A charity is appealing to the people of Falkirk to attend the funeral of a former RAF engineer who died with no known family or friends.

William James Boles died of cancer at the age of 61 at his home in St Ives, Cornwall.

Little is known about him other than he was originally from Whitecross near Falkirk and attended Graeme High School in the town.

Lawyers handling Mr Boles' estate contacted the Royal Air Forces (RAF) Association after discovering he has no known friends or family and could be buried without any mourners.

The association is now calling on Falkirk residents to attend his funeral in Cambridge on Wednesday, July 13.

He has no known next of kin and left his estate to Dreamdrops, Huntingdonshire Children's Charity.

With no one to attend his funeral, members of the RAF Association's local branches plan to gather to pay their respects.

Joe Stanfield, area director for Scotland and Northern Ireland, RAF Association, said: "We are reaching out to the people of William's home town of Falkirk as we would like to encourage as many people as possible to join our members and attend his funeral this Wednesday.

"There have been a number of cases where ex-RAF personnel pass away with no known family or friends so sadly, William's story is not unique.

"The RAF Association runs a befriending scheme, pairing volunteers with veterans who suffer from loneliness and isolation.

"We want to ensure every veteran is remembered and hope to give a fitting tribute to William's service."

Mr Boles completed an apprenticeship at RAF Cosford in 1972 and then served for 11 years as an aircraft engineer, before retiring in 1981.

The funeral of Corporal William James Boles will take place on Wednesday, July 13, at 3.15pm at Cambridge Crematorium, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0JJ.