HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to an elderly man who died after being hit by a truck.

Valentine Hannan, 81, was struck on Westgate, Heckmondwike, on Wednesday afternoon. He was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary with serious injuries, but sadly died.

Mr Hannan was a regular at The Wike Horse pub in the town and had only left around 10 to 15 minutes earlier, before tragedy struck.

Manager Deborah Morgan, 52, spoke of her sadness at the news.

She said: "He was a lovely old bloke. I was walking out with my dog and I saw someone in the middle of the road and a lot of people around him.

"I looked over and I realised it was an older chap."

Fearing it was one was one of her regulars, she ran over to see what she could do and saw it was Mr Hannan.

"I was mortified. Everyone is who knew him," she said.

"They are just so shocked. We'll sadly miss him, he's going to be missed by a lot of people."

She said the driver of the truck was at the scene and she described him as being "in a state".

Mr Hannan's name reflects his birthday - Valentine's Day.

Another pub goer, who did not want to be named, added: "He had been a hardworking man all his life in the building trade."

Mr Hannan was described as a "gentleman" who was "fit as a fiddle for his age".

Maughans bakery in the town also paid tribute to him.

Donna Hepworth, 48, said: "He used to come in every morning. Obviously, he's just going to be really sadly missed.

"Everyone got to know him, he was a lovely chap."

She said he would often speak with pride about his grandson and added: "Every time he did something, he would come and tell us.

"We were devastated when we found out. I was at home and I was looking through Facebook - all I knew there had been an accident."

She said she was "beside herself" when she found out Mr Hannan was involved.

"He was a lovely, lovely old man."

Charlie Hepworth, 18, said: "He used to tell us stories about him in the military - he was ex-military.

"He had been through all that - and it happens like that," he said.

The truck belonged to firm 24/7 Concrete and the driver volunteered to be interviewed by West Yorkshire Police.

Johnny Hunt, Operations Manager at the company, said: "Our first primary thoughts are with the family of the gentleman who passed from his injuries.

"The driver is too stressed to work and quite obviously we understand that.

"They've helped police with their enquiries and that's where it's at now.

"We're doing everything possible to support the employee, however our primary focus is on the gentlemen who has sadly passed. We're doing everything we can too to help police find out what happened."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "Any witnesses to the collision are asked to contact the Major Collision Enquiry Team via the non-emergency number 101 quoting log reference 1007 of 08/01. Likewise, we would ask anyone with dash-cam footage or CCTV from the area during this time to get in touch."