Tributes have been paid to a nature-loving great-grandmother, who has died at the age of 76.

Jo Cranston, who took a leading role in the Oxford Urban Wildlife Group (OUWG), was a keen conservationist and helped to protect the fragile environment of Oxford's open spaces.

The mother of five, grandmother of nine and great-grandmother of three, was treasurer of the OUWG since the group was formed in the mid-1980s.

Mrs Cranston, a retired bookkeeper, who lived in Littlemore, was also a founder member and a leader of the Watch group -- an environmental group for children -- and helped plan the Boundary Brook Nature Park.

She was also a keen supporter of the Littlemore Visually Impaired Group.

She died at the John Radcliffe Hospital after a long illness.

Her son, Peter Cranston, said: "She was a very caring person, who spent most of her life looking after and helping other people."

Janet Keene, a member of the OUWG, said: "She was a founder member of the group and was invaluable as our treasurer. She was a very popular leader.

"We will remember her contributions to the running of the group with gratitude and recall her unfailing selflessness, her devotion to her family, her interest in her friends, and her sense of fun."