

"We've had some really lovely messages. I'd like to thank all the people that have been thinking about us and telling us how much they care about us, because it's been really helpful for us," said Mrs Bolton.

Mr Bolton's funeral will be held on Friday, July 14 at 11am at Sun Rising Burial Ground, off the A422 Banbury to Stratford road, closest postcode CV35 0BU, and afterwards at The Mill House, West Farndon NN11 3TX.

Mr Bolton leaves his wife Alison, and children Charlotte, Joe and Bryony, and grand-daughter Evelyn.