AN ACTOR from Oxford who starred in the Harry Potter films as Dumbledore’s double has died aged 87.

Harry Robinson, who stood in for the Hogwarts headmaster in the second film of the series and appeared in every subsequent film, passed away on Monday.

In a life lived to the fullest, he also treated the injured driver at the scene of the Great Train Robbery and later judged Oxford in Bloom.

His wife of nearly 34 years, Sheilah, said he ‘made the most’ of his years, during which he also served with the RAF during the Berlin Airlift in 1948.

She said: “He was just a lovely person and was always ready to help people as he did with Oxford in Bloom. He is sadly missed.”

The former paramedic and postal master at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre took early retirement in 1983 and turned to acting.

His career included minor parts in both Inspector Morse and Lewis, through which he became close to many of the cast.

Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Richard Harris, the actor who originally played Albus Dumbledore, his photographs were used as portraits in the first Harry Potter film (2001).

As Mr Harris’ health worsened, the Headington man was asked to appear in the second film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as his double and stand-in.

He told the Oxford Mail that whenever you couldn’t see Dumbledore’s face in the film, it was him, and that he used give all the lines to Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint.

Mrs Robinson, a former nurse at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre, where the couple met, said: “He loved it, he really did, he was an actor in his younger days and he loved being a part of the Harry Potter films."

After Mr Harris' death in 2002 he was even shortlisted for the role itself before it was given to Michael Gambon. But due to his popularity and acting skills he remained involved and appeared on screen in each of the remaining films.

Prior to his acting days, Mr Robinson served with the RAF, most notably taking part in the Berlin Airlift, carrying supplies to people in West Berlin from June 1948 to September 1949.

As a paramedic with the ambulance service in Aylesbury he was one of the first on the scene of The Great Train Robbery in 1963.

He treated the train’s driver Jack Mills, who had been hit over the head with an iron bar. A keen gardener, he was twice a winner at the Chelsea Flower Show and was an Oxford in Bloom judge for many years.

Mr Robinson, of London Road, was a father-of-four and grandfather to nine.