FRIENDS and family have paid tribute to popular Chippenham gardening enthusiast and Morris dancer Valentino Legumi, who died suddenly after a dancing event on Sunday November 26.

Mr Legumi, 64, joined his friends in Chippenham Morris at an event with Wootton Bassett dancers at the Peterborough Arms, Dauntsey.

He took part in a couple of dances, and was just sharing some reminiscences over photographs of the Morris men's recent trip to France, when he had a massive heart attack.

"One minute he was standing looking at the pictures, and then he collapsed," said Chippenham Morris leader Torquil MacInnes.

First aiders rushed to help him, and an ambulance was summoned by mobile phone.

Mr Legumi was taken straight to Princess Margaret Hospital but he never regained consciousness.

Mr Legumi and his wife Nellie first moved to Chippenham in 1966.

The couple met at Finsbury Park in London at a ballroom dancing event, and they married in 1961.

Mr Legumi worked as an electrical engineer for Westinghouse for 29 years, taking early retirement at the age of 60.

He went on to work part-time as a gardener for Hygrade at Corsham.

The couple, from Queens Crescent, had two children, Carla and David, and six grandchildren. "He loved meeting people," said Mrs Legumi. "He was very popular. He had many friends and knew so many people. He was just that sort of person."

He was a member of Chippenham Morris for ten years, and was a passionate gardener, winning many awards for his horticultural skills.

In August the couple won the Lions Club trophy for Best Overall Entry in the Chippenham in Bloom competition.

"He liked propagating plants and watching how they would grow and come on," said Mrs Legumi. "He spent a lot of time on the garden."

Mr MacInnes also paid tribute to Mr Legumi's sociable nature and said how much he would be missed by his fellow Morris men.

"He was a great character and regularly attended. He was liked by all the guys, always ready with a smile," said Mr MacInnes. "He was a very popular man."

He said Mr Legumi had done a lot of dancing as young man, enjoying the social side of the hobby in particular.

He often joined the Morris side on trips in Britain and abroad. On a trip to Rome he took great pleasure in showing the side around the city, which he knew well from having worked there.

The funeral will take place at 11am on Monday December 4, at St Mary's Church, Chippenham.