TRIBUTES have been paid to a campaigner, charity supporter and magistrate who has died aged 79.

Ted Stevens was a stalwart of Bournemouth Society for the Visually Impaired, Amnesty International and the Labour Party, and was awarded the OBE for services to the administration of justice in Dorset.

Family and friends have issued a tribute following his death at Christchurch’s Macmillan Unit earlier this year.

As chair of Bournemouth Labour Party, Mr Stevens made the speech welcoming the party conference to the BIC in 1985.

He warned delegates that they were in “the land of lost deposits – a political wasteland”.

“As you journeyed down here you will have noticed that the air got steadily bluer. You passed your nearest Labour constituency 80 miles away,” he said.

The 1985 conference became famous for leader Neil Kinnock’s denunciation of the Militant tendency. As chair of the local branch of the Fabians Society, Mr Stevens hosted meetings with prominent guests, including Ken Livingstone, who drew the largest crowd in Bournemouth Fabians’ history.

Mr Stevens was a founding member of the local Amnesty International Group, which he continued to chair until 2015.

He became a magistrate in 1981 and subsequently chair of the bench. He was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list of 1999.

He chaired the board of trustees for Bournemouth Society for the Visually Impaired (now Bournemouth Blind Society) for many years and championed the establishment of an emotional support service for people with newly-diagnosed, irreversible sight loss.

“This is a tremendous list of achievements and causes which benefited from Ted's diligence and good sense,” said the tribute to Mr Stevens.

Mr Stevens and his twin sister Judy were born in Paignton, Devon, but grew up in Wandsworth, south London. In 1960, he attended his first meeting of Battersea Young Socialists and a lifelong passion for socialist politics was born.

He became chair of the group and met May Newbury, whom he married two years later.

The couple moved to Manchester, where their daughters Laura and Jess were born, and the family later moved to Bournemouth, where Mr Stevens ran an industrial cleaning business.

The tribute said Ted and May “were never afraid of the legwork involved in running an organisation”

“Together they raised thousands of pounds for the causes they cared about by running raffles and fundraising stalls selling books, plants and May's homemade jewellery. The highlight in the Amnesty International calendar for many years was the garden party which he and May organised in the grounds of a residential home every August.

“But beyond this those who knew him will remember him for his care, his tolerance and calm approach to all issues. Ted was always ready to engage in a discussion but this would be conducted with civility and respect to the views of others. He was a great 'front man' for the organisations he supported, always ready with a speech and to raise a glass in a toast with a few appropriate words. Above all, what Ted liked to do was talk, discuss and debate.”

May suffered a severe stroke several years ago and Ted visited her in a nursing home daily until her death, a year before his.

He is survived by his daughters, his four grandchildren, Stephanie, Rachel, George and Beatrice and by his twin.