POLITICIANS, churchgoers and residents across North Somerset are in mourning following the death of a Portishead councillor and Methodist lay preacher, at just 48 years of age. Cllr Nick Brown, of Tower Road, died last Thursday in Frenchay Hospital. At th

POLITICIANS, churchgoers and residents across North Somerset are in mourning following the death of a Portishead councillor and Methodist lay preacher, at just 48 years of age.Cllr Nick Brown, of Tower Road, died last Thursday in Frenchay Hospital.At the time of going to press, the father-of-two's death was being put down to 'gastrointestinal bleeding', but this had yet to be confirmed.Cllr Brown was born in Wolverhampton and had been involved in Liberal Party politics since his student days at Trent Polytechnic.A chartered accountant, he moved to Portishead in 1987 and worked for Solomon Hare Corporate Finance in Bristol for 15 years before starting up his own business.Cllr Brown was leader of the Independent group at North Somerset Council. He was elected to the council in May 1995 to represent Portishead West Ward. During his time as a district councillor, Cllr Brown served as chairman of the finance and performance policy and scrutiny panel and vice chairman of the standards committee. Cllr Brown had also been west ward member for Portishead and North Weston Town Council since May 1991, and in 1992 he stood for Parliamentary election for the Woodspring constituency.A member of Portishead and Redcliffe Bay Methodist Churches, Cllr Brown also visited congregations across North Somerset as a lay preacher.Cllr Brown is survived by his wife, Cathy, and their two children, Simon and Victoria, aged 12 and nine. Cllr Bob Cook, chairman of North Somerset Council, said: "It is with much shock and sadness that we have been informed of the death of Cllr Nick Brown. "He was a very active and experienced councillor and this is extremely sad news for the community of Portishead and North Somerset as a whole."Jean Lord, chairman of Portishead and North Weston Town Council, said: "Whenever Nick spoke, we knew we had his honest opinion, the result of careful consideration and his concern of what was best for Portishead."He would never change these views for convenience or popularity, an integrity for which he was respected."His contributions to meetings were not always predictable, but they always made us think."Paying tribute to her late husband, Cathy Brown said: "Nick cared deeply about people and the community and will be missed greatly by his family and friends."When I walk around Portishead I see constant evidence of how he touched people's lives."Residents who would like to pay their last respects to Cllr Brown are invited to do so at Weston Crematorium in Weston-super-Mare on March 27 at 1pm, or at Portishead Methodist Church an hour later.Cllr Brown's family requests that, instead of floral tributes, donations are made to Christian Aid in his memory.