Tributes have been paid to a former Witham mayor who has died, aged 83.

Dennis Sabin, a gunner in the Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry, teamed up with comic Spike Milligan to entertain soldiers during the Second World War.

He also helped produce shows in Italy and Austria and met many famous performers, including Harry Secombe.

Close friend Kathie Tearle, a ward councillor for Witham West, said: "He was a very nice man. When he and his wife left Witham they were greatly missed because they had been a part of so much in the town."

And town council leader Phil Barlow added: "Mr Sabin was very passionate about his politics and was a prime mover when the original twinning charter was signed in 1986."

Mr Sabin, a lifelong member of the Labour Party, enjoyed a two-year spell as Witham Mayor - from 1989 to 1991 - after being elected to the council in 1984.

He pioneered the town's twinning with Waldbrol, in Germany. His funeral takes place on Thursday at Abbotts Langley Catholic Church, in Herts where the couple lived for six years.

When asked what he would like to achieve as mayor, Mr Sabin said he always tried to adopt the motto on the coat of arms of the borough council in Battersea, where he once lived: "Not for me, not for you, but for all."

Mr Sabin moved to Witham in retirement and he and his wife Agnes - affectionately known as May - were the first residents to buy a house on the Grove estate.

He was known and respected as a talented musician, playing the organ at both Witham Roman Catholic Church and the town's Holy Family and All Saints Church.

In 1992 he was honoured by the Pope and awarded the Bene Merenti Medal for his services to the church and community.

After the war, he became a record buyer for the London Co-operative Society and chairman of the Gramophone Record Retailers' Association.

Mr Sabin leaves his wife, two sons, Tony and Greg, and five grandchildren, Anna, Emma, Alice, Timothy and Paul.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.