ALTHOUGH Eric Beint lives 190 miles away he never lost touch with the town where he was born and the town he loved.

And when his ashes are scattered at Coate Water, he will finally be at peace at home.

As a loyal Advertiser reader right up until his death on Thursday, 85-year-old Eric always knew more about what was happening in Swindon than his local relatives.

After moving to Burnley in 1956, due to wife Joan's family commitments, and then Padiham in Lancashire, Swindon, was never far from his thoughts.

His brother Ken, 75, of Bankside, Old Town, paid tribute to a kind and caring man who was proud of his home town.

Ken said: "Eric is a prime example of what people will do for their roots.

"It's about passion for your roots and it means a lot to some people."

Born in Osborne Street, Eric spent many happy years living in Mulberry Grove, Pinehurst, with his wife when he was employed at the railway works.

Ken said: "He was asked if he wanted to stand as a councillor in Burnley and he said what would I want to do that for - what interest have I got with Burnley?' "I'm sure he would have agreed to be a councillor in Swindon.

"Eric was interested in everything. The first thing we had to do when he came down was take him out to see all the new developments."

Ken and wife Beryl, 71, described Eric as someone who did what he believed in and that he was always a keen letter writer to the Advertiser on countless issues.

Letters from Burnley often raised the eyebrows of other letter writers who did not realise Eric's connections to the area.

The borough of Swindon even owes its name in part to the campaign headed by Eric when it was renamed the borough of Thamesdown in 1974.

Ken said: "Eric was quite incensed about it and he started his campaign.

"He spent a fortune writing letters all over the country."

Eric even corresponded with Lord Denning, who was Master of the Rolls at the time.

When the name Swindon was finally reinstated in 1997, Ken and Joan were the guests of honour at the council's civic office celebrations.

In recognition of his campaigning there will be a floral tribute at Ken's funeral from the council as a thank you from the town's citizens.

Ken said: "He thought that much of the town so it's nice to think that the town can respond in this way, both the Advertiser and the council."

Eric's early experiences of Swindon life were certainly eventful.

He started an apprenticeship as a Swindon mechanic and then joined the RAF as a fitter in 1940.

When Swindon was bombed during the Second World War, he had a near miss after a bomb fell on Bradley's Corner.

"Something told him to run across the road and throw himself on the doorstep of the shop on the corner and as he did so a bomb dropped exactly where he'd been," said Ken.

The old Swindonian loved the area around Coate Water and spent many hours there in his youth.

Eric leaves his wife Joan, 83, their children Christine, 63, and Kevin, 59, six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.