Former Deputy Lord Mayor of Bradford Alan Bagshaw, who served Idle as a councillor for 13 years, has died aged 65.

Mr Bagshaw, a self-employed builder, had been ill for some time and died on Saturday, two days after undergoing heart surgery.

Mr Bagshaw hailed from Shipley but spent many years living in Idle, which he served as a Liberal councillor until retiring in 1986. He most recently lived in Baildon, where he remained a source of help to Liberal Democrat councillors.

Mr Bagshaw, who leaves two sons Peter and Mark, was a former chairman of Bradford Metropolitan Liberal Association, stood for Parliament in Bradford North at the 1979 General Election, helped found the Thorpe Edge Residents' Association and in 1977 - the Queen's Golden Jubilee year - served as Bradford's Deputy Lord Mayor alongside the Lord Mayor Paul Hockney.

Paying tribute to Mr Bagshaw, with whom he served on Bradford Council between 1984-86, Councillor David Ward (Lib Dem, Idle) said: "He was as straightforward, honest and down-to-earth as you can possibly get.

"I never heard him bad mouth anyone and, as a local councillor, more than anything else he was concerned with dealing with the issues in his own area, which he saw as his main priority.

"Although we might not have got a lot of votes from the Thorpe Edge estate Alan spent a lot of time working up there and always felt very strongly about working in those areas where he felt the need was greatest."

A funeral service is due to be held at Nab Wood Crematorium at 2pm on Friday with mourners asked to send donations to the British Heart Foundation, 4-6 Bridge Street, Tadcaster, or flowers to Airedale Funeral Service, Carr Lane, Shipley.

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