Sussex DJ Passes Away

12 January 2011, 13:28 | Updated: 12 January 2011, 13:38

Well known Sussex Radio DJ Chris Copsey has died. Known to his fans as Coppo, Chris had been broadcasting to the county for more than a quarter of a century

Chris was well know for running discos in the Mid Sussex area during the seventies and made his first broadcasts at Hospital Radio Crawley.

When Commercial Radio arrived in Sussex in 1983, Chris was part of the launch team at the then Southern Sound. He went on to present the breakfast show alongside co-host Nickyi Keig Shevlin for many years.

Later he presented mid mornings and the popular Retro Show on what became known as Southern FM and was the forerunner to Heart

He was a tireless Charity campaigner; completing the London - Brighton Bike Ride on many occasions and every weekend would see Chris opening or compering at least one fundraising event.

For the last 18 months Chris worked for Media Sounds which runs four radio stations in the county.

It's believed he collapsed while shopping on Tuesday.

Chris lived in Scaynes Hill in Mid Sussex with his wife and two children. He was a governor at Warden Park School in Cuckfield.

Colleagues have paid tribute to his professionalism as a broadcaster, but all have emphasized his qualities as a person, a friend to everyone he worked with and someone who always welcomed newcomers to the Radio Stations he worked for and made sure they felt at home as quickly as possible.

Nicky Keig Shevlin said " it was an honour to co-host with him on the breakfast show for many, many years. More than that...he was a true gent, a brilliant friend.  His wife and kids were his life and I cannot begin to imagine their pain."

Lynsey Bartlett from The Heart breakfast show told us "I was shocked and devastated to hear the sad news about the lovely Coppo. I consider myself extremely lucky to have known and worked with one of the nicest men in radio."