HONORARY citizenship has been awarded to long-serving Dorchester councillor Trevor Jones, OBE.

The former Town, Dorset County and West Dorset District councillor has also held national positions with the Liberal Democrats and Local Government Association.

He was the founding chairman of the town's community plays association and has served on both the local ambulance and fire and rescue organisations.

Mr Jones has also been town mayor on three occasions, stood as the parliamentary candidate for the Lib Dems in West Dorset for three elections and has held a number of positions with a wide range of organisations in and around Dorchester.

He announced his retirement earlier in the year when Dorset Council came into being. He was first elected as a West Dorset district councillor in 1973 and was leader of Dorset County Council between 1997 and 2001. He served for more than 40 years on Dorchester Town council which he was first elected to in 1976  - all of his council service added together amounting to more than 100 years.

Former councillors and council officers paid tribute to him at a ceremony in the Town Hall on Saturday.

In his speech Mr Jones suggested councillors ought to have a mandatory retirement age and also complained about the state of the town's two railway stations.

He also spoke about the funding system for Dorchester’s twin town Lubbecke in Germany where villages and parishes around the main town contributed to facilities, knowing their residents benefitted, whereas in Dorchester the burden fell mainly on town residents.

He said he failed to recognise the 'paragon of virtue' described in the tribute speeches.

Former town clerk Dennis Holmes said Mr Jones had been leader of the town council, ‘if not always in name, in practice’ from 1987 when he started work, until he retired.

“He had a clear vision of what Dorchester needed to make and it served him well,” said Mr Holmes.

“Dorchester is privileged that he was prepared to give up so much of his time and his energy to represent its people and to make the town an even nicer place.”

Former district council chief executive Clive Rennison said he had appreciated Mr Jones “sharp intelligence, good humour and respect for traditional values,” qualities which he said had served him well in national and local politics.

Former Dorset County Council treasurer, Andy Peel, said Mr Jones has a “happy knack of reading a report and going straight to the heart of it” and only asking pertinent questions. He said he was also capable of treating every issue with equal importance: “He regarded the Dorset County Council budget as important, but was equally passionate about issues like traffic calming in Fordington,” he said.

Mayor Richard Biggs spoke of Mr Jones determination and his ability to debate an issue with a knack of producing an interesting and funny contribution off the cuff, which could change minds.

“He was well respected and still is from across the political divide and wasn’t afraid to zone in and talk privately to others cross party to try and find common ground and unblock issues,” he said.