The opening ceremony for Jim's beach hut on Hove seafront last June Jim's widow Paula McKeough-Lea, also a paramedic, described her husband as a well-loved paramedic with a fondness for rock music and motorbikes. Operational unit manager for the Brighton and Hove area Tim Fellows said Jim was "a very popular and well-respected member of staff who will be sadly missed by colleagues and friends". Speaking at the opening of the hut, he said: “You can’t say too many good things about Jim because he means something different to all of us. "A really great colleague, fantastic bloke, who liked everything, whether it be bikes, rum or most of all, Paula.”