Popular journalist and newspaper columnist Michael Jeacock has died following a battle with cancer.

The 73-year-old had written a regular column in the Cambridge Town Crier for more than 30 years, and his work also appeared in the Newmarket Weekly News.

His final Views From The Fen column in the Town Crier was published just days before his death, and he described it as the final inky scribblings of a very contented man.

Michael began writing for the paper after moving to Cambridgeshire to work as a freelance journalist following a stint working in Fleet Street.

He began his career on the Derbyshire Times after growing up in the county, and after National Service he joined the Daily Express in Manchester.

He subsequently moved to the Daily Express offices in Fleet Street where he became the paper’s youngest news editor.

Michael moved with his wife and family to Swaffham Bulbeck in 1962 and became a freelance journalist.

He described himself, in a book compiled from his columns, as: “A family man, countryman, sportsman, gourmet, bibliophile, claret basher, retired conker champion and the greatest living expert on the interiors of pubs throughout Mid and East Anglia.”

There are plans for a new book using material from his columns.

He is survived by his wife Janet, four children and ten grandchildren.

His funeral was due to be held today at St Mary’s Church in Newmarket.

His family have requested donations to St Nicholas Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support via funeral directors Southgate, of Newmarket.