TRIBUTES have been paid to a villager who served as a parish clerk for more than 30 years.

Hugh Bennison, of Bolton Road, Scorton, near Richmond, died earlier this month from dementia and prostate cancer, aged 83.

One of nine children, Mr Bennison was born in February 1924 into one of Scorton's oldest families.

His grandparents took on the Bennison stores in 1815 - the building is now the village post office.

After attending Scorton Grammar School, he served with the Queen's Royal Lancers in Italy during the Second World War.

After the war, Mr Bennison worked in the family shop until 1949. He then went to work for the War Department at Catterick Garrison.

In 1956, he began his training as a nurse at St John of God Hospital, in Scorton, qualifying three years later. He worked at the hospital for 30 years.

In 1961, he became clerk of Scorton Parish Council - a position he held until 1995.

Mr Bennison was a keen gardener and a member of several groups in the village, including the over-60s and indoor bowls club.

His niece, Anthea Rawling chose Morning has Broken as the first hymn at the funeral service, held at St Mary's Church, Bolton-on-Swale, on September 11.

She said: "Come summer or winter, he was always an early riser. He would get up every morning, feed the birds and change their water, so I thought this hymn was appropriate.

"He was a kind person who was always generous towards other people."

Brother Michael Newman said in a tribute to Mr Bennison at the service: "Hughie was a dedicated and conscientious carer of the sick, the disabled and the elderly. As a charge nurse for many years, he gave reliable and dutiful service."