Tributes have been paid to one of Newquay's surfing pioneers who has died.  

Stuart Keogh, who opened one of the first surf shops and surfboard factories in the town, has passed away aged 76 after suffering from cancer. 

He is set to leave a lasting legacy after funding a surf sculpture at the Killacourt to celebrate the contribution Newquay has made to world surfing. 

Stuart came to Cornwall from Southampton in late 1968 and started making surfboards at Holywell Bay.  

He concentrated on manufacturing moulded boards and hired in others to make custom boards.   

Stuart went on to have a factory at Bodmin and in Tor Road in Newquay. 

He created Surf & Save surf shop at 56 Fore Street in the mid 1980s with his wife Cherry, which was a run-down building. 

The couple demolished the building in 1989 and rebuilt the large shop, which continued as Surf and Save, changed to Splash, and finally became Newquay Surf Centre. 

Stuart was the first to attach leashes to his hire boards over the next few years and recommend leashes to those who purchased boards.   

He had a battle with the council in the early 1980s over putting on the Newquay Surf Classic. 

Stuart persuaded the authority to give him permission to hold the event, which was one of the first surf contests to have a commercial element as previous competitions had been more amateur affairs. 

Stuart and Cherry retired from the retail side of surfing in 2010. 

Stuart wanted to give something back to Newquay as the town and surfing had enabled him to become a successful businessman. 

Stuart and Cherry came up with the idea of erecting a bronze surf statue of a waverider through their Keogh Foundation to mark 60 years of surfing in the town, which is due to be erected at the Killacourt. 

Surf historian Roger Mansfield said: “Stuart had been a successful businessman and arrived as a young man with empty pockets. 

“He decided the surf statue idea was a way he could  

give something back to the surfing community and the surfing industry, which has given him so much to him and the town. 

“One of the purposes of the surf art installation is the story behind it is the idea that Newquay has acquired a name over the last 60 years.  

“That name is the surfing capital of the UK. In a way this statue is a symbol of that status. 

“Other celebratory projects remain in the pipeline for the Keogh Foundation.” 

Stuart's funeral service was held at The Trelawny Chapel, Penmount Crematorium on Thursday.