The wife of a city councillor and mother of two top cricketers has died at the age of 74.

Alma Willows, who was married to Brighton and Hove City Councillor Peter Willows, had been in and out of hospital since first suffering a stroke in May.

Alma, who died on November 30, had two sons, Roland, who played for Middlesex as a batsman and Alan, who was a left-arm slow bowler for Sussex.

Both sons had professional cricket careers after leaving Portslade Community College and playing for Brighton and Hove Cricket Club.

Alma would have been 75 on Sunday.

She had been married to Peter Willows, the Tory councillor for Hangleton and Knoll for 48 years.

The support she gave to her two sons, which enabled them to both have successful cricket careers in the early Eighties, was praised at her funeral last week at the chapel at Worthing Crematorium, Findon.

Eldest son Roland said: "Mum and dad were meant to be together and had 48 years of the most loving relationship. We will all miss you enormously, thank you for being our mum."

Since August, Alma had been cared for full-time by her 73-year-old husband who combined looking after her with his duties as a city councillor.

Peter and Alma, who were both Sussex born and bred, first met at a wedding reception in Bramber, near Steyning. They married in Hove in 1956 and set up home in Lancing.

For a time, they commuted to and from Whitley Bay, where Peter, a construction engineer was working on a power station on the Northumberland coast.

The couple set up home in Portslade Old Village and Alma worked for an engineering company in Victoria Road, Portslade, as a supervisor, while bringing up her family.

Peter had his own workshop at what is now the Corals greyhound stadium.

He said of his wife: "She was a remarkable woman who gave my sons tremendous encouragement in fulfilling their ambition to be professional cricketers. She supported me through thick and thin and I can honestly say we never argued about money once."

The couple have two grandchildren, Lauren and Greg.