THE funeral of stalwart Pill councillor Ron Jones who died last week will take place in Newport this morning.

His service will be held at St Michael's RC Church, Clarence Street, at 11.30am. It will be followed by his burial at St Woolos Cemetery.

Cllr Jones died on August 27, less than 24 hours after he had been judging floats at Pill Carnival.

On Tuesday council leader Bob Bright paid a personal tribute to Cllr Jones, saying their friendship and work went back to the 1970s.

“Ron was a rare example, serving Pill for almost 50 years, during which time he built up not only a vast knowledge of the local community and Newport – its issues, problems and opportunities – but also a great passion and enthusiasm for the city which remained steadfast throughout," Cllr Bright said.

Tributes had flooded in for the stalwart council member - fellow Labour councillor Allan Morris said Mr Jones was "the epitome of an excellent ward councillor".

Cllr Chris Evans, of Rogerstone ward, said Mr Jones had been his "friend and mentor", while Cllr Ibrahim Hayat said his fellow Pill representative was a "true gentleman".

Tributes also came in from councillors in the opposition Tory group, with Cllr David Fouweather saying he considered Ron Jones a friend despite their party political differences.