A grandfather-of-three who devoted more than 60 years of his life to an athletic club has died.

Arthur Head, 92, joined Dartford Harriers in 1947 as a cross country runner and served on the committee for 30 years.

He was also chairman of the club for a decade.

Mr Head was born in Belvidere, Shrewsbury, in 1923, and met his wife Beatrice in St Nicholas Hospital in Plumstead in 1949.

He had gone into hospital to have an operation on his knee and Mrs Head was working as a ward sister.

They married in 1951 in Welling and had three children. She passed away in February 2014, aged 93. The couple were married for 62 years.

The family moved to Dartford from Abbey Wood in 1975 after their house was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the town. Mr Head’s son, Geoffrey, 63, said the main reason his father moved to Dartford was to be closer to the club.

The grandfather-of-three was a retired carpenter who always had a passion for running.

Geoffrey Head said: “He was at the club for 60 years. He started in 1947, and he served on the committee for 30 years and he was chairman for 10 years. It was a main focal point of his life.

“He was an exceptional coach; there are records set by athletes he trained that haven’t been beaten since the 1980s.

“He saw potential in everyone, not just the natural athletes, and he helped everyone to channel whatever abilities they had to achieve that potential. No one was turned away, no one was considered too unfit to train. This is what made him an outstanding coach.”

Mr Head also found a book called The History of the Dartford Harriers when he sorted out his father’s things, in which he had marked everyone he’d coached.

Mr Head also ran cross country races and road races until he was in his 50s, when he dedicated most of his time to coaching.

Off the track, his son said he was a fierce Scrabble player.

In 1997 Mr Head received the Mayor’s Civic award for outstanding service to the community.

Mr Head gave up coaching in 2007 and received a trophy for Clubman of the year.

Mr Head’s funeral will be held tomorrow (Friday), at Eltham Crematorium at 11am. All Harriers past and present are welcome to attend.

The family request that instead of flowers, donations are made to Barnardo’s, the children’s charity. The wake will be held at the Dartford Harrier’s Clubhouse in Central Park, Dartford.