West Devon Borough Council has paid tribute to long standing councillor Ted Sherrell, who passed away recently.

Ted was a well-known councillor at both borough and town level, spending 42 years on Tavistock Town Council and 32 on West Devon Borough Council, from 1983 to 2015. In his final term as a borough councillor, Ted represented the Tavistock South Ward.

In 2013, he became the first person to ever be bestowed the title of ‘Freeman of Tavistock’ after serving on Tavistock Town Council for more than 40 years.

Lisa Buckle, director of strategic finance at West Devon Borough Council, said: ‘This is a very sad moment. Ted was a long-standing and dedicated councillor and highly respected and admired by all who knew him. Our thoughts go out to his wife Ann and his family.’

Ted had an interesting and diverse career, including being a civil servant, newspaper reporter, fireman, factory worker, door-to-door salesman, insurance agent, shopkeeper, proof-reader and as a business adviser calling principally on farms in Devon and Cornwall.

A farmer’s son born in West Devon, he worked among and was around the farming and rural communities of Devon for most of his life.

His friends and colleagues at the council will fondly remember Ted.

Ted’s funeral will be held at St Eustachius’ Church in Tavistock at 2pm on Friday, April 21.