Former County Councillor Janet Anderson died on March 17 at the age of 84 after losing her battle with recurrent chest infections.

Mrs Anderson represented the Kings Langley division, including Bovingdon, Chipperfield & Flaunden, on the County Council from 1996 to 2003.

Despite the Conservative Party’s unpopularity in 1996, Mrs Anderson worked hard to win the by-election caused by the death of her husband Dr Iain Anderson.

Her youngest son, borough & parish councillor Alan Anderson said “Not many people spearhead major petitions whilst campaigning for a county election at the same time, and it is a measure of the effort she put into things that she managed to hold onto the seat at that time, and prevent the development of Bovingdon Airfield.

“My mother then spent seven years really throwing her heart and soul into the role as a local campaigner, when others might have ‘wheeled and dealed’ instead.

“She fought particularly hard on behalf of village parents trying to get their children into the villages school at Kings Langley, rather than schools in the middle of Hemel Hempstead.

“Amongst other campaigns, Janet worked to defend residents against the re-use of a chalk quarry in Flaunden as a refuse tip, and the introduction of a concrete crusher in Bovingdon.

“She enjoyed her role as a school governor, especially as part of the team that recruited the new headteacher who turned around Kings Langley School.

“But it was not all just about local campaigning. My mother was one of the first chairmen of the Hertfordshire Waste Panel, which was a County Council committee set up specifically to tackle what to do with the burgeoning refuse problem and to maximise recycling.

“Nor was it my mother's first involvement in public life. In the 1960s, when she settled in the local area and her husband was first elected, Janet helped as a Brownie pack leader.

“Then in the early 1970s, she and a colleague managed to get the membership of the Conservative Party in Kings Langley up to 400 people - irrespective of political party, that was an unprecedented achievement, as it represented a tenth of the electorate."

Mrs Anderson's funeral will take place at St Johns, Boxmoor, Hemel Hempstead, where she volunteered for a while in the 1990s, on Tuesday April 11, starting at 12.30pm.

The flowers are family only, and they have asked that if there are any donations, they are made via the internet at www.jworley.co.uk or by cheque to the Hospice of St Francis.