Tributes pour in for 'loyal, hard-working' former Mayor and Deputy Council Leader who has died aged 80 Councillors have paid tribute to a former Mayor and former Deputy Council Leader who has died aged 80. Mayor of South Ribble from 2012 to 2013, Councillor Colin Clark was a vastly experienced local councillor, who represented the Longton and Hutton West ward on South Ribble Borough Council from 1997 to the present day in 2021. Born in Ulverston, Cumbria, on January 23 1941, Cllr Clark later moved to Preston, aged 14, and attended Preston Grammar School. His professional career began as a scientist at the UK Atomic Energy Authority at Springfields in Salwick near Preston, and after that, he spent 30 years in senior management positions in the water and environmental services sectors before he retired aged 52 from his position at South West Water.
A woman who is calling for a national day of remembrance for all who have lost their lives to Covid says she was “overwhelmed” after her local council threw its weight behind the campaign. Rachael Lidgett, from Leyland, started a parliamentary petition earlier this month to try to persuade the government to designate 23rd March – the anniversary of the date last year when the UK first went into lockdown – a public holiday. She was moved to make the appeal after seeing her own fit and healthy father, Christopher Cooper, pass away from Covid in December – at the age of just 63.