The son of a popular North East comedian has paid tribute to a ‘loving dad, grandad and community man’ after a fatal collision on the A1 in Northumberland which claimed two lives last year.
Leslie Charles Stewart was known by close friends and family as Les, but to many more by his alias Eric Scarboro. A welder and bus driver by trade, he went back to university to qualify as a teacher – but was best known for his years as a comedian and entertainer, and had even opened his own comedy club in Gateshead.
Following Les’s death, tributes were paid across the North East comedy scene and further afield, including his former double act partner Gavin Webster. Shaun Avery, Les’s son, told ChronicleLive more about the man behind the character Eric Scarboro.
Shaun spoke of a caring dad who was always helping out in the community, picking up and delivering parcels for this local foodbank; and even driving down to Calais to deliver blankets to refugees. The father and grandfather of two moved to Edinburgh in 2021 to start a new life with his partner Sylvia.
However, he still made time for his two sons, Kris and Shaun, and three grandchildren. Kris, who lives in West Yorkshire, told EdinburghLive in 2024 that his dad would often make a five to six hour drive south to visit him and grandson Bodhi; and a slightly shorter journey to Gateshead to see Shaun and grandsons Ryan, 20, and Lucas, 14.
Leslie Stewart with his son Kris and grandson Bodhi
(Image: Kris Stewart)
Shaun said: “He was a great dad, he did everything for us. When we were kids, if we wanted to play football, he’d get us football boots. Whatever we wanted to do, he wanted us to do it.
“He loved his music, loved his art. It was really nice to see him getting on in his last few years, he got a lot of stuff in, he was going on holiday with Sylvia, it was great for him.”
Les had spent the morning of May 31 with Shaun in Gateshead last year searching for a venue to launch a book of his poetry. Proceeds from the collection were planned to go towards charities raising money for the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
Leslie Charles Stewart, also known as Eric Scarboro, who died in a crash on the A1 in Northumberland in May 2024
(Image: Shaun Avery)
As he drove home, he was involved in a crash on a single carriageway stretch of the A1 near Haggerston in Northumberland. An inquest into his death on Monday at Northumberland Coroners’ Court found that he had fallen asleep at the wheel of his Citroen C3 Picasso and veered into oncoming traffic.
Josie Kate Crocker, 26, who was a passenger in a Volkswagen Transporter travelling southbound, was also killed in the head on collision. Josie’s family described her as a nature lover who loved spending time on Northumberland’s “wild and empty beaches”, and said that they fondly remembered their family campervan holidays together.
The medical cause of Les’s death was recorded as multiple chest injuries from the collision. On the formal record of inquest, Northumberland assistant coroner Thomas Crookes wrote: “On 31 May 2024 Leslie Charles Stewart was driving north on the A1 road between the Cheswick and Haggerston junctions in Northumberland.
“His vehicle drifted into the path of a southbound vehicle and he did not take evasive action, as a result of falling asleep briefly, leading to a head on collision. Leslie Charles Stewart sustained severe injuries to his chest from the impact from which he died at the scene of the incident on the A1 near Haggerston.”
Shaun says that though he and Les’s partner and brother accept the findings of the inquest, they believe he could have had a medical episode which caused him to veer into the oncoming lane – with Shaun saying that there was “nothing out of the ordinary” with his dad before he left Gateshead on that Friday morning.
He said: “I don’t want to be disrespectful because I would hate it if the death of my daughter had been because someone had fallen asleep.
“There’s no way to prove that he hadn’t had a heart attack with the damage done to his chest. He’s gone now, no explanation will ever make it better.”
Shaun hopes that if anything, the conclusion of the inquest will encourage people to think more about theirs, and others, safety when driving. He said: “Hopefully if something can come out of it, people will pay attention to their and other’s wellbeing, don’t drive tired, don’t drive sick.”
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