Residents in fond farewell to town icon on last trip to Altrincham Market

Dave O'Kell, or Market Dave, was seen off by family and friends at a service at the crematorium on the afternoon of Monday, June 20.

Before the service, at around 12pm, a procession went down to the market, where he used to work until a tragic incident in April 2008.

Residents lined the street to offer their respects and share their memories of Market Dave. One of them, Anne McCann, suggested there should be a statue of him outside the town hall.

Residents lined the street at Altrincham Market.

She said: "The best was when he used to hold the traffic up.

"The expression on people’s faces, you could almost see them mouthing naughty words as he was trundling along without a care in the world.

"He used to have the same hobnail boots and tweed jacket he’d wear, and his cap, he always had the cap on, he must've had the cap for years.

"He epitomised Altrincham. If you say ‘Market Dave’, everybody has heard of him."

A procession went down to Altrincham Market.

Born in May 1940 to parents Jack and Edna May O'Kell, Dave was raised in Altrincham alongside eight siblings and attended St Margaret's Primary School, then Bradbury Secondary School.

He went on to work on the market as a scrap collector, and he was a familiar figure to generations of residents for as he pushed his cart around Altrincham and called out to passers-by.

In a tragic incident, Dave was discovered unconscious with serious head injuries on Huxley Street in April 2008.

It was suspected he was attacked, but he was unable to tell police what happened and no one was ever charged.

Market Dave. Picture: Verity Thompson

Dave spent the rest of his life in a series of care homes, before he died at St George's Care Centre in Oldham on Wednesday, May 18. He was only a few days short of his 82nd birthday.

He never married or had children, but he is survived by siblings Maurice, Valerie and Vincent.