TRIBUTES have been paid to a former Ryedale District Council chairwoman who died at the weekend.

Pamela Anderson, 67, died at home in Swinton, near Malton, on Sunday.

A popular figure, she joined the district council in 1999 as a Conservative candidate for the Amotherby and Swinton seat.

She held the seat in successive elections before she lost it to Lib Dem candidate Jane Wilford in May.

During her role on the authority, Miss Anderson was council chairwoman in 2005-6.

Current chairwoman Natalie Warriner said: "She worked extremely hard for Ryedale and was a respected councillor. Alongside this, she did a lot of good work for local charities and I am sure they will miss her a great deal."

Liverpudlian Miss Anderson spent time on the west coast of Scotland and ran a guest house in Leyburn, in the Yorkshire Dales.

She also served with the Wrens for five years, servicing aircraft and helicopter radios, and worked for a time at ICI, on Teesside.

Miss Anderson served as agent for Ryedale's Conservative MP, John Greenway, for seven years until May.

She was well known for her charity work, and raised thousands of pounds for local groups.

She also served as chairwoman of Ryedale Citizens Advice Bureau and as a Malton School governor.

Councillor Howard Keal, the district's Lib Dem leader, said: "I knew she was ill, but when we last met, she appeared to be bearing up well.

"I now guess that she was being brave about everything and making the most of each and every moment. That would be very much in character.

"She was a formidable force to be reckoned with in her years on the council, as well as fun. I am very sad she has gone."