A FORMER mayor and leader of Salisbury City Council has died aged 54.

Andrew Roberts, who led the council between 2013 and 2017, will be remembered by his fellow councillors for his “brilliant mind”.

He died on Monday, after being diagnosed with small cell cancer at the beginning of 2017.

Mr Roberts moved to Whiteparish as a teenager in 1978, where he attended Bishop Wordsworth’s School, before studying law at Cambridge.

He returned to Salisbury in 1989, after qualifying as a solicitor, and worked in law firms in Southampton and London.

He also worked for several years at Labour Party headquarters as a compliance lawyer.

In 2007, Mr Roberts became the cabinet member for finance in the Labour and Lib Dem coalition administration of Salisbury District Council.

He ensured that a debt free council was handed over to the new unitary authority, Wiltshire Council, in 2009.

After a quiet four years on the city council as an independent representing the St Paul’s Ward, he rose to prominence again in 2013 when he assumed the leadership of a hung city council.

Chairman of the Salisbury Labour Party, Steve Fear, said: “Andrew played an essential role in that council at an extraordinarily difficult time. He had a brilliant mind and provided clear guidance to the coalition cabinet.

“He gained respect from councillors of all political parties.”

And councillor John Walsh, who served alongside Mr Roberts, added: “I shall remember him, as a man of high intellect and integrity, who still had the common touch, which he used to good effect to fight for residents in abusive situations.

“His premature departure from the political scene leaves us all impoverished.”

Mr Roberts’ brother, Dave, said he was a keen sports fan and staunch Southampton FC supporter, as well as being “incredible” at DIY, and loving dancing during his days as a student.

He spent his life living in Salisbury with his wife Deborah and his two boys.

And he said leading the city was among the things his brother was proudest of, as well as the achievements of his sons George and Frederick.

“We’ll miss him. We’ll miss his intellect, we’ll miss his generosity of spirit, and him correcting us when we’re wrong,” Mr Roberts added.

Funeral details to follow in next week’s Journal.