HELPING other people was always the first priority for a former Immingham town councillor.
That was the tribute to Michael Perrin paid by his children Helen and Richard, who said that they hoped people would remember him as "a strong family man, a good neighbour and a champion for the underdog".
Apart from his work on the town council he will be remembered for the various ways he reached out to the local communities running discos, a model boat club, a computer club, and Immingham Civic Centre's Cyber Cafe.
His son Richard said: "My father was the kind of man who would drop everything at a moment's notice to help someone else out."
The former Independent town councillor died peacefully in hospital on October 14 after a brief and unexpected illness.
A funeral service was held at Grimsby Crematorium where friends and family remembered the generosity of the 65-year-old.
In his youth, Michael served in the British Forces as part of the Royal Signals stationed around the world, including Berlin and Bahrain.
Even during this period he was always trying to entertain as he ran discos and performed as a radio DJ.
He ran a music and comedy show called "The Electric Engineer", which was popular with the Bahrain royal family.
He returned to Immingham in 1974 and worked at various Humber bank factories including Conoco, Millennium and eventually settling at British Steel.
Richard said: "When I was young we both got into computing, but doing it for ourselves wasn't enough for him. He set up the Immingham Computer Club where for years he helped local people buy their first computer and taught them how to use them and fixed their problems."
He added: "When he eventually joined Immingham Town Council, it wasn't out of any selfish desires. He thought the people of Immingham were paying too much in council tax and wanted to see what he could do about it."
He resigned from the Town Council in 2009 after many disagreements with both the council and the town clerk.
His daughter Helen Scott said: "Maybe my dad wasn't best suited for politics. His heart was in the right place, he wanted to do the right thing and he always said what he thought.
"My dad always said he wanted to live a life of no regrets. He'd travelled the world, and worked hard so he could treat himself to all the latest luxuries. He always said 'you might as well enjoy today because you never know what's coming tomorrow'."
Brother Allan Perrin said: "Mike did a lot more than people can imagine. He should not be remembered for one or two comments but for all the hard work he put into providing entertainment for the young people of Immingham.
"Everyone knows his council work, but few know of all his work for young people."
Michael built the Cyber Cafe in Immingham Civic Centre which provided young people and elderly residents with access to IT.
He also bought equipment and hosted, along with Allan, regular Kids' Nights in the Civic Centre.
Allan said: "He did all that because he wanted to do something for the kids.
"Every Wednesday there were about 120 kids enjoying themselves and everything that was there to keep them entertained was provided by Mike. He did a lot for Immingham.
"People talk a lot about getting kids off the streets, but Mike did it and ran the events for years."
Fellow former Independent councillor Vic Banks said: "I miss him greatly. He was a good pal to me."
"Mike had a good side to him. He did so much for the young people. He always spoke his mind."
Mr Perrin is survived by Helen, now living in the York area, Richard, in London, and grandson Adam.
