FAMILY, friends and colleagues of the charismatic former Mayor of Stourport, Mick Grinnall, are in shock after he died suddenly on Tuesday.

Three days earlier, he had taken part in the carnival parade through the town where he was born and which he served as a councillor for more than 20 years.

His son Neil said his 65-year-old father had been passionate about politics and Stourport.

"He really, really loved being mayor of the town - if you ever went into his home you'd see lots of photographs of him in his mayor's gear," he said.

"He took a great deal of pride in the town - it meant a lot to him. He wanted to improve life in the town and keep the shops.

"He lived here and walked up and down the High Street as though it was his - not in a righteous way but as though he was the caretaker."

Mr Grinnall was found dead in his flat at Swan Passage on Tuesday afternoon. It is not known how he died.

He had been a businessman for 30 years. He ran the family builders' merchants and was a committed Labour supporter.

Neil Grinnall said the family was devastated by the news and added his father had been repairing his relationship with his former wife Pauline. Friends were struggling to come to terms with his death.

Carnival organiser Pete Roberts saw him on Sunday when he was chatting about the carnival.

"He seemed to be as right as rain - his old jolly self. I haven't got over the shock," he said.

Mr Roberts added Mr Grinnall had been an active Stourport Rotary Club member. "I got involved with him doing charity work some 20 years ago."

Mr Grinnall, who served as a Wyre Forest district councillor for Stourport, was mayor in 1997-98 and again in 2001-02.

His deputy two years ago, Don Giles, said the Union flag at the Civic Centre had been lowered to half-mast.

"I've been into town and people are really shocked. A gentleman who runs a fish and chip shop was almost in tears over it.

"I'm up in the High Street quite a lot and I often used to meet Mick because he used to live there.

"If you stopped to talk, you were forever being interrupted by people saying 'Hello Mick, how are you?'

"He was a great champion for Stourport. He's irreplaceable."

Mick leaves two sons, two grandsons and two granddaughters.

The funeral arrangements have yet to be confirmed.