DISTRICT councillor Sean Shannon has paid tribute to his friend and former fellow councillor Judith Marshall, after she died last week, aged 74.

Judith was a Labour councillor for Bromsgrove's Whitford ward for five years, and then for Charford from 2003 until 2007. She then served Whitford again until 2011.

Cllr Sean Shannon, who is now the Bromsgrove district councillor for Charford, has described Judith as an "active" and "very committed" councillor, with a passion for sport, politics and cats.

Judith suffered with severe spinal problems since childhood, which fuelled her focus on disability access and awareness as a district councillor.

Cllr Shannon said: "Judith has always been someone who has worked in the background and then we became councillors together and served Charford together for eight years. I didn't know her until she was 50 but I've known her for 20 odd years.

"Because of her disability it was one of her biggest interests. She was in a lot of pain but she made the best of it. She kept herself going with sport, politics and cats - they were her main interests. She always had a couple of cats of her own and then fed a few cats in the neighbourhood. She used to have them in for the day as lodgers."

Judith was also an avid supporter of the Bromsgrove Rovers and enjoyed going to watch them when they played.

"She was a big sport fan," said Cllr Shannon. I used to go and visit her and she would have the TV on football and the radio on with something else. In the summer it would be tennis on the TV or the radio and cricket on the other."

He added: "Even though she was limited with her ability to move, she was still an active councillor and very committed to her work."

Judith passed away on January 2.

Her family have asked well-wishers to make any donations in Judith's name to Cancer Research UK. Funeral arrangements will be announced on the Advertiser website.