A former chief reporter at the Hertfordshire Mercury has died, aged 90.

Robert Trow-Smith specialised in farming matters, and during his career established himself as one of the best-respected commentators on rural life.

Mr Trow-Smith learned shorthand and typing before joining the Tiverton Gazette as a trainee reporter.

He later became a chief reporter at the Hertfordshire Mercury, a job which he combined with his role as editor of British Farmer and Stockbreeder.

Mr Trow-Smiths finest hour came in 1963 when he was awarded a Fison’s agricultural journalism award for an series of articles about the Common Market.

One sub-editor confessed to always feeling nervous when reading his copy in case the standard of the prose distracted him from the task of spotting mistakes.

Other friends and colleagues have described as a quiet gentle man who would be sadly missed.

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