Tributes have been paid to a Chester busker who led a successful campaign against council proposals targeting homeless people and buskers.

Jonny Walker became a well known face of the crusade against Cheshire West and Chester Council ’s proposed Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which aimed to fine people for rough sleeping, begging and unauthorised busking in the city centre .

But Jonny, founder of Keep Streets Live Campaign, who busked all over the country including his home city of Leeds, passed away on Wednesday.

He was in his 30s with two young children.

Pro-busking campaigner Jonny Walker says council proposals would criminalise street performers in Chester. Picture by Anthony Beyga
Pro-busking campaigner Jonny Walker says council proposals would criminalise street performers in Chester. Picture by Anthony Beyga

A statement on his Facebook page, followed by more than 26,000 people, reads: “It is with great sorrow but immense thankfulness for a passionately lived life, that after three days in the critical care unit at Leeds General Infirmary, Jonny died peacefully, at 11.13am today, surrounded by family.”

Chester busker Dave Southern, AKA Mr Peewee, the drumming puppet, a co-director of Keep Streets Live, said: “Professionally it’s a real loss and personally, I’m devastated.”

He added: “He was great. He was tenacious, hardworking, always out, in all weathers and lived the life of a travelling minstrel. He would spend five hours travelling for two hours of busking. A lot of the time there would be a union meeting (musicians’ union) and he would busk in a town close by.”

Street performer Dave Southern

Liverpool-born Jonny, who also fought for buskers’ rights in York, Liverpool and Camden, was often interviewed by the media because he was such an articulate and passionate campaigner. He fully embraced social media and would ‘Facebook Live’ his performances.

A video of him standing firm after being reprimanded by a female PCSO while busking in the Yorkshire town of Doncaster was viewed more than 450,000 times.

“It’s a real shock, “ said Dave. “If you look at the impact he had and the battles he fought up and down the country – not just on behalf of buskers but on behalf of free open public spaces. He was a lovely, genuine man.”

Busker Clare Wall in Chester city centre.

Fellow busker Clare Wall, also known as the Busking Lady, posted on Twitter: "Deeply shocked to hear of busker and activist Jonny Walker's passing. I met him briefly during the 2015 protests and meetings in Chester and he had such a vibrant energy."

When fighting the Chester PSPO, which was massively watered down following the back-lash, Jonny enlisted the support of campaigning comedian Mark Thomas.

Mr Thomas pushed him around Chester on a mobile bed as part of a demonstration against proposals that would have seen what Jonny called the ‘most vulnerable’, including rough sleepers, facing £100 fines, rising to £1,000 following a court conviction.

Jonny told The Chronicle at the time: “It fundamentally mishmashes together several unrelated things under the label of dealing with anti-social behaviour.

Video Loading

“It’s an attempt to deal with perhaps legitimate concerns about rowdy and drunken behaviour on race days and concerns about legal highs.

“But it mixes that together with measures that would make it a criminal offence to lie down or sleep in any public place and to feed birds – a measure that would put Mary Poppins in danger of criminalisation in Chester in 2015 – and also measures to deter ‘inconsiderate’ buskers which would make it a criminal offence to play for longer than hour or to play in the wrong spot.”