A police investigation into the death of a popular Llanbadarn councillor is ongoing, police have said, as Ceredigion council get set to begin the process of finding his successor.

More than 1,000 people attended St Michael’s Church in Aberystwyth earlier this month to pay their respects to Cllr Paul James who died after being knocked off his bicycle following a collision with two cars on the A487 between Waunfawr and Bow Street.

The 61-year-old was in training for a mammoth bike ride to raise money for Morriston and Bronglais hospitals where he received “incredible care” for a serious heart condition.

Following the incident – which followed the late Cllr James contacting this newspaper to warn cyclists of road dangers after he was knocked off his bike during a separate training ride near Capel Bangor just days before his death – police launched an investigation.

Police told the Cambrian News this week that the investigation is “ongoing” and that no charges had yet been brought.

The precise circumstances surrounding the incident are not known.

Cllr James represented the Sulien ward in Llanbadarn Fawr for Plaid Cymru for 15 years – increasing his vote share in every election since he was first elected in 2004.

The Sulien ward was established in 2004 following a boundary change, and it has only ever been held by Cllr James. Now voters will, for the first time, go to the polls later this year without his name on the ballot.

A Ceredigion council spokesperson said this week that a “notice of the vacancy will be published shortly, which will commence the by-election process.”