Councillor Paul Dove, who six years ago was given a kidney transplant, has died aged 50 at his home in Milbourne, Malmesbury.

The father-of-two died on Monday, having spent his last weekend at WOMAD with his younger daughter Megan, 15.

Mr Dove, 50, an IT specialist in Swindon, served on Malmesbury Town Council and was also chairman of North Wiltshire Liberal Democrats.

He used to be a member of the former North Wiltshire Council and was for 16 years treasurer for the carnival.

Mr Dove had heart complications and paramedics pronounced him dead on Monday afternoon.

His partner Lisa Huncley, 47, is struggling to come to terms with her loss.

Holding back tears, she said: “He was a man with the highest sense of integrity and passion. He was the best thing that ever happened to me.

“Paul was committed to everything to do with Malmesbury.

“Although he was passionate he was poised and had a great deal of dignity. I feel privileged to have been part of his life.”

Alison Cross Jones described Mr Dove as: “the best friend you could ever have.”

She added: “My daughter Ellie, who’s 18, absolutely adored him. She has learning difficulties but Paul made her feel like she didn’t.

“He was the sort of man everyone would want to be.”

Former carnival chairman Steve Cox described Mr Dove as “a fantastic servant to the carnival”.

He added: “Most volunteers come and go but Paul’s 16 years just shows how dedicated he was.”

His elder daughter, Katie, 19, who lives in Cirencester with her mother, Mr Dove’s former wife Jacqui, recalls as a child helping her father count the thousands of coins collected during the procession each year.

She said: “He was very fond of Malmesbury, we all lived together there for 18 years as a family until recently.”

She said his proudest moment was, with daughter Megan, being first in the water at the opening of the indoor swimming pool he had campaigned for.

Miss Dove added: “Dealing with this is really hard but we’ve gone into practical mode. He was a very poorly man, he had kidney problems for eight years.”

Mr Dove recently went back on dialysis after the kidney transplant.