A 'TENACIOUS' independent councillor who ‘was still helping people in hospital’ while he waited for a heart transplant has died at the age of 44.

Paul Maiden, who has represented residents in Hindley Green on Wigan Council since 2018, had recently announced from a hospital bed he would stand down in May.

The former band promoter, who was involved in a car accident some years ago, had been waiting for a heart transplant since suffering a health scare last year.

But after spending months in hospital, the diabetic said several toes and part of his foot had to be removed and a further amputation may be needed.

Maiden died soon after in a Salford hospital on Sunday night.

Colleagues, constituents and small businesses have paid tribute to Maiden.

Fellow independent councillor for Hindley Green Bob Brierley described Maiden as a ‘fun-loving guy’ who valued his role as an elected representative.

He said: “He was a brilliant councillor. He always made his mark in the town hall.

“He was a very, very clever man. He was helping small businesses during the Covid crisis. And he fully supported the residents of Hindley Green.”

Cllr Brierley said Maiden was in ‘excruciating’ pain – but he hoped to recover and return to politics in time for the 2023 all-out council elections.

Atherton councillor Stuart Gerrard, who leads the Independent Alliance – a political group which Maiden was a member of – was ‘deeply upset’ by the news of his death.

He said: “Paul was a tenacious councillor who put his constituents first and foremost and was never afraid to stand up for them and hold the council to account for them. On behalf of the Independent Alliance we send our thoughts and prayers to Paul’s family and friends, he will be sorely missed.”

Maiden was credited for helping small businesses during the Covid crisis.

He was defiant in his defence of businesses which had been reprimanded by the authorities when hospitality reopened following the first Covid lockdown.

Wigan Council has lowered the flags at the town hall to half mast for Maiden.

A statement on the council’s website reads: “It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the death of Councillor Paul Maiden (Independent Councillor for the Hindley Green Ward) on Sunday, February 20. Confirmation of the funeral arrangements will be shared in due course.”