Tributes have been paid to a founder member of the Alexandra Hospital's League of Friends who died recently.

Rae (Rachel) Allcock helped start the charitable group but a long time before this she helped arrange flowers, both at Bromsgrove Hospital and then at Smallwood Hospital.

She worked in the coffee shop at the hospital and more recently ran a hugely popular library service for patients and staff.

Mrs Allcock also belonged to many other organisations and with her late husband, Ray, she travelled extensively.

She regularly took holidays to the Isle of Man where she took great interest in the TT Races and for many years acted as a timekeeper for them.

League of Friends president Jean Newbould said: "I knew her for more than 40 years and we shall all miss her terribly.

"She worked so diligently for the league and did so much good work, including the library service, the coffee shop and raising a lot of money through the annual fete raffle at the hospital.

"Rae was a stalwart member of the league, spending nearly every day here helping out in all manner of ways.

"Her death is a huge loss to everyone who knew and worked with her."