THE citizens of Bucks have a special reason to mourn the passing of Jimmy Savile, who died at the weekend.

Most people in Britain had a soft spot for the eccentric and big-hearted celebrity who did so much for television and radio.

But here in Bucks he is perhaps best remembered for his incredible work at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, where he raised £20million for the creation of the National Spinal Injuries Centre.

Sir Jimmy’s good work was not just confined to fundraising. He had a great affinity for patients and staff and would visit the centre every month to chat with them. He was so well-liked that the internationally-renowned centre had planned a birthday party for him on Monday on what would have been his 85th birthday.

Sir Jimmy never sadly had a chance to read the tributes on the card prepared for him at the hospital, although we hope he would have realised just what he meant to people there. As centre general manager David Griffiths says: “We are tremendously fortunate to have had Sir Jimmy as a patron and without him the unit wouldn’t be here in this form. We all love him and miss him very much.”

Sir Jimmy Saville meant many things to many people. But in Bucks, we will never forget it was Jim who fixed it for us to have the finest spinal injuries centre in the land.