Former Midlothian councillor Peter Boyes dies aged 74

TRIBUTES were paid today to former Midlothian councillor Peter Boyes, who has died aged  74.

Peter Boyes was first elected to Lothian Regional Council in 1978.

First elected as a Labour member of the former Lothian Regional Council in 1978, he later won a seat on Midlothian Council and served a spell as deputy leader.

But he resigned from the Labour Party in 2013 and sat as an independent until stepping down the following year after a series of health problems, battling prostate cancer and suffering a “mini-stroke”.

A former soldier, Mr Boyes had worked as a miner at Monktonhall colliery and later became a director of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust.

Former council colleague Jimmy Burnett posted a tribute on Facebook: “Very sad news. I was a councillor on Lothian Region with Peter in the seventies and early 80s, together with John Mulvey, Paul Nolan, Neil Lindsay, Jimmy Cook, Phyllis Herriot, Eric Milligan, and of course many others.

“Great achievements were made. Tremendous service improvements implemented. The Halcyon day’s of local Government.

“Peter made an enormous contribution to the group, both in terms of his solid political approach, but equally important to make us laugh however difficult the circumstances were.”

Mr Boyes died at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary with his family beside him.

His funeral will take place at Mortonhall Crematorium main chapel on Monday at 2 pm,