Tributes have been paid following the death of a town councillor and dedicated community worker.

Audrey Tinnion, 85, died in Maryport Community Hospital on Monday after a short illness.

A former Allerdale councillor, she was mayor of Aspatria twice and has served on the council for about 30 years.

She was a governor of Richmond Hill School and was a passionate ambassador.

Her daughters say the pupils knew her as well as they did the teachers. She was always in helping them to read.

Mrs Tinnion also campaigned tirelessly to get a safe crossing at the end of the school road and to have a lane built between the school and the nearby estate.

Among her other successes as a councillor was getting Victoria Park playground updated.

She was a founder member and a driver in getting the Aspatria charity shop established in 1998.

The shop has since raised thousands of pounds for local charities.

She was one of those at the forefront of saving Park Lodge, the local rest home.

One tribute received since her death summed it up: "She was not just mum to her three daughters, she was mum to Aspatria."

Despite her dedication to the town, Audrey Tinnion was born in Maryport and still considered herself a "Maryport lass".

She attended Workington Grammar School and trained as a comptometer operator. The comptometer was the first commercially successful key-driven mechanical calculator.

She later worked for a family retail business and also worked in a haulage business; at Walter Wilson's in Aspatria and at the Spar shop.

She did all this while bringing up three daughters, showing Pekingese dogs at Crufts and enjoying speedway.

Her daughters, Iris Stobbart, Julie Tayor and Gail Jackson, said she was always busy "but in latter years, with all her community work, we would have to make an appointment to see her!"

Mrs Tinnion is survived by her daughters, four grandchildren and one great grandchild.

She was a faithful member of St Kentigern's Church, where a service will be held for her next Friday, August 12, at 10am.

This will be followed by a committal at the Carlisle Crematorium at 11am and an afternoon tea at the Aspatria Masonic Hall.