A FAMILY has paid tribute to a 'lovely' and 'kind-hearted' man.

The body of Colin Purton was discovered in the River Dee on June 6 after he was reported missing two weeks prior.

A North Wales Police spokesman said yesterday: "Formal identification has now taken place and we can confirm that it is Colin Purton, aged 78, who went missing from his home in Penyffordd on 22 May.

"Next of kin have been informed.

"There do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a file will prepared for the coroner."

The Leader has previously reported that the Saltney community rallied together in a bid to search for him and the family has thanked Donna Sue for organising it.

Cousin Norma Lynch Parry (formerly Purton) said: "He was a lovely man. There was only 18 months between us so we were quite close growing up.

"When we were children, he was living with my grandparents, and we used to play together. We used to have a swing on the tree and we used to play up there and looking for grass snakes.

"He was a real country boy, he loved being outside and doing the garden and everything.

"I have wonderful memories of us playing on the farm, out in the fresh air all day long. He was lovely looking blonde haired boy, we were very close."

She added: "At Christmas time we always went to my grandmother's house, the whole family did, we got together every year. After lunch every Christmas we would spend the evening together. We had no TV in those days so we played cards and played the piano. We had a wonderful childhood.

"Colin was a very lovely man. Unfortunately when he was a child he had health problems in his ear so he became quite deaf. He couldn't hear what anyone was saying so I think he missed out on a lot of things.

"People thought he was stupid but he wasn't, he was very bright. It was quite sad really.

"He worked with the council for quite a few years but he also had something wrong with his lungs so he retired quite early, earlier than he should have done.

"I married and went to live away but when I divorced I moved to Chester and Colin would come and see me and come and look at what I was doing in my garden to see what I was up to. He loved gardening.

"The circumstances have been awful because we have spent two weeks not knowing where he was and then hearing they found him in the river, it was so sad."

Cousin Terry Purton said Colin was a very independent person, who never married.

He said: "We saw each other every year at Christmas without fail, our family would spend time together, we had no TV or phones in those days.

"Colin was a very independent person, kind-hearted and loved to go walking. Whenever he was on holiday he would go off on his own for a walk, he loved being outside."

Helen Samuels, Terry's daughter, added: "From what I can remember of Colin he loved walking, always had time to talk to you and was a really lovely person and will be sadly missed."

Friend Sted Tebble, from Penyffordd said: "I worked with Colin from 1961 to about 1967 at No-Nail Boxes in Saltney. To me, Colin was a very nice gentleman, he wouldn’t hurt a fly. I left the company in 1967 and Colin shortly after to work with Flintshire Council.

"He was a fine sportsman, the finest sportsman  around here that anyone has ever heard of. He played cricket for Castell Alun and was the number one or number two batsman. He was also good at football and a very good player.

"In 1966 when England hosted the world cup, we went to watch every match together. When England played West Germany at Wembley I had the opportunity to go and watch the match and asked Colin to come, but unfortunately he said no. Afterwards, when I returned to work, Colin said to me that was one of the biggest regrets he had in life.

"He was a very nice gentleman and I was saddened to hear what had happened.

Also paying tribute, niece Janet Purton said:  "He was a great sportsman and loved the outdoors. He loved playing football and played a lot of cricket, being outdoors was his life.

"He was also part of the Ramblers.

"He loved all of that sort of stuff and his holidays abroad, it was all about being outside with nature. 

"It is a big loss to the family."