Councillor Joan Barton dies at the age of 79

A long-standing councillor and former Mayoress of Walsall has died at the age of 79.

Tributes were today paid to Councillor Joan Barton, who was elected to Walsall Council in 1998 and served the Birchills Leamore ward.

Before joining the council, Mrs Barton was a veteran Labour party member working tirelessly behind the scenes and holding numerous executive posts.

She became Mayoress while her husband of 61 years, Councillor Malcolm Barton, was Mayor in 1991.

Mr Barton, who served on Walsall Council for 32 years, said his wife had passed away at the couple's Remington Road home, on the Beechdale Estate, where they had lived since 1961, on Saturday.