A WINDOW cleaner who kept Worcester businesses and homes sparkling for four decades has died.

Brian Bidwell died in hospital on June 19 after falling down the stairs at his home.

Mr Bidwell, known as ‘Biddy’, was a well known Worcester character, primarily as a window cleaner for climbing high level ladders and standing on the ledges wiping the windows of offices and shops in the city and suburbs.

His feat was all the more remarkable as he only had one eye from birth.

The 69-year-old leaves his children Tracey and Paul, and grandchildren Yasemin, Leyla, Jake and Luke. He is also survived by his former wife Pamela.

Born in London in 1941 to publican parents, he travelled to wherever they were posted.

He was educated at Bridley Moor School in Redditch as a teenager before coming to Worcester where his parents ran the George and Dragon in the Tything.

Always a keen athlete and a winning runner as a schoolboy, he also excelled at swimming.

After leaving school he started in engineering but the notorious three-day week in the 1970s spoilt his career and after losing his job he bought a bucket, chamois leather and ladder.

At the age of 18, he met Pamela – herself a successful competitive swimmer – at the Sansome Walk baths and they tied the knot on June 8, 1963.

They lived at various local addresses until settling in Tetbury Drive, Warndon, Worcester, in 1969, where Mr Bidwell was living at the time of his death.

Mr Bidwell also enjoyed judo and water polo, and played darts, crib, dominoes and pool at local pubs.

He had a passion for fishing and travelled around the country for his hobby.

As a member of Worcester Rugby Football Club, he epitomised the spirit of the club both in his playing days at Bevere and in his support at Sixways.

He was a wing forward and although he could not see the ball too well to catch he could see enough to spot the opposition with the ball who had to be tackled and he rarely missed his man.

His legacy in sport and team play lives on as Tracey is a schools’ swimming coach and her daughters have won swimming awards.

His grandson Jake Bidwell is an Everton and England footballer at under-17 level while Luke will run the family finances as a trainee accountant. Paul, formerly in the Royal Engineers, pounds the beat for the Post Office in Southport.

Mr Bidwell’s friend David Hallmark said: “Despite his physical handicap Biddy was the most stoic of men and undertook the hazards of his chosen career with calm confidence.

“Such characters who quietly and competently serve their customers, who adore their family and who play socially with their mates while taking time out for a hobby are the very essence of the community spirit upon which we all depend. He will be sadly missed.”

Mr Bidwell’s funeral takes place at Worcester Crematorium on Friday at 2pm.