A family has been left devastated by the death of a popular father-of-two described as a “geezer who loved to party”.

“Born and bred” Faversham man Carl ‘Dobbo’ Dobson has died aged 47 after a year-long battle with bowel cancer.

His wife Michelle, daughters Rochelle and Ebony, and sister Leah have described him as “100% a geezer who loved to party and was a strong family man”.

Michelle, 47, said: “He knew everybody, and was really well-known.

“He played Sunday league football for The Elephant pub and later managed the Woodman’s Hall’s team. I think his death has shaken the town.”

Grandad-of-two Carl was a big football fan and played into his 40s.

He worked in the same job at autosport manufacturers Creasey Casings in Sittingbourne for 17 years and was the man to call if a job needed doing.

Michelle said: “Rather than his nickname Dobbo, his friends would call him ‘Jobbo’, as he would always have a van.

“If he didn’t have a van, he would get a van.

“He was always more than happy to help anyone and would turn his hand to anything.”

Rochelle, 26, added: “He'd come home from work and he'd say ‘right, I’m going to cut the grass now’.

“I’d say ‘Dad, just have a shower and sit down’.

“But he’d always reply ‘no, I'm going to go do this, I'm going to go do that’.”

The eccentric father took lots of pride in his appearance and often enjoyed compliments about his groomed hair, sharp dress sense and gleaming white teeth.

He was a regular at Faversham pubs The Vaults and The Cow Shed, where Rochelle is a manager, with his tipple of choice being either a Stella Artois or a Jack Daniels and Coke.

“He loved a drink and was a proper geezer,” added Michelle.

“He loved to party too, and that’s why his wake isn’t going to be a wake - it’s going to be an after-party.”

A “proud man”, Carl mostly kept his cancer struggle to himself, but “fought very hard until the end”.

Michelle explained: “He took the harder options and the stronger chemo.

“When he had to have a stoma fitted he didn’t bat an eyelid.

“He’s left a massive hole in our lives.

“It’s really hard that his grandchildren won’t get to grow up with him here.

“He was too young and had so much more to give. He didn’t deserve it.

“No one had a bad word to say about him.”

Carl died last Thursday at the Pilgrim’s Hospice in Canterbury and was supplied with a ‘cuddle bed’ – essentially an extendable hospital bed – in his final days so his family could lie next to him.

It was “so special” for Michelle and Carl’s daughters, who are now raising money to supply the hospice with another bed.

A GoFundMe has been set up, while Rochelle is planning to climb a mountain, Ebony is going to take part in a skydive, and a charity football match is on the cards.

Carl grew up in Mountview in Ospringe, before moving to St Nicholas Road in 1997, where he and his family have lived since.

He spent his younger days time picking hops, shooting and driving tractors.

His 41-year-old sister, Leah, said: “One time, he took a ferret into school.

“Everywhere he went, he had to take his little sisters with him too.

“Sometimes he was a mum, dad, big brother and best friend to me all at the same time.”

Despite having a protective streak over his family, Carl was “very laid back”.

Rochelle added: “He was very chilled and relaxed. He was always the good cop – Mum was always the bad cop.

“Dad was protective of his friends as well, and loved his best friend Perry like a brother.”

Carl is also survived by his siblings Leah, Claire, Toni and Philip, and his grandchildren Ezra, six, and Florence, nine months.

Carl’s funeral will be on December 7 at The Garden of England Crematorium in Sittingbourne.

The family requests donations to the Pilgrim’s Hospice rather than flowers.