Stunning floral tributes including a huge jar of Bovril and a blue truck were part of a send off for a "much-loved" member of the Romani Gypsy community, said to be an inspiration behind David Jason's character of Del Boy.

James Penfold, who died aged 83 on August 9, was born in Cabul Road, Battersea and lived in Poyntz Road, Battersea for most of his life. His funeral was held at Wandsworth Cemetery today. He left behind his wife and three children.

His son Luke Penfold described him as an "incredible man" who was "loved in the gypsy community".

He added: "You'd never find anyone who would have a bad thing to say about my father."

Mr Penfold said his father was a key figure in the Romani Gypsy community having set up The National Gypsy Council to help travellers find caravan sites.

In this role, he'd travel around the world assisting Romani groups who often struggled with getting government support due to language barriers.

Wandsworth Times:

Young second cousins of Mr Penfold join the procession.  

He was also well known by television studios and was often invited into studies to help them work on gypsy characters, his son said.

As well as building props and assisting with costumes he also worked with actors such as David Jason and Leonard Rossiter.

Luke Penfold said: "They used to get in contact with my father because they wanted to speak like we do. Like how Del Boy speaks, like "cushty" and all that. He learnt that from my father."

Romani gipsy groups from around the world travelled to Wandsworth for the funeral procession including representatives of America and Italy.

Mr Penfold added that his father was also a prolific unpublished author dedicating much of his life to documenting the ways and stories of the Romani Gipsy community.