Former Bristol Evening Post chief reporter Roger Bennett has died of cancer at the age of 69.

He was one of the West’s best-known broadcasters, journalists and musicians and worked for BBC Radio Bristol from the station’s inception in 1970.

After leaving school, he followed his father, Bob, into the world of journalism.

Both worked for the Evening Post, where Roger worked his way up to become the paper’s chief reporter.

Former Evening Post news editor Jeremy Brien, remembered Roger as a first-class reporter.

He said: “Roger was my closest friend at the Evening Post. We came up though the ranks together and we remained very good friends after he left.

“He was an absolutely brilliant reporter – always very determined to see a story through to the end. His loyalty to Bristol was also clear.

“He had many opportunities to go and work for the national papers but he loved his city so much that he wanted to stay here.”

After 17 years as a print journalist, Roger joined the BBC’s inaugural Radio Bristol news team, although he kept writing, contributing a column which appeared in the Evening Post until 1990.

At Radio Bristol he began working on Morning West, where – with Michael Buerk as presenter and Kate Adie reporting from the radio car – Roger took to the skies in a spotter plane, keeping listeners advised about traffic conditions.

Roger became the show’s main presenter in 1974, a position he kept until his retirement in 2003.