FRIENDS and family paid tribute to a dedicated voluntary care worker who has died at the age of 86.

Elsie Stafford, of Gordon Road, Wealdstone, set up the charity Harrow National Schizophrenia Fellowship and spent 30 years helping people with severe mental illnesses and their families.

The mother-of-two, whose son John has schizophrenia, acted as a mentor to carers, helped them share their problems and wrote monthly newsletters highlighting ways carers could cope.

Her son Martin, 48, who now lives with his wife Jenny and their 11 children in Dartford, spoke of his loss since his mother passed away on May 1 after a battle against cancer.

He said: "I am so proud of my mum and her efforts to improve care in Harrow, even when she had problems of her own.

"She campaigned mainly during the early 80s and 90s when Harrow was lacking in support for carers. Often carers get forgotten but she touched the lives of so many people and she will always be remembered."

Elsie was born and brought up in Watford but moved to Harrow 50 years ago with her husband Ted. She was involved in establishing every residential home and facility for the mentally ill in the borough.

The fellowship - now called Harrow Rethink - is in Station Road, Harrow, and helps more than 48,000 people affected by severe mental illness every year through a variety of services.

Close friend Bernard Hart nominated Elsie for an MBE. He said: "I first met her about 20 years ago following a devastating day for my wife and myself when we were told that our son had paranoid schizophrenia. We were eventually put in touch with Elsie.

"She was a revelation to us. She was not only very knowledgeable on the subject of severe metal illness, she was also a fellow carer and could empathise with our position completely.

"There were a few dedicated people working to try to secure the future for mentally ill people in the Harrow community, but the drive and cohesion came from Elsie Stafford. Without her I dread to think what would have become of care in this borough."

A web page has been created on the internet where people can leave their tribute messages. If you knew Elsie and would like to leave a message you can visit http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ stafford.home/Commendations.zip