Former Oldham Council leader, Cllr Jean Stretton, has died.

Cllr Stretton, who represented Hollinwood for 19 years and became the council's first female leader, has died aged 64.

Raised on the Alt estate, she was educated at Alt Primary School and Hathershaw Comprehensive.

After studying an MBA at Bolton Institute she returned to live in Hollinwood in 1989.

Cllr Stretton lived in Hollinwood since 1989 and was first elected as a ward councillor for the area in 2003.

The Labour representative held several cabinet member posts covering a wide range of areas that include housing, health and wellbeing, town centres, culture and tourism.

She also served as neighbourhood cabinet member for neighbourhoods in the current makeup of the council's leadership.

In 2013, Cllr Stretton was named "Community Champion of the Year" at the C’llr Achievement Awards organised by the LGiU for what judges called her “inspiring work to help her community in Oldham recover following a gas explosion” in Shaw.

She went on to become the council's first female leader in a role she served for more than two years, from January 2016 to May 2018, before she was voted out by her party and succeeded by Sean Fielding. 

Among her other duties, Cllr Stretton was chair of Oldham Credit Union, a governor at Oasis Academy, Limehurst Primary School and served on the Contour Estate Board since 2003.

She was also a keen supporter of Oldham Foodbank.

Married to John, she had two stepchildren, five grandchildren and a great granddaughter andidescribed herself in biographic notes as “a very, very, young great granny”.

A tribute from the council is expected to be released this week.