Worcester City councillor dies days after re-election

Tributes have been paid to Worcester City Councillor Simon Cronin

A Worcester councillor has died less than a week after he was re-elected.

Labour councillor Simon Cronin died on Tuesday after a short illness.

He was re-elected to Worcester City Council for the Nunnery ward, which he had represented since 2007, following local elections on Thursday.

Local politicians have paid tribute to Mr Cronin, with the Worcester Labour party saying he had served residents "with compassion and dignity".

"Simon was passionate about his home city of Worcester, especially its culture and heritage," a statement from the party group read.

"He displayed fairness and integrity in all his work as a councillor.

'Decent and fair'

"Simon was also very well respected across the political divide, finding common cause with councillors of other political parties while remaining a proud representative of the Labour Party.

"His loss will be felt very deeply at Worcester City Council."

The former Conservative council leader Marc Bayliss also paid tribute to Mr Cronin, saying he was "so very sorry to hear of the passing of my friend".

"We may have spent years on different sides of the chamber but he was always such a decent and fair person," he said.