Tributes have been paid to a former dinner lady who served children in the town for two decades.

Hilda Bolton served up lunches for pupils at Macclesfield High School for Girls on Fence Avenue for 20 years between 1961 and her retirement in 1981.

She died aged 86 after complications with surgery, an inquest heard.

Speaking after the hearing, her family paid tribute to an “irreplaceable mother” and “extremely popular dinner lady” who touched hundreds of children’s lives during her career.

Her son Kenneth, 59, said: “Mum was a very special person and a wonderful mother to us all.

“She was proud to be a Macclesfield girl through and through.

“She was a very easy-going person and very easy to get on with and that shone through throughout her whole life.

“She had a very busy life as a mother and housewife and was always very protective of them and put them first.

“However she was also very good at her job and she met a lot of children through the years, many of whom still remember her to this day.

“No one that met her has ever had a bad word to say about her.”

An inquest at Macclesfield Town hall last Thursday heard that Mrs Bolton developed a stomach ulcer which perforated and caused her to collapse at home on June 23 last year.

She was rushed to Macclesfield Hospital and underwent surgery, but died at the hospital 23 days later.

Recording a narrative verdict, Deputy Coroner for Cheshire, Alan Moore, ruled she died “as a result of complications from necessary surgery”.

The inquest heard that Mrs Bolton was seen twice by different GPs, including on June 22, the day before she collapsed.

But coroner Mr Moore said it was “highly unlikely” that she was displaying symptoms on either occasion.

Mrs Bolton, grew up on Pinfold Street near the town centre before moving to Brocklehurst Avenue in Hurdsfield.

She attended Christ Church primary school and the Central School on Byron Street, before working at Byron’s Bakehouse as a confectioner, and Vernon’s Pools company on Shaw Street.

Mrs Bolton was married to husband Jack for 48 years, until he passed away in 1995 aged 71.

She had five children – Ken, twins Judy and Geoffrey, 61, John who died in 1999 aged 49, and Linda, who died as an 18 month old baby.

She also had five grandchildren.

Kenneth said: “She was a huge sports fan. She loved athletics and football, Manchester City was her team.

“She was really looking forward to the Olympics and tragically she died on the day of the opening ceremony.”