A TRUE village champion – just one of the tributes paid to Odiham town manager Peter Fountain, who has died at the age of 60.

Mr Fountain, of Farnham Road, Odiham, passed away on Friday, December 2 at St Michael’s Hospice, in Aldermaston Road, Basingstoke, after a short battle with lung cancer.

A familiar face in Odiham and North Warnborough, Mr Fountain helped to promote local commerce by organising events such as the annual Blues and Booze festival in The Bury and the Odiham Extravaganza.

A member of Odiham Parish Council, he also played a key role in setting up a parade along Odiham High Street by service personnel at RAF Odiham, a spectacle that brings hundreds of people to the village.

The Reverend Gary Keith, the vicar of Odiham, said: “A friend and confidante to so many people, and a true village champion, Odiham will be much poorer without him.”

Councillor Mark Faulkner, chairman of Odiham Parish Council, said: “Peter lived life in his own way and that was evident through to the end.

“Everyone knew his name and he always had time to stop and talk to people. He will be a very big loss to the community and I cannot start to think how we can replace him.”

Mr Fountain was born on May 21, 1951 – the fourth generation of his family to live in Odiham and North Warnborough.

Educated at boarding schools in Runfold, Surrey, and Goudhurst, Kent, he returned to the area to study at Farnham Arts College, where he met his wife Elaine.

They married in 1977 in Church Crookham and soon after set up home in Odiham, where Mr Fountain ran a courier business called Collector Express, with his younger brother Tony.

Mr Fountain officially became town manager in 2001, helping to organise events in the village to attract visitors to the High Street. He was also the events manager for Hartley Wintney Parish Council, organising their weekly market.

He rejoined Odiham Parish Council this year, having served on it between 2006 and 2009.

A service of thanksgiving for Mr Fountain’s life will take place at All Saints’ Church, in The Bury, on December 21 from 11am.

Everyone is welcome to attend but his family has requested no flowers.