By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 10:29 EST, 19 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:02 EST, 20 May 2013 . A retired bricklayer had his dying wish honoured when he was buried in a coffin shaped like a skip. Grandfather-of-four Tony Bryan, 74, asked that the unusual casket be taken on a tour of his home town on the back of his work lorry before being buried in his back garden. After his sudden death from a perforated bowel a fortnight ago, Mr Bryan's son Nick set to work to give his father the send-off he desired. Family and friends wrote affectionate tributes to Tony Bryan on his coffin, which was built in the shape of a skip . Floral arrangements sat on top of the coffin, which toured Worcester before it was buried . Mourners lined up to add their messages to the casket, which was fastened on to Tony Bryan's work lorry . Dying wish: Tony Bryan had asked to be buried in a coffin shaped like a skip. His son described him as a real family man with a wicked sense of humour . He said: 'The funeral was a celebration of my father's life, not a mourning of his passing. 'That's what he wanted, and I'm not one to mope about anyway. 'A couple of days after his death we felt quite empty and down, but building the skip really took my mind off things.' More than 150 mourners attended Mr Bryan's funeral service at the Masonic Hall in Worcester on Thursday before his lorry toured the town, taking in the house where he was born, his favourite pubs, and buildings he had worked on. He was then buried in his one-acre back garden, where he used to enjoy making things out of scrap. Nick Bryan, 47, said: 'About 150 people came for the . service, including people from the building trade and people he used to . go ballroom dancing with. 'We buried him with a load of his . tools and his work clothes, and he loved bits of scrap metal, so we put . some of that in there too.' The casket was built by Mr Bryan's son Nick, 47, in the days after his father's death . The family helped to decorate the coffin with bright yellow paint . Mr Bryan's daughters, Traci and Alexandra, created the 'Dad' and 'Grandad' floral tributes which sat atop the skip . Friends and family wrote tributes to the father-of-three all over the yellow wooden casket, while his daughters Traci and Alexandra made floral tributes in the shape of the words 'Dad' and 'Grandad'. His eight-year-old grandson Euan, wrote 'I love you' on each panel of the coffin. Traci James-Scott, 49, said: 'My father will be remembered as a generous man with a wicked sense of humour. 'He loved his family and was proud to be Worcester born and bred. 'The . skip was dad's idea. He died suddenly, no one expected it. He'd had . different types of cancer and was conquering them one by one. After the funeral service and tour of Worcester on the back of a lorry, Mr Bryan was laid to rest in his one-acre garden . His son Nick said that the task of building the coffin helped to take his mind off things . The unusual funeral arrangements reflected Tony Bryan's sense of humour and love of DIY, his son said . 'He always told stories and had a wicked sense of humour, he was a real family man. 'When we were young, he made us tree houses and swimming pools in the garden and aerial runways across the pond from recycled building materials.' Mr Bryan, who won a Midlands Best Bricklayer award in the 1950s, is survived by his wife Barbara, 84, their three children and four grandchildren.
Retired bricklayer Tony Bryan, 74, was buried in his one-acre back garden .
He asked that the casket be driven around Worcester on his work lorry .
Friends and family covered the coffin in handwritten tributes .
By . Helen Lawson . PUBLISHED: . 10:29 EST, 19 May 2013 . | . UPDATED: . 02:02 EST, 20 May 2013 . A retired bricklayer had his dying wish honoured when he was buried in a coffin shaped like a skip. Grandfather-of-four Tony Bryan, 74, asked that the unusual casket be taken on a tour of his home town on the back of his work lorry before being buried in his back garden. After his sudden death from a perforated bowel a fortnight ago, Mr Bryan's son Nick set to work to give his father the send-off he desired. Family and friends wrote affectionate tributes to Tony Bryan on his coffin, which was built in the shape of a skip . Floral arrangements sat on top of the coffin, which toured Worcester before it was buried . Mourners lined up to add their messages to the casket, which was fastened on to Tony Bryan's work lorry . Dying wish: Tony Bryan had asked to be buried in a coffin shaped like a skip. His son described him as a real family man with a wicked sense of humour . He said: 'The funeral was a celebration of my father's life, not a mourning of his passing. 'That's what he wanted, and I'm not one to mope about anyway. 'A couple of days after his death we felt quite empty and down, but building the skip really took my mind off things.' More than 150 mourners attended Mr Bryan's funeral service at the Masonic Hall in Worcester on Thursday before his lorry toured the town, taking in the house where he was born, his favourite pubs, and buildings he had worked on. He was then buried in his one-acre back garden, where he used to enjoy making things out of scrap. Nick Bryan, 47, said: 'About 150 people came for the . service, including people from the building trade and people he used to . go ballroom dancing with. 'We buried him with a load of his . tools and his work clothes, and he loved bits of scrap metal, so we put . some of that in there too.' The casket was built by Mr Bryan's son Nick, 47, in the days after his father's death . The family helped to decorate the coffin with bright yellow paint . Mr Bryan's daughters, Traci and Alexandra, created the 'Dad' and 'Grandad' floral tributes which sat atop the skip . Friends and family wrote tributes to the father-of-three all over the yellow wooden casket, while his daughters Traci and Alexandra made floral tributes in the shape of the words 'Dad' and 'Grandad'. His eight-year-old grandson Euan, wrote 'I love you' on each panel of the coffin. Traci James-Scott, 49, said: 'My father will be remembered as a generous man with a wicked sense of humour. 'He loved his family and was proud to be Worcester born and bred. 'The . skip was dad's idea. He died suddenly, no one expected it. He'd had . different types of cancer and was conquering them one by one. After the funeral service and tour of Worcester on the back of a lorry, Mr Bryan was laid to rest in his one-acre garden . His son Nick said that the task of building the coffin helped to take his mind off things . The unusual funeral arrangements reflected Tony Bryan's sense of humour and love of DIY, his son said . 'He always told stories and had a wicked sense of humour, he was a real family man. 'When we were young, he made us tree houses and swimming pools in the garden and aerial runways across the pond from recycled building materials.' Mr Bryan, who won a Midlands Best Bricklayer award in the 1950s, is survived by his wife Barbara, 84, their three children and four grandchildren.
skip. Grandfather-of-four Tony Bryan, 74, asked that the unusual casket be taken on a tour of his home town on the back of his work lorry before He was then buried in his one-acre back garden, . Friends and family wrote tributes to the funeral service and tour of Worcester on the back