A newspaper seller who became a familiar face to commuters at Elstree and Borehamwood train station has died at the age of 81.

Sean Kinread ran the newspaper store at Borehamwood's train station for more than ten years.

He died in hospital two weeks ago, surrounded by family and friends after suffering from pneumonia and lung disease.

A master butcher by trade, Mr Kinread moved to Shenley Road in 1972 after buying the Chiltern Hills butcher shop.

Along with his regular customers, Mr Kinread served star clientele from nearby Elstree Studios, including the director Stanley Kubrick.

After selling the butchers, Mr Kinread started his new career only two months into his retirement.

"Retirement just wasn't for him," said Mr Kinread's daughter, Fiona Merritt. "He was too sociable."

"He couldn't wait to see his newspaper regulars, have a bit of a chat and a laugh. If it was his choice, I think he would have been carried out of that place in a box. He loved that place, he really did.

"It was a business built on respect and trust. He would line all the papers up ready for the regulars he knew.

"He would even get papers and things like cigarettes out and ready for the ones he knew were running late. He wouldn't charge them, and they would always come back and pay later on."

In 2004 Mr Kinread even became a regular guest on Big Brother's Little Brother show. Each week he was asked to predict the next housemate to be evicted with the catch-phrase, "I've no power of prediction, but I read a lot of newspapers".

"He was very chuffed", said Mrs Merritt. "Big Brother was looking for a local Borehamwood person and five people from the crew suggested him. I don't think he was that good at the predictions to be honest. But he was quite funny and he was really flattered."

When his health declined in early 2007 Mr Kinread had no choice but to give up his work.

"He realised he just couldn't do it anymore," said Mrs Merritt. "But it was hard. He couldn't wait to get up in the mornings and get to the paper.

"He didn't miss a day of work. Once I took him to the hospital he was so sick, and they kept him overnight, but he checked himself out at three in the morning so he could get back in time to open up.

"Since his death we have received a tremendous amount of support from the community. They've just been fabulous. I've had people stopping me in the street offering me their sympathies. I didn't even know they knew me or my father."

Born in Ireland in 1928, Mr Kinread moved to London in the mid 1950s. He married his Irish sweetheart, Brigdin, in 1961 and had five children. A larger than life character, he was always keen for a talk.

"He was always so sociable," said Mrs Merritt. "When he wasn't at work, he was always on the phone. Whenever you would try to call home it was always be engaged, he would go through his phone book and call everyone in it."

Mr Kinread's other great love was the opera. Trained as a singer and involved in amateur dramatics back in his native Ireland, Mr Kinread was well know for singing his favourite ballads at his popular London parties and died listening to his favourite piece of music, the Italian love song Core 'ngrata by Salvatore Cardillo.

He is survived by this four remaining children, eight grand children and one step-grand child.

In keeping with his Irish heritage, there will be a service on today at 6.30pm when Mr Kinread's body will be received at St Thomas and St John Fisher's in Rossington Avenue.

The funeral service will be held tomorrow at 10am.

For those wishing to send flowers Mr Kinread's family have requested a donation to be made instead.

All proceeds will be split between St Thomas and St John Fisher's church and the Willow Foundation.

But Mrs Merritt stresses a donation is by no means necessary, saying: "It's far more important to have the people that dad knew and love at the service. That's what dad would have wanted more than anything."