THE man responsible for establishing the new magistrates court in Bootle has died. Charles Hughes died last month following major heart surgery, on the day he turned 83. He is survived by son Martin and daughter Jayne, and grandchildren Hollie and Charlotte. Charles was born in Crewe and had a happy time growing up in Manchester, but he eventually saw National Service with the Irish Guards and was posted to Nuremburg to guard prisoners in the war trials. In civilian life he loved ballroom dancing, which he did twice a week, and his abiding obsession in recent times was the TV show Strictly Come Dancing, which he would do all he could to watch. It was through dancing that he met Betty, who he married in 1952, and they moved to Formby in the 1960s when Charles was offered a job at the courts in Bootle. In the 1970s, he was promoted to Chief Clerk to the Justices, possibly the last person in the country to reach that office without first obtaining a law degree. And it was while he was in charge of the courthouse in Bootle that he oversaw the building of the new magistrates court at Merton Road. Staff there paid tribute to “a loveable man” and “a real gentleman”. His former PA, Jene Hillier, who worked with him since 1973, said: “He was well liked by all his members of staff. “He was a very loveable man and well respected in the community.” And Liz Killian, who is now court manager at Liverpool Magistrates, but who used to be the principal assistant at Bootle Magistrates and worked with Charles for 16 years, said: “He was a lovely man and he always took time out to talk to people. “He was very forward thinking and even in those days was looking into IT issues before anyone else. “He did a lot to make the facilities much better and even before the court in Bootle was built it took 10 years of negotiations to get it up and running, which he was instrumental in. “He was a real gentleman, so polite”. Daughter Jayne Evans said: “Dancing had been a life-changing hobby when he met Betty, and the TV show brought him genuine happiness over the last six or seven years.” “The family would like to pay tribute to the staff of Morriston Hospital, who gave him every care imaginable.” | 
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