'He was so non-judgemental, he had time for everyone.'
The son of a missing man believed to have been swept out to sea while walking his dog has paid tribute to his caring dad who ‘had time for everyone’.
Father-of-three Gareth Jones, 69, was reported missing on Saturday afternoon after he failed to return home from a walk in Portslade, Brighton, with his cockapoo Connie.
An extensive search was then launched, but it was scaled back on Sunday after police discovered CCTV which appeared to show Gareth and Connie being swept into the sea.
Gareth’s son Robbie, 24, has since thanked the thousands of people involved in the operation on behalf of his family. He described his dad as ‘incredibly sociable’ and noted that he loved visiting pubs.
He went on: ‘He was so non-judgemental, he had time for everyone. The Watchmaker’s Arms was his local and he was very into his real ales.
‘He absolutely loved that place – called it his second home. He would sometimes come home and cook dinner, then head back over there. When we were searching over the weekend we came across people we didn’t even know who would tell us, “I know your dad”.’
Gareth was born in Cardiff and grew up there before moving to England. He worked as a management consultant and a visiting lecturer at a number of universities, and had previously been the head of HR at the BBC.
He is dad to three children, Robbie, Gemma, 30, and Rhian, 33, and has two grandchildren, and was an active member of the Labour Party.
Robbie told The Argus: ‘He was very into his politics and was very active in the party, canvassing for Hove and Portslade MP Peter Kyle at general elections and always knocking on doors – not an armchair critic.’
He added that his father was never afraid to ‘talk about the difficult things’ and ‘really cared about people’, ensuring that he was always there for those who needed support.
The Watchmaker’s Arms also posted a tribute on Facebook today. They wrote: ‘We’re devastated to report the search for Gareth has been halted as his family have received the worst possible news.
‘They thank everyone for the love and support they have received over the last couple of days and asked us to post this following the huge amount of messages we received regarding his welfare.’
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