THE last descendant of the family who founded Chester Zoo has died.

A tribute was left to June Williams on the zoo's website today, Friday. She was 88.

June's dad George Mottershead created the first 'zoo without bars' in 1931 after her family moved to Oakfield House.

It is now home to 11,000 animals and welcomes around 1.3million visitors a year.

June was also part of the inspiration for BBC's Our Zoo, a dramatisation of the early days of Chester Zoo, which was filmed at Walton Hall. She was played by Honor Kneafsey.

While most of her school friends were getting into everyday playground scrapes she was teaching lion cubs how to roar, riding tapirs and her best friend was a chimp called Mary.

June was also a consultant for Our Zoo and would often visit the Warrington set to watch the Big Talk film crew at work and speak to the stars including Lee Ingleby and Liz White.

She also had a tongue-in-cheek cameo role in the series as one of the zoo’s objectors.

The programme aired less than a year before her death and in the book that followed, June said it had given her a new lease of life enabling her to continue raising the zoo’s profile.

In her younger years, she was the face of Chester Zoo with George using her time and again for publicity shots.

It was also here that June met her husband Fred, who died in 2012.

Among their achievements were helping to build the zoo's aquarium together.

Mark Pilgrim, director general at Chester Zoo, said: "There is a deep sadness at the zoo today knowing that we have lost such a great friend.

"June’s contribution to the zoo, from those early days through to present time, cannot be underestimated.

"That June was able to see her family’s incredible story told through Our Zoo brought her great joy and experiences that she treasured.

"We shall miss her and our thoughts and sympathies are with her children, George, Joy and Linda, and her grandchildren, Adam and Emma, of whom we know she was very proud."

DAVID MORGAN