Tributes for Samaritans founder

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The Prince of Wales led the praise, describing him as a great Briton who had "saved the lives of countless people".

Dr Varah, who was 95, died in hospital on Thursday in Basingstoke, Hants, said a spokesman for the charity he founded more than 50 years ago in the crypt of a City of London church.

Starting with just one telephone and a handful of volunteers, his group of "active listeners" now has 202 branches in the UK and Ireland, with about 15,500 volunteers.

Alongside his clerical duties he was also a playwright, sex education campaigner and the brains behind Eagle comic character Dan Dare.

The Prince of Wales, who is patron of the Samaritans, paid tribute, saying: "Chad Varah was an utterly remarkable man who founded an organisation which has saved the lives of countless people since 1953.

"He was an outstanding humanitarian and a great Briton."

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said: "Chad Varah made a unique contribution to the life of our whole society, changing attitudes to suicide and bringing a distinctively pastoral and wholly non-judgmental approach to people in need."

Others paying tribute included agony aunt Clare Rayner, who praised his determination to help others.

In the Millennium New Year's Honours List, the Queen awarded Dr Varah the Order of the Companion of Honour for Services to the Samaritans. His wife Doris died in 1993, and he is survived by four of his five children.