A MAGISTRATE has paid tribute to his talented daughter who died after a long battle with an eating disorder and alcoholism. SarehPerry died last weekend after her heart stopped as a result of low potassium levels caused by her eating disorder.

A MAGISTRATE has paid tribute to his talented daughter who died after a long battle with an eating disorder and alcoholism.

SarehPerry died last weekend after her heart stopped as a result of low potassium levels caused by her eating disorder. The 32-year-old was a gifted artist and sportswoman.

Yesterday, her parents, Chris and Sally Perry of Harold Grove in Frinton said it looked as though Sareh was getting better as she had been a recovering alcoholic since last July.

Mr Perry, who is a magistrate at Colchester and Harwich, said her death had come as a "total and utter surprise".

He said: "She was so determined and the saddest thing is that having recovered, this came out of the blue – we had just been boasting about how proud we were that she had recovered.

"She had overcome the alcohol but what finally killed her was the anorexia."

Mr Perry said his time as a magistrate had given an insight into the problems alcohol could cause.

He said: "If we did not have alcohol or drugs my work would be reduced by 95%. It is sad that normal citizens have fear for going into town centres at certain times of the day."

He paid tribute to the support Sareh's sister and three brothers had given her over the years and the way in which they never stopped supporting her.

Sareh grew up in Bedfordshire but had spent time every year in Frinton since 1972 at her parent's second home.

She made history in the early 1980s by becoming the first female caddy at the town's exclusive golf club.

Mrs Perry, a teacher at the Windsor School in Clacton, said her daughter was a real character.

She said: "She had a wonderful smile, she was mischievous - she had a fantastic sense of humour and could take the mickey out of herself and her problems."

Mr Perry added: "She loved the hymn 'Lord of the Dance' and there is one verse which speaks of dancing with the devil on your back. She said, 'I have had that bugger on my back for so many years.'"

Sareh did a teacher training course at Oxford Brookes University and had worked as a volunteer at Frinton Primary School and with her mother at the Windsor School.

She loved art and an exhibition of her work is to be displayed at the Bedfordshire hospital she had been treated for her eating disorder.

Sareh was a talented sportswoman, taking part in trials for the diving team for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, and playing Lacrosse for the Midlands.

After getting on top of her problem with alcohol Sareh had started a business running children's birthday parties.

Her many friends at the Alcoholics Anonymous in Frinton and the surrounding area were "devastated" by her death.

Sareh's funeral will take place on May 6 at St James Church, Biddenham, Bedford, at 2.15pm followed by a private family cremation.

A service of thanksgiving will take place at Frinton Parish Church at 11.30am on May 17.