FRIENDS of a Chepstow legend gathered in his "local" on Sunday afternoon to say farewell at a wake.

But the man who spoke in tribute at the Coach and Horses reckoned it was "the weirdest gig ever" as Alfie the Chepstow Cat was remembered.

Former teacher Tim Ryan, a friend of Alfie's owner Caroline Gammon, had just days before read the eulogy at the funeral of former mayor Chepstow Verona Bamford.

Alfie died last week at the age of 19 but is fondly remembered by hundreds of people who would see him watching the world go by from his favoured vantage point outside Merrick's pharmacy in Moor Street.

A Facebook page set up last year has been inundated with tributes and the story of Alfie the Chepstow Cat has appeared in The Times and had his owner on Radio 5 Live talking about him.

•Read the full story in this week's Chepstow & Caldicot News.