Tributes have been paid to a ‘caring and much loved’ councillor and former Mayor who has passed away following a battle with cancer.

Friends and community leaders have spoken of their ‘shock and sadness’ after Pam Barton passed away in hospital on Tuesday, May 5.

The mum-of-two, of Ormerod Street, Accrington, served as Labour councillor in Spring Hill for nearly two decades and was also Mayor of Hyndburn in 2008-2009.

Hyndburn Mayor Munsif Dad said she was a ‘very close friend and colleague’ and was ‘shocked’ when he was told of her death.

He said: “I was fortunate enough to be able to meet Pam yesterday (Monday) in hospital and spent half an hour with her.

“I knew she was ill but she was getting better and improving. She was very keen to get back out on the streets campaigning.

“I got a call earlier this morning (Tuesday) to say she had passed away and I was shocked. I can’t describe in any more words how shocked I am.

“She was very much a close friend and colleague and someone I have known for more than 10 years.

“She had a great reputation in the Spring Hill area and was very much liked and loved by the community.

“We have lost a very close friend and a very, very much loved councillor and ex-Mayor.

“It was really sad when I was told and my thoughts and condolences are with her family at this difficult time.”

Family friend and Labour colleague Graham Jones said everybody is ‘devastated’.

He said: “Pam was salt of the earth. She grew up on the Fern Gore estate and never lost touch with the people there or the people she represented.

“She loved being on the council and gave everything she had for the community she served.

“She was one of the most liked councillors and we are all shocked and devastated.

“The family have been touched by the condolences they have received.”

Coun Barton served as health and communities spokesman on Hyndburn council and also chaired Hyndburn’s Community Safety Partnership.

Peel Park pub landlady Susan Johnson, who served as her Mayoress in 2008 to 2009, said she was ‘very shocked and stunned’.

She said: “It was very sudden and it is very sad news.

“I have known Pam since 1975 when we first came to Accrington and was involved in the Pool league.

“I was very honoured and proud when she asked me if, when she became Mayor, I would be her Mayoress. We had a wonderful year and it was a great privilege.

“She was a very caring and committed lady, especially to her family. She was a very private person as well as being a public figure.

“I was very shocked and stunned when I was told. I had been told she was poorly but didn’t realise how poorly.”

Conservative group leader Peter Britcliffe also paid his tribute.

He said: “All of us in the Conservative Party are shocked and saddened at the loss of Pam Barton.

“As a council group leader I have worked with Pam for many years and always found her very amenable and approachable.

“It’s a sad loss for all the residents of the borough and our thoughts go out to her family.”