A former landlord of the Queens Hotel, in St Bees, has died at the age of 68.

Geoff Steele was a familiar face behind the bar for 18 years and before that in the village post office.

A sport and music lover, Geoff grew up in St Bees where his parents Henry and Olive ran the post office.

He attended the village school and Whitehaven Grammar School before going to Sunderland Polytechnic to train as a teacher. It was here he met his wife Kay.

Geoff was employed at Lillyhall School before going on to Valley School, in Whitehaven, where he taught from the early seventies until 1980. Kay taught at Orgill Infant School in Egremont.

The couple bought St Bees Post Office from Geoff's father in 1980 and ran it until 1986 before selling and purchasing the nearby Queen's Hotel.

They went on to have three children Jake, Nathan and Sam, juggling family life with running a busy and successful community pub.

Geoff was in charge of the bar while Kay ran the kitchen.

"Everyone would come in and have a crack, there wasn't any trouble, the customers were lovely and became friends, it was an exciting time," said Kay.

Geoff organised a touch rugby club, a golf competition, treasure hunts and quizzes.

"You didn't have to get the right answer, just the same answer as Geoff!" said Kay. "Everyone has their own story to tell about him."

A keen sportsman and Sunderland supporter, Geoff played rugby union for Whitehaven and was captain for a year in the 1970s.

He also loved golf, played squash, tennis, enjoyed fellwalking and took up cycling when the couple retired in 2004. They also did a lot of travelling.

"Our time at the Queens was the best years of our lives," said Kay. "Geoff loved a challenge and we had a fabulous life. He was very proud of his sons, 'three grand lads' as he called them." The couple have three grandchildren.

Geoff passed away at West Cumberland Hospital on September 6, after bravely battling prostate cancer for five years.

"He coped really well with it, right until the last couple of months," added Kay.

His funeral was held at St Bees Priory last Thursday.