TRIBUTES have been paid to a Tatworth man who was honoured earlier this year after saving lives through organ donation.

Alan Waddington was honoured the Order of St John Award for Organ Donation, and the medal was collected by his wife Pauline.

She said: “My husband Alan died suddenly in October 2017. He suffered from a massive brain haemorrhage.

“Alan was a wonderful man. When we married I already had two daughters but he thought of them as his own and when they married and the grandchildren came along he loved them as his own too, and was ‘Pops’ to them.

“Alan enjoyed most sports and liked to keep fit. He played cricket, hockey, football, snooker and latterly took up Bowls. His passion though was cricket.

"He loved all kinds of music, walking, languages and travelling, even living in New Zealand for many years.”

Alan, who was 74 when he died, had often had conversations with Pauline about organ donation, including one not long before he passed away.

Pauline added: “He was always adamant that everyone should give others the chance of a better life through donating their organs.

“My family and I are very proud of Alan and we encourage people to think very seriously about organ donation, knowing how it can transform people’s lives. I have two letters from recipients to prove that.

“I feel it’s so important to make people aware of the way an organ donation can transform the life of the recipient and their family.

“My family and I are comforted by my husband’s donation. He wanted to help people and we will always be very proud of his legacy.”

During 2017/18, the number of deceased donors in the UK went up from 1,413 to 1,574, the highest number ever in the UK.