A parish rector has led tributes to a West Kent man killed in the Haiti earthquake.

Reverend Noel McConachie (pictured right) praised West Peckham man and British UN worker Frederick Wooldridge as a "true Englishman" who was "determined to make the world a better place."

Mr Wooldridge had been working in Haiti as a political affairs and planning officer since 2007, but often returned home to visit and was well known in the village.

Rev McConachie said: "He came back two or three times a year and was last back at Christmas for a surprise visit. He got married last May, so he was enjoying life as one would expect from a newly married man. He was full of the joys of living."

Rev McConachie had spoken to the 41-year-old’s family to express his and the parish’s condolences.

He described them as a farming family, of "good English stock" and Christian values, who had been in the village for generations. Mr Wooldridge regularly attended St Dunstan’s church when he returned home, and was devoted to helping others through his work, said the Rector.

"The work he was doing was Frederick," said Rev McConachie, "I’ve known him for 16 years and he’s worked abroad for all the time I’ve known him. He had the interests of people very much at heart. He spoke of how poor the people were and how eager he was to make a difference to their standard of living. He entered into the job with his whole heart and soul.

"He was a true Englishman in the best sense of the word. He was determined to make the world a better place; to ensure fairness to all people and turn away no person in distress."

News of Mr Wooldridge’s death had been received with "dismay and shock" and affected everyone in the village, said the Rector.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown also paid tribute to Mr Wooldridge and said he was hugely grateful for the work he did.