Tributes paid to County Councillor

Much loved and respected county councillor Jenny Hyde has died after a battle with cancer.

The ‘tireless’ Conservative councillor represented the Ross North ward on Herefordshire Council and provided support for the young people and children’s wellbeing cabinet member.

Jenny underwent emergency surgery shortly after Christmas and was transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham she returned to Hereford County Hospital in January but passed away on February 11.

Fellow Ross-on-Wye county and town councillor Phil Cutter said Jenny did a lot of work for young people in the county.

“Jenny was a very active and hardworking councillor,” he said.

“She was a political colleague of mine and she will be greatly missed by us all in Ross.

“Jenny did a tremendous amount of work on the adoption panel and helped out a lot. She did a lot of work behind the scenes.

“At one stage she was the president of the Ross branch of the Conservative Party. She was a very active Conservative, she attended party conferences and she was what you would call a true Tory.”

Children and families cabinet member Elissa Swinglehurst said she owed a great deal to Jenny and followed in her footsteps.

Jenny encouraged her to stand for the Llangarron seat after she moved to Ross.

“She was a tireless advocate for our looked after children. It was something she cared about deeply and passionately and always worked to get what was best for them,” she said.

“She will be so, so missed. It’s so sad, it came as a shock to everyone.

“Our thoughts are with her family and husband John.”

Town councillor Nigel Gibbs also said she would be sorely missed.

“She was a neighbour of mine and a good friend,” he said.

“It amazed me how much energy she had, especially when working with the council’s children’s services.

“She was the cabinet member for that department and she did a lot of work. She spent hours preparing for each meeting.

“Jenny wasn’t one to make grand statements about what she did, she just got on with it and did her work.

“She will be sorely missed. We knew how ill she was but it still came as a shock to us.”