Tributes have been paid to former magistrate Jimmy Kneen who has died aged 72.

Mr Kneen was a familiar figure on the bench of the Douglas magistrates’ and licensing courts until his retirement in 2015 after 21 years.

Described on his retirement as ’exemplary’, colleagues praised his hard work and willingness always to fill in at short notice.

Fellow magistrate Brian Walton said: ’He enjoyed all the work, in particular the licensing, but he particularly liked defendants to be respectful in court, telling them it was a ’serious matter’, or to take their hand out of their pockets, or to stand up straight.

’All his colleagues admired his firmness and he was good at dealing with juveniles and giving them a firm talking to.’

He was also quick to nominate other people for senior roles that he could easily have taken on himself, Mr Walton added.

New magistrates were encouraged by him and learned a lot from him.

’Jimmy also took all this in his stride, with new laws and procedures, and offered his services right up to his retirement, even though he was ill at the time,’ he said.

On his retirement from the bench, he said he was stunned by the number of people who had turned up to wish him well and he received a standing ovation.

Aside from his court work, Mr Kneen’s background was in the building and joinery business, as one of the founders of Kaneen and Kneen, a well-known Peel business for many years. He was also on the board of governors at the Corrin Memorial Home in Peel for 10 years. Mr Walton was a fellow governor.

’He invited me to join the governors in particular to assist, on the financial side, having a banking background.

’He contributed a huge amount of time, effort and commitment to the home during his term of office and was always very highly thought of by his fellow governors, the staff and not least the residents,’ he said.