TRIBUTES have been paid to 'one of Mold's character's' who holds a place in the Chester Hall of Fame.

Ronnie Hughes died on Tuesday, July 30 at the age of 89 after a long battle with dementia.

Ronnie, who lived in Broncoed Park, Mold, was Chester FC's second highest league appearance holder with 399 - just seven behind his contemporary Ray Gill.

He was inducted into the Chester Hall of Fame in 2016, which son Dave Hughes says is a massive achievement.

Dave Hughes, Flintshire County Councillor, told the Leader: "It's quite an achievement being in the hall of fame.

"You rarely get players who played as long as he did, it was a rarity, especially in those days.

"He was an excellent footballer and was well known in Chester."

Mr Hughes signed for Chester professionally in 1950 and made his debut when Chester won 5-0 at Rochdale.

Chester and District Standard:

After leaving Chester in 1962, he then went on to play for Oswestry, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Holywell, before taking up a managerial role with Mold Alexandra in the 1970s.

Cllr Hughes added: "He was one of mold's characters. Everyone knew him because he lived here for all of his life.

"Dad would never leave Mold because my mum didn't want to leave either.

"Other teams wanted to sign him but he would never leave the area.

"I used to manage Mold when they were successful in the 80s and he would come to every game with me on a Sunday and we would have a debate over what we should have done.

"Football was in his blood, all of his life."

After football, the former Chester FC defender worked for A.J Davies' sweet company and Vauxhall Motors in Ellesmere Port.

After that, he took a job with the County Council where he was tasked with looking after the playing fields and marking pitches.

Cllr Hughes said his dad wasn't just a good footballer, he was also a great family man.

He said: "He was always very supporting, very quiet and he was a good dad. He always supported me and was good with the grandkids, he doted on them.

"He never missed a sports day and would always take them to their sporting games. Sport is a massive part of our family.

"Before he retired he got a job with the council marking pitches and he loved it. He didn't like factory work.

"He will go down as a character of Mold. Everyone knew him."

Ronnie's funeral will be held on Tuesday, August 13 at 2pm at St Mary's Church in Mold, followed by a cremation at Northop.

The family has said donations will be gratefully received, which will be donated to Mold Alexandra FC.

Cllr Hughes said: "He had been ill for a long time so it was a blessing in the end.

"You don't want to see anyone you love go through that. I used to go and see him and he couldn't remember who I was. It was quite sad."

Ronnie leaves behind his son Dave Hughes, daughter Shirley Jones, nine grandchildren and his great grandchildren.

In an obituary from the Chester FC website, Chas Sumner wrote: "With the departure of Don Travis in 1954 Chester struggled to find goals and in September Ron was given his chance to shine at centre forward.

"After scoring in his first game against Grimsby he followed it up with goals in the home and away fixtures against Carlisle but capped this with a hat-trick at Crewe.

"The run of six goals in seven games was enough to make him leading scorer that season.

"He later admitted that, although he enjoyed his time at centre forward, he preferred playing in defence because it was easier.

"The club send out their condolences to his family and friends."

Ronnie played his last game for Chester in May 1962 against Carlisle United.