A TOWN is in mourning today after the death of a man who spent over 20 years working for the people of Ringwood.

Deputy mayor cllr Danny Cracknell, 70, who became the town's first mayor in 2000 and was elected to the position three times, died this morning after a long battle against cancer.

Current mayor Brian Terry has been leading the tributes to a man whose two favourite sayings were "my specialist subject is Ringwood and its People' and "we must listen to the young: they are 25% of our present and 100% of our future."

Cllr Terry said: "He was the epitome of community involvement and engagement in the town and a model for all of us to follow. He will be very greatly missed."

Cllr Cracknell was very much the public face of many events and activities in Ringwood and had been mayor for a total of five years since first joining the town council in 1987.

He was a Londoner by birth but was evacuated to Ringwood in 1941 and adopted the town as his home.


Nobody worked more for the town


Since becoming a member of the town council over 20 years ago cllr Cracknell, a father-of-three and grandfather of six, devoted much of his time to fighting for the rights of young people.

He was an important major player in the provision of one of the first skate parks in the area and supported it ever since. He continued to support the provision of additional sporting facilities within the town and was elected to New Forest District Council in 1991.

He was a founder member of The Ringwood Cheetahs banger racing group, which was started in 1974 in an effort to provide an outlet for young people's energy and, in particular, those who were not very interested in conventional sports.

In 1997 he was the instigator of the Ringwood Festival and chaired the organising committee for ten years. Largely due to his influence this event has grown from a small one-day event to a full week of a variety of events and activities for residents and visitors to the area.

One aspect of the Festival which has been particularly successful is a day when all local charities and good causes set up stalls in the Market Place to raise funds to help themselves, which has regularly allowed them to collect £2,000 each year.

For the past sixteen years, cllr Cracknell had been involved in collecting and distributing goods to the homeless each Christmas both locally and in Southampton, Portsmouth, Plymouth and London.

A statement issued by Ringwood Town Council today said: "Nobody in the town worked more tirelessly or gave more outstanding service over a long period across several different areas of activity, latterly, displaying a courageous determination to continue this work despite failing health."

Cllr Cracknell is survived by Diana, his wife of 48 years, their three children, Karen, Darryl and Miranda, and six grandchildren.