Daryl Matthews, the deputy mayor of Dursley in Gloucestershire, died during a family holiday in France on 29 July, 2008.

Daryl Matthews, 45, was believed to have suffered a heart attack as he was overcome by a strong Atlantic sea current. Despite the best efforts of fellow tourists and the emergency services, he died later in hospital.

A family man and stalwart of the Labour Party, he was committed to the community in which he lived.

“He was just the most kind, adorable, funny, generous and clever person,” said his wife Vicky. “He had a good socialist upbringing - he was a working class boy done well and he was really proud of that.”

A housing options review officer with Gloucester City Council, he was “a fixture” in Dursley, said Stroud MP David Drew.

“It's very sad because he was one of the people who was a fixture in Dursley and he was a young man,” said Mr Drew, who called on his services as his agent at the last general election.

“He put up with my idiosyncrasies and I put up with his, not least him nipping out for a fag to plan the next step in the campaign.

“I will miss him as a friend, a Forest Green Rovers supporter and a stalwart Labour Party member.”

The Matthews family had been holidaying in Bretignolles sur Mer in the Vendee region when tragedy struck. He was in the sea with his son Charley, 17.

“We started to get sucked under,” said Charley. “He just went under.”

He may have suffered a heart attack in the water, and German tourists pulled him out. “He was in a coma from that moment,” said Mrs Matthews, a deputy head teacher at Tewkesbury School.

“We had arrived last Saturday for a lovely family holiday, probably the last all together, as the children are growing up.”

He died later in hospital with his family by his side.

Mr Matthews went to Hartcliffe Comprehensive School in Bristol and graduated from University College, London, where he met his wife.

They moved to Dursley in 1997 and Mr Matthews threw himself into town life.

“Politics was his life, and his family,” said Mrs Matthews. “He supported Bristol Rovers - we moved here so he could see more of them - but we became Forest Green Rovers fans too. “He would do anything for anyone, which is why he did not finish everything in the house.”

He was a member of Dursley Male Voice Choir, a governor of Dursley primary school, a member of the Old Spot quiz team, a DIY fanatic and an avid reader of history books.

Above all he was a dad and he and his wife were proud that Charley and daughter Rosa. attended a comprehensive, Rednock School in Dursley. Rosa, 18, was due to collect her A level results in July, 2008.

“Our children were the most important things in his life,” Mrs Matthews added. Charley said anything his dad read went in. “He had superb general knowledge,” he said. “He was very strong minded, almost stubborn.”

His mother-in-law, Jacq Graydon said: “I don't think I ever spoke to him when he did not make me laugh. He had a most wonderful sense of humour.”

Hilary Fowles, who represented Dursley as a Labour district councillor, said: “He was such a lovely chap. It will leave a huge hole in Dursley.”

Gloucester City Council chief executive Julian Wain said: “Daryl was a much-liked and respected officer who will be sadly missed by his friends and colleagues. Our thoughts and condolences go out to his family.”