A community has paid tribute following the death of a well-known figure in a car crash.

Tony Harrington, 64, died on Friday following a three-vehicle pile-up on the only route into and out of his home town, Brightlingsea.

Mr Harrington's wife Jean, who was in the car with her husband when the crash happened, today remained in Colchester General Hospital, where her condition was said to be critical but stable.

People who knew Mr Harrington today expressed their shock at what had happened.

Friend David Willis was involved with the Brightlingsea Scout group from the mid 1970s to the early 1980s, when Mr Harrington was group Scout leader.

Mr Willis said: "It's a tragedy. As a former scouting colleague, I'm saddened by it all. The manner of his going is upsetting."

Mr Harrington, 64, of Windsor Court, was a church warden at All Saints' in Brightlingsea.

He spent the beginning of his working life as a technical draughtsman and in an architectural role he designed the Scout headquarters in Brightlingsea.

Neighbour Harold Lord said while Mr Harrington had been more widely known around the town during the time he was working with the Scouts, his death had still come as a great shock to people in the area.

Published Tuesday, March 12, 2002