TRIBUTES have been paid to a “remarkable and heroic” campaigner who strove to raise awareness of the effects of motor neurone disease (MND).

Mark Stone, an MND sufferer, died in hospital on Monday following a four-year battle with the condition.

The 55-year-old, from Yarnton, worked with Healthwatch Oxfordshire and the MND Association to campaign for better care for sufferers.

Friend and Kidlington resident Maurice Billington paid tribute, saying: “Mark was such a nice person to be around. He was someone I talked to a lot about his disability and using a wheelchair. He was always so cheerful and upbeat, and he never dwelled on his condition. He just got on with life.”

MND Association chief executive Sally Light said: “Many staff here at the association will remember Mark’s moving and at times funny account of life with MND at our staff conference last year. He had a talent for story telling which made him great company as well as a highly successful campaigner too.”

Mr Stone was diagnosed in January 2012 after telling his doctor he had been feeling tired, and had been suffering from other symptoms related to MND.

He told the Oxford Mail in November: “It was completely devastating. I went in with a slight limp, and walked out being told I was going to die.”

Healthwatch Oxfordshire head of projects Carol Moore said: “Mark was a strong voice for patients locally and nationally, a voice which we will miss at Healthwatch Oxfordshire.

“We will continue to take inspiration from his honest and thoughtful approach to campaigning for patients’ rights.”

After being diagnosed, he got involved with the Oxford branch of the MND Association and immediately got in touch with other sufferers.

In September 2012 he became an MND Association trustee – before being re-elected last year – and was a member of the association’s care committee.

He also worked for Healthwatch Oxfordshire as a project manager helping to improve patient experiences of hospital discharges, and was active within the NHS on a range of health bodies and committees.

He used to live in Cowley Road, but after being diagnosed he moved to care home Erdington House in Cresswell Close.

A former Erdington House resident, who asked to stay anonymous, said: “He never seemed to let anything get him down, and was such a remarkable and heroic person.”