Jim McClure, the former editor of the Oxford Mail, has died.

The newsman had taken early retirement in December 2003 after surviving a number of life-threatening conditions, but his health problems had persisted over the past three years.

He died on Saturday at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. He was 66.

Jim (pictured) first joined the Oxford Mail – now owned by Newsquest – as a sub-editor in 1966, and went on to make history by becoming the only editor to take the helm of every title at the Oxford news operation.

Current Oxford Mail editor, Simon O’Neill, said: “Jim was a colossus in regional newspapers and in his adopted and much-loved county of Oxfordshire.

“I saw him for lunch not long before he went back into hospital for what turned out to be the last time.

“Although he had been in poor health, he still seemed as strong as an ox and his mind was razor sharp, as were his many anecdotes.

“I have lost a colleague and friend who I respected and admired enormously. My thoughts now are with his family.”

Jim began his journalism career as a crime reporter in South Africa in 1962 before moving to Scotland on the Scottish Daily Mail and then on to Oxford.

In the mid-70s he took a break from newspapers, becoming a successful crime writer and publishing 14 novels.

His work was acknowledged by contemporaries including Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter and Dick Francis, who both named characters after him in their books.