MUJO Colan worked tirelessly for Huddersfield's Bosnian community.

Mr Colan, 80, of Lepton, died after an accident.

He was trying to carry a coffee table down some stairs when he slipped and fell, breaking his neck.

Mr Colan's funeral was held last Tuesday at the Jamia Mosque on Victoria Road in Lockwood.

Mr Colan, who was a Muslim, was remembered at the service by hundreds of local people along with friends and family from Bosnia and Canada.

His brother-in-law Frank Digman said: "He was very well-known. He did a lot for the Bosnian community when he came here and he was very active. He was a fantastic man."

Mr Colan was born in the village of Svrakovica, near the mining town of Breza in Bosnia.

He attended his village primary school before becoming a craftsman.

In 1943, he joined the Handzar division of the army in Sarajevo to fight in the Second World War.

He was first posted to France, then in 1944 he went to Croatia and northern Bosnia.

Towards the end of the war in 1945, he was injured and was transferred to Austria, firstly to Villach and then to Klagenfurt.

There he passed a driving exam and worked as a driver in a garage until 1947, when he was transported to England as a refugee.

When he came to England, Mr Colan had a variety of jobs - as a textile worker, metal smith, bakery delivery person, engineering worker and porter.

At first, he lived in workers' homes, but he saved part of his salary, which was just £5, to buy a £350 house.

In 1952, when he was 26, he met his wife Margaret at St Patrick's Hall in Huddersfield.

After 12 months, they married.

The couple have two daughters, Edwina and Zineta, and a son, Enez.

Mr Colan was also a grandfather and great-grandfather.

He was a respected member of the community both in Huddersfield and within Croatian and Bosnian circles.

He was a close friend of Dr Juraj Krnjevic, general secretary of the Croatian Peasants' Party, and was himself past president of the party in Britain.

He was also the president of the Society of Croatian Muslims of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Sanjak.

He organised humanitarian actions, public speeches and celebrations for Bosnian and Croatian immigrants.