William Derek Moore, a well-respected restaurateur and passionate gardener, has died at the age of 67.

He passed away at Royal Lancaster Infirmary on June 19 with his family by his side after a six-year battle against idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

‘Derek’ was born in 1952 in Trillick, a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, but moved across to England along with his mother and six of his seven siblings when he was just two years old.

His family lived near Blackpool, in Poulton-le-Fylde, and it was there that he attended Hodgson Academy and developed his long-standing love of Blackpool FC.

When he was 21, Derek moved up to the Lake District after studying for a qualification in catering at Kendal College, first in Kendal itself before settling in Windermere.

He then got into the restaurant trade and he went on to manage Gibbys (now Hyltons) in Bowness before going on to buy Sutherlands with business partner Ron Reid in 1989.

It was the first of three restaurants that Derek owned, with him also being the proprietor for The Spinnery, also in Bowness and the Castle Dairy in Kendal.

His restaurants became renowned for their colourful floral displays, as Derek indulged one of the main hobbies in his life, gardening.

At Sutherlands, he would enter the Windermere in Bloom competition and was a serial winner to the point where he asked for organisers not to include him and give other people the opportunity to win - he was still presented with a special plaque by them, however.

Amongst his other interests was playing the guitar, pencil drawing and ‘trying at golf.’

Described as ‘loving, humble and selfless’ Derek had many friends, was known for being a hands-on and considerate employer and liked to play light-hearted tricks on his family.

Although the amount of people who could attend his funeral on Thursday was limited, around 200 people who knew him surprised the family by lining the streets to pay their respects as he made his final journey through Bowness and Windermere.

Derek leaves behind wife Jean, children Adrian and Ashleigh and grandchildren Jess, Sophie, Freya and Felicity.