DEVASTATED loved ones said goodbye to a beloved dad and friend and addedd: “He was always there when we needed him.”

Family and friends of Dorchester man Mick Stroud paid tribute to ‘an absolute legend’ who was loved by everyone who knew him.

The 63-year-old was diagnosed with malignant melanoma skin cancer in December and died following a brave battle with the disease last week. Mick’s funeral will be held today.

Mick was separated from wife Trudy. They have three children Candi, 25, Tesha, 27, and Josh, 20, and two grandchildren, Baylee, three, and Amber, eight.

Mick’s family said they could not believe he was gone and that he would be sadly missed by a lot of people.

“He was always there if we needed him,” said Candi.

“It feels so weird that he’s not around anymore. It went really quickly – I still can’t really believe it’s happened.

“Mum was with him at the end. Although they were separated she used to go and visit him every day. We had all seen him less than a day before, then all of a sudden he just went.”

Tesha said: “It was sort of a relief in a way because he was in so much pain towards the end. He wasn’t Dad anymore.

“He was always working – half of Dorchester was built by him. He would always point things out and say ‘I made that’.”

Mick was a life-long football fan and was well-known in the wider community as ‘Pump-it Strouder’ for his involvement in various local teams.

“He loved football and was a massive Tottenham fan. We all bought Spurs shirts to wear to the funeral and we’re going to play the Black Eyed Peas ‘Pump It’ which was his song,” Tesha said.

“We’re taking Amber to do the Race for Life this weekend in his memory and to raise money for Cancer Research.”

A group of Mick’s loved ones organised a charity football match in Dorchester in March to raise money and awareness for the Joseph Weld Hospice, where he spent his final weeks.

Paula Sessions, a close friend who organised the event, said: “Everyone is just devastated that he’s gone.”

The funeral will be held at Weymouth Crematorium today at 12.15pm followed by a wake at The Station pub in Dorchester.