I AM deeply saddened to hear that my personal friend and former city councillor for Abbey Hulton and Bucknall, Graham Wallace, has died.

I first met Graham, pictured below, when a public meeting was called at the local community centre in the Abbey in the early 1980s concerning an issue that would affect the whole surrounding area.

The local councillors for the area were saying how it was and council officers were talking up the official line.

The voice at the back of the hall was having none of it and berated the entire circus of events as unrepresent-ative of the wider public opinion and followed up by the relating the thoughts of the Abbey people towards their councillors, officers and the entire council itself.

It was far from flattering and not what councillors really wanted to hear. They were used to the occasional critic and public criticism, but this was entirely new and delivered in such a unique way that would leave the average fire-starter jealous with envy.

At the end of the meeting, I approached Graham and politely put it to him that if he knew so much about how it should be and he was more in tune with public opinion than local councillors were, then he should be the councillor making decisions in the council on their behalf.

All for the love of the local community, The Abbey now had a councillor fighting on the front line for them and no fight was a proper fight unless Graham was involved in it.

No words of mine can do justice for Graham over the many years he represented the area he loved, either as a Councillor or not. I could try and I would fail, but one obvious point is the reduction in youth crime in the area due to the Wallace Centre being opened which was officially recognised by all responsible authorities.

As well as bringing fire into any meeting he ever attended, Graham also brought a bellowing laughter that filled a room and it is a true testament to his life that his other attributes consist of being a true gentleman and builder of local communities.

It is a privilege for me to call Graham a friend and long time ally. It is a huge comfort for all his friends that Graham died peacefully with those he fought for the most, his lovely wife Barbara and their children by his side.

GARY ELSBY Baddeley Green