Long-serving Citizen journalist Bill Brunt has died, aged 74.

His career in newspapers began in the late 1940s when he landed a reporting job with the Stroud Journal.

He was also editor of the old format Gloucester Journal and later moved to The Citizen where he spent 26 years until his retirement in 1992.

Citizen editor Spencer Feeney said: "Bill was a distinguished and highly-respected journalist and was a gentleman in every sense of the word. He will be sadly missed by his former colleagues and readers of his regular Woodchester Notes."

Bill will also be remembered for being a pillar of the local Woodchester community. He was a church bellringer in Woodchester for more than 60 years and clerk to the parish council for 45 years - and never missed a meeting.

Former colleague Dennis Mason said: "Bill had a great local knowledge of people and places and his friendly nature quickly made him a popular figure."

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