DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott has paid tribute to his Chester-based mum, who died after a battle with cancer.

Mr Prescott, who has spent weeks at mother Phyllis Swales' bedside, will join his brothers and sisters for a celebration of her life on Monday.

Mrs Swales, 85, who remarried after she and John's late father, Bert, divorced, had been a proud mother, grandmother and great-grandmother as well as a lifelong socialist and community stalwart.

The Deputy Prime Minister told The Chronicle: 'She was a positive force for good within the family and tried to instil in everyone she met a spirit of contribution to the less able or disenfranchised in the community.'

Many of those paying tribute have commented that Mr Prescott, who spent his formative years in Chester, had a lot of his mother in him.

Mrs Swales died peacefully at her home in Pine Gardens, Upton, last Wednesday lunchtime due to bronchial pneumonia. Her immune system had been damaged due to cancer of the pancreas.

She was surrounded by close family. Mr Prescott was not present but arrived six hours later.

Mrs Swales, a widow, survived a quintuple heart bypass operation at Liverpool NHS Trust's Cardio Thoracic Centre in 2001.

At the time, John was on the General Election campaign trail and just getting over the infamous incident in Rhyl when he landed a punch on a protester who had thrown an egg at him.

Mr Prescott made sure he was close at hand by organising the North West stage of his tour to coincide with the operation.

While visiting Chester he admitted the situation was 'worrying'.

His brother Ray, of Wrexham, said the operation had given their mum 'another two years of quality life' - but she was diagnosed with cancer in January.

He said: 'At 85 you have got to be philosophical. Dad went at 90.

'It does reflect that all the family can look forward to a long life! She didn't suffer and I don't think you can feel too sad about it.

'She lived life to the full and we intend her funeral to be a celebration.

'She was very forceful, full of fun, ready for a joke. She loved her home