FAMILY members unveiled a bench in Bucky Doo Square in memory of a dedicated Bridport doctor.

The seat was dedicated in honour of Dr George Crawshaw, who served the town as a GP for more than 50 years.

His widow Alice and children Steve and Alice performed the honours with Mayor David Rickard and Mayoress Anne Rickard.

Dr Crawshaw died in January 2010, aged 92.

His family made a donation to pay for the bench in his memory and as a permanent reminder for the generations of former patients he served.

The late Dr Crawshaw came to Bridport in 1951 in the early days of the NHS. He was an ardent supporter of free health for all and was involved in setting up the town’s first health centre in North Allington.

He was well known in Bridport and remembered for riding round on his bicycle into his nineties.

Mrs Crawshaw, a former chairman of the magistrates bench in Bridport, was joined by old friends at the ceremony who came to reminisce about their long friendships.

They included Maureen Rudd, who played chamber music with Dr Crawshaw for over half a century.

The deputy mayor Geoff Ackerman also remembered him well. After the ceremony the Mayor and Mayoress took Mrs Crawshaw round the renovated town hall, which houses the old court house where she was a JP.