TRIBUTES have been paid to a "very fine" Wrexham man and community stalwart.

Jim Porter, chair of the Friends of Alyn Waters group, has died aged 78 after a long-standing battle with cancer.

Jim, a father-of-three, was chair of the Friends group for the best part of a decade and led the way in raising awareness for issues surrounding Alyn Waters Country Park.

Mayor of Wrexham and Llay county councillor Rob Walsh worked closely with him for many years on Alyn Waters projects.

He said: “I am so sad to hear this news. Jim was a larger than life character whose energy rubbed off on others and this could be seen in the many park projects he undertook.

"He was passionate about the environment and was determined to turn Alyn Waters into a real community asset for future generations. Future generations was a word he used all the time, and that showed how selfless he was, always thinking of others.”

It wasn`t just Jim`s dedication to Alyn Waters that Cllr Walsh will miss, but also his warm personality and sense of humour.

Cllr Walsh added: “He was a such a lovely man. Everybody who knew him thought the world of him, especially members of the Friends of Alyn Waters group, who are all devastated at his passing. He also had a very endearing sense of humour, so it was like having Tommy Cooper as your friend, with his constant one liners.

"I will miss him so much and I do believe that everyone who knew Jim should contribute towards ensuring his legacy for Alyn Waters is achieved.”

Jim's wife of 45 years, Noreen, also paid tribute.

"He was just a very fine man and an amazing husband," said Mrs Porter.

"Even during his battle with cancer he was so passionate about Alyn Waters Country Park.

"I want to thank the staff of the Shooting Stars cancer unit at Wrexham Maelor Hospital and the district nurses who came out to Jim for their brilliant care of him."

Jim was also a passionate campaigner for protecting the dignity of the park and its surrounding area, and campaigned against Wrexham Council`s Local Development Plan (LDP) proposals to allocate a piece of Alyn Waters land for development.

Councillor Bryan Apsley, who worked closely with him against this allocation, paid tribute to Jim's contributions.

He said: “It's so sad to hear about Jim's passing. He was a gentleman and a huge asset to our fight to remove the Alyn Waters land from the LDP. I know he was very pleased that the inspectors listened to our concerns.”

Another councillor he worked closely with was Tina Mannering, who also paid tribute to his fight against the LDP.

She said: “My heart goes out to Jim's family. A lovely man who cared so much about others but also fought hard against what he believed to be injustice."

Jim had a very close association with the HACK Horse Sanctuary, whose base is on the border of Alyn Waters Country Park.

Jane Lloyd of the HACK remembers him fondly.

“Jim was always so supportive of the work we did," she said.

"I remember one day he noticed that we didn’t have running water in our little kitchen. A few days later he was back, with a sink and taps, he installed them with the help of his son.

"He even went that extra mile and got a hot water boiler, he installed that as well. He was so very kind to us. We will miss him greatly.”

Jim played a key role in raising funds for many of the park's facilities.

He was most recently involved the Birdsong project to enable the installation of bird boxes around Alyn Waters Country Park - a project that he was determined to complete.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to this project can do so by contacting the Friends of Alyn Waters group.