An intrepid reporter has at last put his globetrotting days behind him so he can wax lyrical about his experiences in poetry – at the tender age of 90.

Cecil Collacot has been the Bradworthy village correspondent for the North Devon Journal for 50 years and has already had six books published.

And there is no reason why Wistaria, his latest effort, an assortment of 50 of his favourite home-penned poems should not follow suit.

The poems range from his memories of RAF war service in the Western Desert Campaign in Sudan to verses inspired by his trips to the Holy Land.

There are also pieces based around the dreamy scenes of his native village.

The book’s full title Wistaria , Experiment in Verse, is named after the house that has been his home for 47 years.

Cecil chuckled as he recalled receiving some mail addressed to “Hysteria” and said with horticultural conviction: “I know the climbing shrub is botanically wisteria, but Wistaria was the way the house was named when I moved in and that’s how it will stay.”

All of this follows a near-death experience in 1999, when after a series of collapses, he had to have an operation to fit a heart pacemaker.

As well as totting up a few million words on village life, the North Devon countryside and local snippets in the Journal, Cecil has clocked up thousands of miles on his trans-world travels.

In 60 years he has been abroad 56 times – but mostly since he turned 70.

But as he has to rely on a walking frame for support, Cecil has now reluctantly accepted that his Michael Palin-style adventures are over.

He now looks forward to keeping the words flowing and is also now considering an update of his 1979 book Memories of Old Bradworthy.

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