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       #Post#: 108113--------------------------------------------------
       Norman Hayes
   DIR By: John Treleven
       Date: June 30, 2026, 6:23 am
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       Bolton News
       Tributes have been paid to Norman Hayes, a former motor racing
       correspondent and football referee who died in his sleep on 7th
       February 2026 aged 92.
       Hayes played semi-professional football as a forward before
       making the transition to become the man in the middle,
       refereeing matches not just on home soil, but also abroad. He
       also wrote a motor racing column for the then Bolton Evening
       News, reporting on Formula 1, rallying and more.
       His daughter, Susan Farnworth, aged 68, paid tribute to her late
       father. She said: "He was very outgoing, sociable and active. He
       never sat around doing nothing, there was always some project he
       was on. He had a media pass so he would go to Oulton Park and
       Silverstone for the racing, and rallies, he saw everything. He
       would then write a report including pictures, as he was a
       photographer as well, he would develop his own photographs in
       his dark room." Susan said that he also had some books of his
       motor racing photography published.
       Mr. Hayes leaves behind his two children, Susan and her older
       brother, Alan, aged 72, whom he had with his late wife, Marie,
       who was from Germany. Describing how her parents met, Susan
       said: "They met at a Butlins camp in Ireland, mum was over with
       her friend Mitzi, they were going to travel the world. They were
       ice skating, my mum fell and my dad picked her up. My mum never
       went back to Germany, her friend eventually went back but she
       stayed!"
       Mr. Hayes' other passion was football, having played at a
       semi-professional level for the reserves sides of Burnley, Bury,
       Darwen, Morecambe, Fleetwood and more. The football topped up
       his wage from his day job, working at aircraft manufacturer
       Hawker Siddeley in Farnworth. Susan said: "He worked there
       because they allowed him time for his commitment to the football
       and for training. He was production manager when he retired
       there. With his football, after retiring as a player, he went
       into refereeing. In 1975 he was a linesman at a UEFA Cup match
       in Moscow."
       Mr Hayes' funeral will take place at the West Chapel at Overdale
       Crematorium at 1p.m. Thursday 5th March 2026.
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