TRIBUTES have been paid to a ‘loyal’ town councillor and former Mayor of Andover who dedicated many years to “making Andover a better place”.

Andover Town Council’s longest-serving member, Barbara Long, sadly died at the Countess of Brecknock Hospice on Saturday, May 21, aged 70.

She leaves behind her husband Nigel, as well as a daughter and granddaughter.

Paying tribute to his late wife, Nigel said: “Not everybody was aware of just how much she really did for the town. 

“[Her death] is going to leave a big hole in mine and Becky’s lives and we do not know how we will fill it at the moment.”

Current Mayor of Andover, Cllr David Coole, described Barbara as “a true inspiration for all who knew her".

Meanwhile, Leader of Test Valley Borough Council, Cllr Phil North, also paid tribute.

He said: “Ultimately, Barbara was committed to making Andover a better place.

“I hope Nigel and the rest of her family will find comfort in the fact that she brought light to the lives of many people."

You can read the full story and reaction in this week's paper. Also in this week's edition:

  • Residents in Andover have backed calls for ‘pavement parking’ to be banned in England, on the grounds that it puts people off walking in their neighbourhoods.
  • An Andover couple have said they are ‘extremely angry’ after discovering that the borough council took just one water sample from Anton Lakes following the death of their puppy.
  • A foodbank is warning that it has seen an increase in the number of users as the cost-of-living crisis takes hold of the UK.
  • A group of ‘abusive’ Travellers have been removed from the grounds of a council-owned sports hub in Andover.
  • An Andover mother was left terrified that she might not see her children again after she says hospital staff failed to take her pregnancy seriously. 
  • A single mum from Andover will travel in an aeroplane for the very first time when she takes part in a charity skydive later this year.
  • The widow of a ‘fit and independent’ man who died after catching pneumonia in hospital has told an inquest of her heartbreak and upset at the lack of Covid measures at the time of her husband’s death. 
  • A woman is opening a salon on the grounds of the school she used to attend.
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