A COMMUNITY champion who received the MBE and won York’s first Community Pride Person of the Year award for his work with young people has died, aged 82.

Eddie Benson was Haxby Youth Club leader for 36 years, and in 1998, following a spate of antisocial behaviour in the area, he formed the Haxby and Wigginton Youth & Community Association.

The association, based at Oaken Grove community centre, said in a statement yesterday that staff, trustees, volunteers and users had been ‘deeply saddened’ by his death.

“Eddie was responsible for the formation of the Association in 1998 and its subsequent expansion setting up of the Oaken Grove Community Centre at the site of a local school,” it said.

“Eddie continued as chair until 2009 and went on to lead the Pop Inn, a popular Haxby and Wigginton lunch club for older people in the community, a role he continued until his death.

“Eddie has been an important figure in the local area since the 1950s. In that time, he has been a respected and popular youth worker, a school governor, a football referee for junior teams and a member of Haxby Town Council where he represented young people’s interests.”

Martin Crosby, the current chair of trustees, said Eddie would be much missed by everyone involved with the association, which only existed because of his dedication and talent.

“On a personal level he was kind, good humoured and worked harder than anyone I’ve ever met,” he said.

“His work has made a huge difference to so many lives here and so, whilst he will be missed, he will not be forgotten.”

Former York football referee Graham Bradbury said he first came across Eddie as a member of the York Referees’ Association back in 1976 and he had been a ‘tremendous help’ to him when he was chairman of the association.

“He was the first ever recipient of the York RA Chairman’s Award too, back in 1990/91,” he added.

When Eddie stepped down as chairman of the association in 2009, he told The Press he was ‘very proud’ of what it had achieved for Haxby and Wigginton, and paid tribute to staff, volunteers and trustees who had served alongside him over the years.

Eddie’s widow Anne said yesterday he had died on August 13 from pneumonia after being in hospital for eight weeks. She said he had been suffering over the past six months from Guillain-Barre Syndrome. which had prevented him walking or eating unaided.

She said she and Eddie, who worked for Vickers Instruments, had celebrated their Diamond Wedding in June, and they had three sons, David, Christopher and Philip, 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

She added that Eddie’s funeral would take place at noon on Friday September 1 at St Mary’s Church, Haxby, at which the collection would be for the association.