VETERANS, rugby players, taxi drivers and Conservatives gathered to pay their respects to a well-known figure in Basildon.

Crowds gathered for the funeral of Stephen “Fozzy” Foster, who was director of A&B Taxis in Basildon, chairman of Basildon Rugby Club and chairman of Essex Youth vice-chairman for rugby, yesterday.

The grandfather-of-four joined the Royal Green Jackets as a boy soldier and his coffin was carried to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Laindon Link, Basildon, on a horsedrawn gun carriage.

Regimental veterans and standard bearers from the Royal British Legion flanked the funeral procession as it made its way through Basildon. Floral tributes from A&B taxis and one in the shape of a rugby ball were laid outside the church.

Mr Foster was a prominent Freemason and stood for election to Basildon Council as a Conservative candidate in Nethermayne in May 2010 and again in a by-election there in July 2010.

Basildon mayor Mo Larking was among mourners at the event.