HEARTFELT tributes have been paid to the “best-ever leader of Southend Council” who once saved the city’s iconic Kursaal from the risk of demolition.

Former Lib Dem councillor Graham Longley died yesterday morning after a short illness, aged 74.

Mr Longley, who worked as a teacher, a milkman and also an ice cream van driver, was leader of the council when the authority stepped in to buy the Kursaal and bring it into public ownership in 1994.

The decision was made amid fears the building would be turned into flats or even demolished.

Mr Longley leaves behind his wife, Maureen, and two children, Simone and Vanessa Longley.

Vanessa, 48, said: “If you cut my dad in half he would have had Southend running through him like a stick of rock. He was a man who was larger than life which makes the hole he leaves behind so much harder to fill.

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“He taught me early on that there was not a skill you can learn that you cannot use to help someone out with.

"For him, politics was about talking to people and helping anyone no matter who they were or where they came from.

“His role in life was to make Southend amazing and it’s a better place because of him which is why I have stayed living in the area.

“He was a teacher for most of his life but everything he did was all about making Southend the best place it could be.He was an extraordinary role model and he taught me what is right - and that is to stand up for people who do not have a voice. I work in the charity sector because of this.”

He started his career at Southend Airport before qualifying as a teacher and finished his 25-year teaching career at Gable Hall School.

Mr Longley was a keen Southend United supporter who campaigned for the new stadium. He was also a school governor and a governor for Southend Adult Community College, alongside a host of other community roles.

A Liberal Democrat, he stepped down as a councillor six years ago.

Close friend Philip Miller, executive chairman of Stockvale Group which owns Adventure Island, said: “In my opinion he was the best leader of the council I had ever worked with. A real Southend son.”