FRIENDS and colleagues of a war munitions collector found dead at his Springvale home have paid tribute to a 'top bloke'.
Auto electrician Martin Johnson died of natural causes in bed last week.
Police officers, who visited the 51-year-old's Sheffield Road home after he was reported missing by neighbours, discovered his body along with a 'museum' of military weapons, including grenades, guns and bombs.
The find, last Wednesday, caused officers to close the road and evacuate nearby residents and workers while bomb disposal experts worked to ensure the equipment was safe.
Tony Sefton, 55, of A Sefton Auto Electrics in Worsbrough Dale, employed Martin for about 30 years and knew him for almost 40.
He said: "If Martin had any time off, he always used to go to car boot sales and arms fairs - anywhere he could buy anything to do with war memorabilia. He was very passionate about it.
"If he had a holiday it used to revolve around going to battlefields, including the Somme and Ypres, and that sort of thing."
Martin's colleagues said he would be sadly missed.
Martin's funeral took place at Grenoside Crematorium.
