TRIBUTES have been paid following the death of county councillor Don Allen - one of the key figures in the Hampshire education system.

Cllr Allen, Hampshire County Council Cabinet member for education, died at Basingstoke hospital on Saturday evening after a long battle with respiratory problems.

He was 65 and had represented the Kingsclere and Tadley division of the county council since 1989.

Cllr Ken Thornber, the Conservative leader of the county council, said: "Don had been in ill-health for a number of years but his death comes as a dreadful shock.

"He carried a very heavy workload with responsibility for the education of our many thousands of children and, despite his failing health, he continued to work on their behalf until the last moment.

"Hampshire has lost a dedicated man. Don will be greatly missed by everyone in the county council. We have lost someone with a true insight."

Cllr Adrian Collett, the leader of the Liberal Democrats on the county council, said Cllr Allen had been respected by people of all political persuasions and his magnificent achievement was to maintain a consensus about the right way forward.

Cllr Jane Frankum, county Labour party spokesman for education, said: "Don Allen was one of life's gentlemen and, throughout his life, had a passion for education. He was a friend as well as a respected colleague."

North West Hampshire MP Sir George Young said Cllr Allen had been totally committed to education and was prepared to stick his neck out. He said: "Don fought hard for resources. What was special about him was that he believed in a strong local education authority backing up schools at a time when policy was moving towards cutting out the LEAs and handing over the money directly.

"He was also very popular on the doorstep when out canvassing, and although his health had been visibly bad in the last few years, he kept going."

Cllr Allen had been a governor of Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke since 1988 and saw the college through the period when it moved out of local education authority control. He was chairman of the college corporation from 1992 to 2004.

Andy Harding, Cllr Allen's successor as chairman, said: "The college more than doubled in size under his leadership and has become more financially secure. He gave a huge investment of his time and was a tough act to follow."

Cllr Allen was brought up in Derby and, as a youngster, made the rare switch from secondary modern to grammar school after taking the 13-plus examinations.

He took a Bachelor of Technical Science degree from Manchester University and obtained a post-graduate Certificate in Education at the University of Leicester.

For three years he taught chemistry at a grammar school before joining IBM, where he worked in sales and marketing for 28 years, taking early retirement in 1993.

County council Conservative colleagues Cllrs Phil Heath and Keith Chapman said they admired him hugely despite not always having agreed with him.

Cllr Heath, a former Cabinet member, said: "We have three or four new schools in Hampshire without Government funding and that's thanks to him."

Cllr Chapman said he will be handling any problems arising in Cllr Allen's division, until the county council elections scheduled for May.

"I've lost a friend. All our thoughts are with his family," he said.

Cllr Allen, who lived in Heathrow Copse, Baughurst, leaves a wife, Sheila, who is a Basingstoke and Deane borough councillor, and two sons, Richard and David.