TRIBUTES have been paid to a hugely popular Winsford doctor and his wife after they died within two weeks of each other.

A joint funeral was held for Dr Bipin Ponda and his wife Sushila at Northwich Crematorium on Sunday, October 23, attended by many family, friends and members of the Winsford community.

Born in India, Dr Ponda qualified as a doctor of medicine in Bombay (now Mumbai) before moving to England in 1960 at the age of 29.

After hospital posts in Huddersfield and Barony Hospital in Nantwich, Dr Ponda moved to Winsford in 1966 and began working at the Swanlow Medical Centre.

Friend and former colleague Dr Achla Damania said: "It is with great sadness that all at Swanlow Medical Practice learnt of the death of Dr Bipin Ponda, just two weeks after the passing of his loving wife, Sushila.

"Dr Ponda and Sushila, had a long and loving marriage and their family was tremendously important to them both.

"They will be a sad loss to our community, but they have left behind a legacy of fond memories for a couple who were strong, principled, and caring, and who both lived life to the full."

Dr Ponda was a dedicated GP who worked for 35 years at Swanlow, from 1966 until his retirement in 2001.

He was instrumental in shaping the practice and overseeing its growth and development.

Away from medicine, Dr Ponda also spent 20 years serving the community on Winsford Town Council, holding the honorary title of town mayor twice, in 1980-81 and 1983-84.

Dr Damania added Dr Ponda was described as 'a pillar of the Winsford community'.

In addition to his work on the town council, Dr Ponda was an active member of the rotary club for 40 years, having joined in 1973 and serving as club president in 1986.

In recent years, he and his wife Sushila continued to help the club put together food parcels at Christmas for the Salvation Army.

Current Winsford & Middlewich Rotary club president Ron Attley said: "Bipin was a lovely fellow, very pleasant and very sociable, and obviously sadly missed by everyone who knew him."

Dr Ponda also served as president of the Winsford Stroke Club, president of the Winsford Conservative Club and vice president of the Winsford branch of the BDA.

He was also a board member of the Central Cheshire Primary Care Group and the Coronary Heart Disease Group.