FANS of Alfie the Chepstow Cat held a wake on Sunday as calls were made for a street corner in Chepstow to be named after the ‘most famous cat in Monmouthshire’.

Around 100 people gathered at The Coach and Horses, in Welsh Street, to remember Alfie, who died at the age of 19 last Tuesday.

Pub landlord Ian Meyrick organised the event.

Alfie was a regular fixture on the corner of Steep Street.

His owner, Caroline Gammon, said he always brought a smile to passers-by.

He became the town’s mascot and attracted more than 3,000 ‘likes’ on a Face-book page dedicated to him.

Ms Gammon’s children, Tom, Sam and Alice, set up the page in July last year because so many people would ring and ask how he was.

Since his death the site has been inundated with messages from more than 500 people, some from as far away as South Africa and Australia, describing him as a local legend.

Mr Meyrick said the memorial on Sunday afternoon was a touching and fitting tribute to the muchloved character.

He said: “Tim Ryan read the eulogy and had written a moving poem.

“There were people from London and the Valleys who all wanted to raise a glass to Alfie.

“One of the songs we sang was Cilla Black’s What’s It All About, Alfie? which was very fitting.”

Ms Gammon, who took in Alfie as a rescue cat when she lived in Cirencester, said her family has been overwhelmed by the tributes.

“People always inquired about him as he used to sit at the bottom of the street outside the chemists.

“Everyone knew him.”

Many people are now calling for a plaque or statue to be put up in Alfie’s memory.

Mr Meyrick is leading a campaign to have the corner of Steep Street re-named Alfie’s corner.

He said: “Alfie is worldfamous.

He would bask in the sun at the bottom of the street outside Merrick’s chemist and everyone would stop to say hello, from the elderly to bus drivers. We would like to see the corner where he used to sit renamed Alfie’s Corner.

“A plaque on the wall would be a fitting tribute to a Chepstow legend.”

Among those backing the campaign are Paul Beales and Gary King, who said the town should ‘re-incarnate Alfie in a statue,’ and Craig Robb, who said: “He was as much a Chepstow landmark as the cenotaph.”