TRIBUTES have been pouring in following the death of the much-loved founder of Lyme Regis Radio and Lyme Regis TV Gordon ‘Nomad’ Smith.

Mr Smith, who was in his 60s, died on New Year’s Eve after losing his fight with lung cancer.

Originally from the North East of England, he moved to the town in the late 1990s, and was an important member in reinventing the music scene in Lyme Regis.

In 2004, with his fiancée Mary Bull, he co-founded Lyme Regis Radio before incorporating it with Lyme Regis TV and forming the Community Media Association.

Town Mayor Coun Sally Holman said: “I have been speaking to Mary and she has said she is overwhelmed with the messages of support she has received from people from Lyme Regis, and wishes to thank everybody for sending them to her.

“Nomad was very important for the music scene and got a lot of things going and, of course, gave Lyme Regis its own radio and television channel.

“He has been a big loss since he left the town in July, and he was bravely fighting his cancer and was just about to embark on his third course of chemotherapy.

“He was a good friend and a great person to work with and he will be missed.”

Geoff Baker, who knew Mr Smith well after collaborating on a number of projects, said: “Nomad was a great encouragement to the younger bands of the town, he helped to bring them on and helped a lot of them. He was a great musician and teacher.

“He was the inspiration behind Guitars on the Beach and was the first person I went to when I got the idea. He was the one who suggested everyone played along to Rave On. He was without doubt the epicentre of music development in Lyme Regis.

“He was an absolute lion of a man. He wasn’t the biggest in stature but he was massive in heart, very intelligent and very perceptive. It is a huge shock, and such a tragic loss.”

Mr Smith and his band Mary Land and the Pure Dirt band also released a song to celebrate Lyme Regis during the summer two years ago. The video for the song has got more than 1,000 hits on YouTube.

Alan Vian, who worked with Nomad at Lyme Regis Radio, said: “I was very sad to hear that he had died. He was a really great person to work with and I had so many hours of fun with him. He was just great fun to be with and he brought a sparkle into everyone’s lives.

“He will be sorely missed by all of the town.”