Mick Blanchett, from the Danesholme estate in Corby, died at home on Friday.

The 45-year-old was a local celebrity in Corby as a former lead vocalist and guitarist with bands General Lee, Mixed Emotions and Dark Crystal.

He had been left crippled and blind by MS and was cared for by his wife Carole.

She said: "Mick died at home. He had suffered from lots of chest infections in the past and had always battled them and got better but he didn't this time.

"He was the strongest-willed person I have ever known. He always had a smile on his face and was permanently cheerful."

In 2006, the Evening Telegraph reported on Mick's struggle to ease the symptoms of his MS.

His family and friends raised about £13,000 to send him to Ireland and the Netherlands for pioneering stem cell treatment which was not available in England. Doctors said they could remove lesions surrounding Mick's central nervous system that were blocking messages from his brain to his body parts.

But after a BBC documentary about the treatment, his trips were cancelled and the couple faced a year-long fight to get their money back.

Carole said: "We ended up getting about half in the end and used it to buy a relaxing chair for him."

Mick, who released a single in 1982, had two daughters – Kellie, 23 and Hayley, 20. Both are singers, and Kellie is currently living in London and recording her own album. Mick's parents, Eric and Dorothy, still live in Corby.

His funeral will take place on Tuesday at 2.15pm at the Albert Munn Crematorium in Kettering. Carole said: "We'll be having a get together afterwards at the Royal George in Cottingham because that's our old stomping ground.

"My parents ran the pub for 30 years and we met in Cottingham, so it seemed the right place."