A former weekly editor who went on to spend 20 years on the Press Association foreign desk has died aged 84.

Robert Weyers became editor of the Harlow and West Essex Gazette in 1965 when the previous editor, his brother John Weyers, moved to Scotland.

He edited the paper for six years before leaving in 1971 to join the Press Association, where he worked on the foreign desk until his retirement in 1991.

Robert died on 12 September following a long illness, having been in hospital since October last year.

Born in Holloway, north London, he was initially unsure which career to follow and worked in a number of jobs including counting bacteria for United Dairies.

His brother John then suggested he might try journalism and he joined the West Essex Gazette as a junior reporter.

After a spell at the Herts Advertiser in St Albans, where he met his wife of 58 years, Anne, he returned to the Gazette as chief reporter of the Harlow edition in 1956.

Robert and Anne went on to have three sons, two of whom sadly predeceased him.

Outside of work, Robert was an enthustiastic musician and was chairman of Harlow Opera Company.

In the sixties and seventies he appeared in many Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, and also sang at the Royal Festival Hall with Harlow Chorus.

After 42 years in Harlow, Robert and Anne moved to Crowland, near Peterborough in 1998, where Robert became active in the local bridge club and also the Peterborough Anglo-French Association.

His funeral service will be held on 2 October at 2.30pm at Peterborough Crematorium.