A Rochdale doctor who served his community for 50 years has died after a short battle with cancer.

Dr Abdul Saeed died on Monday 7 September, aged 85 and was buried at the Denehurst Cemetery on the same day. Due to the restrictions in place for Covid-19, the funeral and burial was limited to strictly the immediate family.

Dr Saeed was born in India and later migrated to Pakistan where he read medicine and qualified as a doctor in 1965 and completed his MB BS from the University of Punjab, Multan.

He came to the UK in 1966 and successfully registered as a doctor on 21 September 1966 and then qualified as a GP on 28 August 1968.

He opened his own practise in 1969 on Bailey Street and retired in 2004 but remained in Rochdale throughout his career.

As a GP, he was very loved by all his patients and fellow colleagues, he soon became a pillar of the community in Rochdale holding various honorary positions.

Even after retiring in April 2016, Dr Saeed continued his support and work for numerous different community help enterprises, such as 'Let’s Talk', based on Drake Street, and Asian Medical Professionals Support Organisation.

His nephew Dr Babar Ghafoor said: "We were very close. He was the biggest inspiration for me and many other young doctors in Rochdale.

"Rochdale is now very well served by BAME doctors and my uncle helped pave the way for that.

"He was a father figure to the whole community in many ways - socially, medically and religiously."

Ghulam Shahzad a friend of Dr Saeed, said: "He was like a brother to me. We spent a lot of time together chatting and laughing. It's a great loss to the community.

"He was very open, very frank."

Mohammed Shafiq said, "He was a very quiet, very meticulous man. He was very committed to his job and to helping people.

"He was from that generation of people who made a massive difference to the community and contributed to the well-being of the community."

Dr Saeed is survived by his wife, four daughters, three sons and nine grandchildren.