Town councillor Paul Dove, who was treasurer of Malmesbury Carnival for 16 years, died at his home on Monday aged 50.

The father of two worked as an IT specialist for the Bank of New York Mellon in Swindon.

Mr Dove, who was born in Hemel Hempstead, in Hertfordshire, had a younger brother, Simon and a younger sister, Sarah.

After school he studied maths at Manchester University before switching to computer science at Liverpool.

He secured his first full time job at Midland Bank head office in Sheffield where he met his wife Jacqui.

They moved south when Mr Dove got a job at Allied Dunbar in Swindon and lived in Purton after getting married in 1988.

The couple and their daughter Katie, then aged one, moved to Malmesbury in 1991 so as to be part of the town’s close-knit community. Their second daughter Megan was born at the old Malmesbury Hospital in 1994.

The couple subsequently split up and Mr Dove had a new partner, Lisa Huncley.

Doctors had been monitoring Mr Dove’s blood since his time in Sheffield and in 1998 he was diagnosed with kidney disease and needed regular dialysis in Swindon and at a specialist renal unit in Oxford.

A failed kidney transplant left him on life support but six years ago an operation gave him a new lease of life until this year when he went back on dialysis.

Mr Dove was a Malmesbury town councillor and chairman of the North Wiltshire Liberal Democrats. He used to represent Malmesbury on the former North Wiltshire District Council.

Vice chairman of North Wiltshire Liberal Democrats Gavin Grant said: “Paul never allowed his health challenges to stop him campaigning for a more liberal and democratic society or promoting Malmesbury. Both were passions. He’ll be much missed in the town.”