A POPULAR retired Catholic priest known as Father John has died in a Redcar care home after being in ill-health for some months. He was 86.

Father John, Monsignor John Heslin, was a well-known figure in Saltburn town centre, where he lived in Garnet Street after retiring nearly 20 years ago.

He was a Father Christmas figure with a strong white beard, and chuckled and chattered his way along the 200 yards from his terraced home to the town centre.

He usually "held court" on the bench, opposite Sainsbury's entrance, giving his opinion on affairs. He was a wise man, well-respected by many in Saltburn, and also celebrated Mass at Catholic churches in the area when parish priests were not available.

His main pre-retirement priestly work was at Stafford where he was a chaplain to the town's jail. Several ex-prisoners kept in touch by phone with him, seeking his advice.

A personal touch he mentioned once was that he knew he talked at length during homilies about his faith. His mother had a system of scratching the outside of her nose in church to indicate he had spoken for 15 minutes. Once at Saltburn he admitted he had talked for too long (probably about leprosy) and joked that listeners were excused his next homily.

His holidays were spent on cruises to Hawaii where the leprosy island of Molokai can be found. He relieved the Molokai-based priest for a few weeks. His hero was Father Damian, the "lepers' priest".

Father John moved to Saltburn because his sister Elizabeth and her family lived in the town. He often said Mass in his small first-floor chapel at his terraced home.

His funeral Mass will be at Our Lady of Lourdes, Milton Street, Saltburn, on Monday at 11.30am