The shock of a burglary led to the death of a former Bradford councillor, his family said today.

Greg Moore, 68, battled serious heart and kidney conditions for six years but never recovered from the shock of the raid at his home on January 18, said his brother, Brian, 59.

Mr Moore said his brother’s condition declined markedly following the break-in. His car and a watch passed down from their father were taken in the break-in. No-one has yet been convicted of the crime.

Greg Moore, of Moorside Road, Eccleshill, who served the Undercliffe ward as a Conservative between 1988 and 1992, died early on Sunday.

A post-mortem examination was being carried out this week.

His younger brother said: “We had got back from a holiday in Egypt and they broke in through a window while he was asleep and ransacked the downstairs. He never recovered from the stress it caused.”

He said his brother was an outspoken politician who divided opinion.

“Greg joined the Young Conservatives at 16. He could see there was a lot of injustice going on and he believed in fairness for all, regardless of people’s political beliefs.

“He took great pride in being a councillor and had great concern for the people in his constituency. He put them before his party and it created moments of tension with the then leader of the Tory group Eric Pickles.”

Mr Moore grew up in Ravenscliffe and stayed in the Undercliffe area all his life. He worked as an engineer in Bradford, Yeadon and Harrogate, and in 1971, he started his own business, Greg Moore Builders.

While he was a councillor, he became president of the Bradford North Conservative Association. In 1991, he was reported to be a front-runner to replace Joy Atkin as the parliamentary candidate for Bradford North.

Paying tribute to him, Councillor Anne Hawkesworth, leader of the Council’s Conservative group, said: “I remember Greg as a member of the Conservative group way back in the Pickles era. He was an enthusiastic part of what was a very dynamic time in Bradford politics and I am very sorry to hear of his passing.

“My thoughts are with his family and friends.”

When he lost his seat on the Council, he and his brother ran Chapel Fisheries in Queensbury but, as illness took over, he turned to gardening.