Actor Trevor Bannister, best known for his role as Mr Lucas in the popular 1970s/1980s sitcom Are You Being Served?, has died aged 76.

The star, recently seen as Toby Mulberry Smith in Last Of The Summer Wine, was working on his allotment in Thames Ditton, Surrey, yesterday, when he suffered a heart attack.

Frank Thornton, who starred as Captain Peacock in Are You Being Served?, told the BBC: He was a very good friend over a long time. We often met with him and his wife - he was recently at my 90th birthday celebrations in January and that was the last time we saw him. We shall miss him sorely.

The youngest of three children, Bannister was born in Durrington, Wiltshire, and did two years' national service before training as an actor at LAMDA. Although best-known for his role in the department store sitcom Are You Being Served?, Bannister was a regular on the stage, both in play and pantomime, and also starred in Jack Rosenthal's ITV sitcom The Dustbinmen as the character Heavy Breathing.

He regularly - and often with huge critical and box office success - toured internationally with stage productions, from drama to farce and Shakespeare to romantic comedy.

Amongst more than 500 television appearances, Bannister's career included appearances in Z Cars, Keeping Up Appearances, Dixon Of Dock Green, The Avengers, Coronation Street and Steptoe & Son.

He is survived by Pam, his second wife, as well as sons Jeremy, Timothy and Simon.