A FORMER Oxford magistrate who served for nearly 30 years has died aged 72.

Malcolm Brown, from Eynsham, was also a retained firefighter and former chairman of Eynsham Social and Sports Club.

He died on September 11 following a long illness and more than 300 people turned out to pay their respects at his funeral.

His son, Phil Brown, hailed his father as “a really caring” person who gave him and his siblings “the ideal childhood”.

He said: “Despite such a busy life, my father was a devoted family man and was extremely proud of his children, six grandchildren and great grandchild.”

Mr Brown was born in 1938 and was brought up in Princes Street, East Oxford.

The eldest of three children, he lived in the same road until leaving in the mid-1950s to carry out his national service in Aldershot.

He then met his wife, Grace, and the two were married in March 1960. They moved to Eynsham in 1962, raising their three children, Phil, Sue and Rob, in the village.

In 1964, Mr Brown joined the fire service as a retained firefighter at the Eynsham station.

Phil added: “My dad became a leading fireman and was devoted to his role for many years.

“He was devastated when, in 1979, he had to leave the service due to problems with his eyesight. It took him years to get over that.”

In 1980, Mr Brown was invited to become a magistrate in Oxford, and continued to serve until the compulsory retirement age of 70.

His son said: “My father was a magistrate for 28 years and would sit on a Monday, often getting the leftovers from the carnage of the weekend.

“He got to know many of the drunken regulars and would sometimes have to dive into shops to avoid running into them.”

But Mr Brown said his father had loved the role. He said: “He was a really caring bloke, and I think his humanity helped him become an extremely good magistrate.”

Mr Brown was also chairman of Eynsham Pre-school group and helped to run the Baptist Church Youth Club.

He was a keen Aunt Sally player in the Wychwood League and a passionate supporter of Oxford United.

His son said: “My dad must have gone to nearly 1,000 games and I have some very happy memories spent with him.

“Plus six other family members now have season tickets, so it obviously rubbed off.”

Mr Brown celebrated his golden wedding anniversary with his wife in March.

A stroke in 2007 meant the family celebrated quietly at home.

His son said: “Me and my siblings had the ideal childhood.

“My dad was never judgemental and was always supportive and proud.

“He would never let you buy the drinks at the pub, or pay for a meal – he was just a geniune and generous man.”

A collection at Mr Brown’s funeral, which was held in St Leonard’s Church on September 22, raised more than £1,000 for vascular disease research.