Brian Behan, the great eccentric, playwright, nude swimmer and loveable character was cheered and clapped at the service to mark the end of his life.

Friends and members of his large Irish family packed the chapel at Woodvale Crematorium, Brighton, to remember, laugh and shed a tear for Brian, who died a week ago at the age of 75 following a heart attack.

The playwright, brother of the late hell-raising Brendan Behan, was never out of the news during his time in Brighton and his friends and family all had tales about him.

Whether it was his controversial plays, his brushes with authority or his famous nude swims, one of which sparked a full-scale helicopter alert as a passer-by thought he was committing suicide, life was never dull when Brian was in town.

The last thing Brian wrote was a letter to The Argus before going into hospital, calling for a referendum on Tony Blair's policy on Iraq.

Brian, a Communist supporter, constantly stood up for the working man, serving prison sentences for his beliefs.

TV presenter and best selling author Pete McCarthy and actress Eileen Pollock, famous for her role as the blousy Lilo Lil in Bread were among those at the non-religious service.

The coffin was draped in Irish green and the service began with a recording of Brendan, whom Brian had outlived by 33 years, singing Irish songs.

It ended with a rousing version of communist anthem The Red Flag with some of those attending raising a clenched fist in the air.

When there was a call for a round of applause for Brian, the chapel reverberated with clapping and cheering.

His first wife Celia spoke of how she first met Brian when he arrived as a tenant at the lodging house owned by her father with just three smelly socks and a book.

When he asked her to marry him, he said: "I can't offer you a lot but you'll never be bored."

She described him as someone who was not easy to live with, adding: "But he made us laugh and that was his gift to us all."

His first daughter Linsey said of her father: "No matter how crazy he was, he was a character and a one-off."

Rosemary Behan, daughter from his second marriage, said her father had done more in his life than most people. She said: "He always said it was better to wear out than rust out. Brian was never content to be living at less than 100 per cent."