Tributes have been paid to former Lord Mayor John Purchese, who has died aged 83.

Mr Purchese was also a former chairman of Kent County Council and served as a Liberal Democrat councillor for nearly 30 years.

Last year he and his wife Anne celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary. They lived in St Elisabeth House in Northgate, Canterbury.

Mr Purchese retired as a councillor in 2003. His time in local politics was prompted by the high profile campaign he ran for a Bridge by-pass in the 1970s with fellow villager and friend, Brian Lewis.

Mr Lewis said: “He was a larger than life figure. He worked tirelessly for the city and his memory will linger on for all those who had the privilege to know him.”

Mr Purchese worked in the film industry and as a sound engineer. When the film industry went into decline, he set up a printing business in Wincheap which he ran for 18 years.

He was Lord Mayor in 1991 and chairman of KCC during 1994/95 when the Liberal Democrats and Labour groups formed a controlling alliance.

Leader of the Liberal Democrats on Canterbury council, Cllr Alex Perkins, said: “He was a remarkable man and very much the father of our party in the area.”

The funeral is at St Michael and All Angels Church, Harbledown, at 11.30am on Wednesday, January 7.

•For full obituary see this week’s Kentish Gazette, out on Wednesday