Tributes have been paid to former Barrow councillor and mayoress Shirley Richardson, who has died aged 79.

Mrs Richardson passed away peacefully at home following a six-year battle with vascular dementia.

Mrs Richardson is survived by her four children Mark, Lyne, Anne and John and three grandchildren Billy, Sian and Harry.

She was married to former town mayor Jack Richardson for 55 years before he died of Parkinson’s disease in 2016.

Mrs Richardson served two terms on the borough council and was a valued member of Barrow’s Inner Wheel Club for over 35 years.

Bill Joughin, 82, served alongside her on the borough council for eight years.

He described her as 'a friendly compassionate woman who sought to do the best for the community she adopted as her own'.

He said he remembered 'happy memories of the fun and joy they shared as councillors and friends'.

Paying tribute on behalf of the family, Mark Richardson described his late mother as ''a very caring and charitable person'

"You couldn’t get a nicer person," he said.

"She will be well missed by the community."

He added: "She had so many friends in the Inner Wheel Club and various charity groups which made her such a well loved member of the community.”

As well as her charity work, she volunteered at Furness General Hospital and gave more than 100 pints of blood to local blood banks.

Her loved ones remember her as a family woman, dedicating her life to the care of others.

She and her late husband Jack fostered more than five babies over three years.

Close friend and fellow Inner Wheel club member Sheila Green described Mrs Richardsons’s quiet but very friendly character and award-winning writing skills.

“She wrote a grace many years ago which members of the club still use today," she said.

She described Mrs Richardson as 'a quiet very gentle person who appreciated everything anyone did her for her.'