Tributes have been paid to 'a true pillar of the community', who has died at the age of 87.

Rosalie Monbiot died at Driftwood House Care Home in Hunstanton on March 5.

Mrs Monbiot, from Burnham Market, was a long-serving Norfolk county councillor for the Docking ward and the cabinet member for children and young people.

Her tenure included a £200m modernisation programme in 2006 which saw mobile classrooms across the county replaced by 11 new schools and major extensions or improvements at another 63.

Andrew Proctor, leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “I was saddened to hear of the death of Rosalie, who served as a county councillor from 2001 to 2009.

"Many people at County Hall have fond memories of both her kindness and her dedication to the county.

"As cabinet member for children and young people she worked tirelessly to deliver the best possible services for Norfolk, and many Norfolk residents have been touched by her work whether they know it or not.

"I know I speak for all of my colleagues when I say our thoughts are with her family at this time.”

Her son, the journalist and environmental campaigner George Monbiot, said: "My mother worked extremely hard for a wide range of good causes, earning the respect and gratitude of all those who worked with her. She was a true pillar of the community."

Politics and public service ran through Mrs Monbiot's veins. She was the oldest daughter of Roger Gresham Cooke, the Conservative MP for Twickenham.

Her late brother Canon Hereward Cooke was a priest, industrial chaplain and the leader of the Liberal Democrats and deputy leader from 2002 - 2006 of Norwich City Council.

She was the Conservative leader of South Oxfordshire District Council for a decade before moving to Norfolk and had been awarded an OBE for her contribution to politics and public service in 1992.

A family notice described her as "beloved wife of Raymond, loving mother of George and Eleanor and the late Katherine, grandmother to Hannah and Martha". Donations may be made to Cancer Research UK.