TRIBUTE will be paid to a well-known Hereford figure after his death earlier this year.

Councillor Bob Matthews was one of Herefordshire's best-known and longest-serving councillors, having led the True Independents group on the county council for several years.

He had been an elected member continuously from when Herefordshire Council became a unitary authority in 1998, and had represented Credenhill near Hereford since 2011.

Prior to that, Mr Matthews, who was from a farming family in the west of the county, did national service in Malaysia before serving for many years as a policeman in Hereford.

His death, at the age of 87, was announced in June this year.

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And now one Herefordshire village in Mr Matthews' former ward is planning a tribute to their late councillor.

Recently published draft minutes from Stretton Sugwas parish council reveal that councillors are planning a bench and plaque in memory of Mr Matthews.

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The minutes said Councillor Garnet Creswell proposed that the bench be part of the national 'Chatty Bench' scheme, thus appearing on a database as a place for people to sit and chat. 

It was agreed that Councillor James Croft-Hill will remove part of the fence boundary from the Copse by the bus stop and that the bench would be sited there.

Councillors agreed a budget of £1,200 for the bench, plaque, and associated works, with the clerk to email bench options to councillors and purchase the bench once the design has been agreed.