JUST how did an anarchic punk rock comedian and warm-up man for the Stranglers make the leap to a respected pillar of the community and Tory councillor in the well-heeled seaside town of Frinton?

At the height of punk, Jon Gatward was better known by his alter-ego – Jonny Rubbish.

The teenager would get Stranglers fans going by wailing spoof Wings and Sex Pistols songs, and brave being bombarded by a barrage of beer cans from humourless punks. His comedy career was short-lived, despite a couple of albums.

He admitted: “One was good – the other was dreadful. Punk was lucrative for people with no talent – that’s why I did so well.”

The good people of Frinton might have looked down their safety pin-free noses at their wayward son. But Jon believes its inhabitants are much misunderstood and far more open-minded than outsiders give them credit for.

He said: “I went from being a punk rock comedian to captain of Frinton Golf Club in five years, which is pretty good.

“I always said that in Frinton if you are rich they call you eccentric, but if you’re poor they say you are mad, and that’s very true.”

Jon fell in love with the town as a young boy when his family had a holiday home there.

He was brought up on tales of some of the town’s grandest residents in the 1950s.

“Sir Bracewell Smith was the chairman of Arsenal Football Club and Wembley, and had a holiday home in Links View,” said Jon. “He also had a couple of small hotels – including the Ritz in London and Paris!”

Rivals at a Saturday poker school at the golf club tried to make it impossible for the Arsenal supremo to attend.

Jon said: “They made a rule that you couldn’t play unless you got there by 7pm.

“They knew Bracewell Smith was at Arsenal on Saturday afternoons.

“But he made sure his chauffeur was ready outside Highbury at 4.40pm to rush him up here in time.”

Jon became a member of the golf club when he was just eight years old and went on to became the club’s youngest-ever captain.

After his punk career, Jon made a career in product licensing and became a town councillor last May.

“I really have enjoyed my council work,” he said. “It’s been a great honour to represent the people who elected me.”

Jon suffered from severe depression last year. His brother Doug was found dead in November 2010 after a long battle with mental illness.

Jon is now leaving Frinton – which he stresses he will miss – for a new life in Plymouth, and hopes to help people there with similar problems.

Despite its reputation for resisting change, Jon insists his home town has moved with the times.

He said: “The biggest scandal was when a Chinese opened here years ago.

“A Chinese restaurant in Frinton – it was unbelievable!

“But we all settled down and got on with each other.

“We are very accepting of others, maybe not straight away, but we are better than most at it.”