CASE Rietkerk, the first general manager of the Olau Line which operated out of Sheerness, has died after a long illness. He was 69.

He was a well-known and popular figure on Sheppey where Olau ferries served the Sheerness-Vlissingen route from 1974 to 1994.

He returned to the Island each year for the annual reunion of former Olau staff.

Mr Rietkerk, who was living in Canterbury, leaves a widow, Marguerite, three sons and a number of grandchildren.