THE widow of a councillor who passed away over the summer wants to continue his passion for helping the community by standing for election to represent ward at Wiltshire Council.

Jerry Wickham died in June following a battle with prostate cancer. Before that he had been a cabinet member and ward councillor for Bratton, Edington, Dilton Marsh, Heywood and Coulston, collectively called the Ethandune ward.

Wife Suzanne Wickham will represent the conservative in the Ethandune by-election on September 19, against Liberal Democrat candidate Alan Rankin. Mrs Wickham said: "It has been very sad, but after a some time and thought I decided I could do this and continue the work and passion Jerry had. "For the last five years I have been with Jerry to meetings, taken messages for him and understand the real issues that people have in the ward. The B3098 is a real issue for the villages. There are more vehicles using it than it was ever intended for and speed is another real problem. The Parish Council and Wiltshire Council are already looking very closely at this so I am keen it continues. I want to be the voice for the parish councils at Wiltshire Council level."

"I live in a village with a great sense of community and I think if that can be achieved for more people it can make everything easier and a better place to live."

Representing the Liberal Democrats is Alan Rankin, who lives in Potterne and has had a varied career in the health and social care sector.

Mr Rankin said: "I believe the people of Ethandune deserve better and I want to deliver that for them. I want to make the most of supplementary planning conditions to protect the beautiful villages in Ethandune.

"There’s also issues with the road which connect the villages as the backbone running through them. Although in Edington there’s a concentration on the weight and amount of built up traffc in the area, in the other end of Dilton Marsh the concerns are more greatly about speeding."

"I have been out door knocking and speaking to lots of people about the issues they face."

Mr Rankin lives is a qualified psychotherapist and is a keen activist for people living with medical unexplained symptoms such as Me and CFS.