We were very saddened to hear of the death Abdul Hamid Chowdry who died in a car crash whilst in Pakistan.

Mr Chowdry was an active member of the community who had links with people across the UK.

He became one of the first Asian councillors in the region representing the ward of Smallbridge and Wardleworth (Rochdale) for the Labour party in the seventies.

He continued to hold numerous roles in recent years but it will be his community work that he will be remembered for. He was always at the forefront of new and pioneering projects and was also a key advisor to this newspaper when the publication was in its infancy.

He worked most notably over the years in the field of Race equality and Health and Safety. He was Director of Blackburn with Darwen Racial Equality Council and chaired a number of committees including Housing, Policy and Economic Development.

Despite all his paid for and volunteer work his real passion became a bid to forge links betwen Rochdale and Sahiwal through the group - Friends of Sahiwal'. He helped set-up various projects to help develop the area.

Above all Mr Chowdry had a knack of calming even the most tense situations with his diplomatic and friendly style. It was a skill few people have.

It is believed that Mr Chowdry's nephew Mohammed Rashad and cousin Abad Ali were also killed in the crash. Mr Chowdry was on his way to the airport and was to fly home to be at the wedding of his neice.

Mr Chowdry died on 25 July 2007. Our condolences go out to his family and friends.