As Helston comes to terms with the sudden death of its deputy mayor, Mark Upton, his friend and council colleague, mayor Mike Thomas, has paid his own personal tribute.

Councillor Upton died at home on Monday evening after losing his battle against lung cancer. His death has shocked everyone, including his partner of 29 years and husband of 18 months, Gary Hunt, who had expected to have more time with him.

Councillor Thomas has this afternoon released his own tribute to Mr Upton which reads:

"Within our local community Mark Upton was a tower of strength. I first came upon him as a regular attendee in the Town Council’s public gallery during Full Council meetings. As a very inexperienced councillor I was impressed with his recall of data and of his grasp of our legal procedures. I soon realised that my fellow councillors, likewise, were very careful in their conversations with him as he would be quick to identify inaccuracies and weaknesses in their arguments.

"In early 2013 to fill the gap left by Richard Pryor, Mark was co-opted to the council. He was now one of us. This didn’t sit too well with some of Mark’s friends as they thought that he had sold out. This was very far from the truth as Mark continued to view issues and items in just the same manner as he had done as a member of the public. Namely robust scrutiny and persistent questioning. In his first year he impressed a majority of his fellow councillors so much so that he was selected to be my deputy for the civic year 2014-2015. From that moment on I began to get to know Mark and his partner Gary much more deeply. I understood that he was motivated by a deep commitment to the town of Helston and especially the community engagement that his passion the Epworth Hall held. As a leader on the Epworth Hall management committee he drove the development of this hall to the resource that it is today. What a great shame that he will be unable to see the completion of the disabled access improvements that he championed so fiercely.

"On our council Mark became a member of all three committees – policy, amenities and planning. He devoted a huge amount of time to developing his already detailed knowledge about planning and building consents and the technicalities of local government finance. His understanding of charity regulations were a great help across a range of areas especially within the Downsland Trust – a Trust run by HT councillors for the benefit of the town. He was involved with our youth engagement programme and saw as a priority the visits to the council chamber from our local primary and secondary schools. At every meeting he attended he always had something positive to contribute and would work hard at producing an outcome that the majority would feel comfortable with. He was really looking forward to becoming Mayor and we had long discussions about how things could be developed in the town and how relationships between the council and the volunteer groups could be improved.

" We found out that we agreed on most things and during our 16 months as Mayor and Deputy there was very little that we disagreed on. Sometimes his enthusiasm and desire for change was misunderstood but when Mark met people face to face invariably differences were settled. Sadly as his illness developed he was no longer able to be present in the town as much as he would have liked. But he did get around on his scooter and was welcomed at the Guildhall and Epworth Hall where he continued to contribute. He chaired a meeting of the amenities committee on October 1, four days before he died. My enduring memory will be of our two air days at RNAS Culdrose – we had great fun together watching planes, chatting and putting Helston to right and dreaming of a better future for our town. I really will miss Mark’s take on things, his sense of humour, his smile and his conversation. There was no chance of being bored when Upton was about!"