THE widow of the Mayor of Ledbury Chris Holbourn will honour her husband’s civic commitments until the end of his mayoral reign in May.

Geraldine Holbourn called it an “honour and a privilege” to be allowed to serve in Chris’s memory and carry on his work for local charities and organisations.

She said: “I only hope I can do half as well as he did.”

Chris, a 57-year-old father-of-one, died just over two weeks ago, leaving the community in shock.

More than 400 mourners packed into St Michael’s and All Angels Church on Monday for his funeral and more than £1,300 was raised for his mayoral charities.

Mrs Holbourn paid tribute to the “outstanding” support shown by the Ledbury community since her husband’s death.

She said: “I do not know how I would have got through it without them. They have really been a wonderful town.

“I’ve got more than 160 letters and cards from people and I have to put an extra three-quarters-of-an-hour on my walk from the High Street to the Homend because so many people stop me.

“It’s a small town but it has the heart and soul of a village. It really does pull together in a way a lot of places do not seem to be able to any more. It’s what makes Ledbury unique.”

Mrs Holbourn has urged people to donate money to Chris’s charities – Herefordshire Alzheimer’s Society and the Heartbeat Appeal for Hereford Hospital – by calling into the town council offices in Church Street. “He was so well regarded and respected,” she said. “People could go up to him and talk to him about potholes and dog mess and he wouldn’t just refer it to so-and-so, he would go back to the council offices and get things done.

“He really did believe in working for the community.”

Chris, a former teacher at John Masefield High School, is survived by his son Alasdair.

Mrs Holbourn said: “A lot of my son’s friends were taught by my husband and they have rallied around him and given him a huge amount of support. They felt the loss almost as keenly as he has.”