One of Scottish journalism’s ‘most colourful characters’  has died, aged 83.

Fergie Millar, who worked as news editor at the Daily Record newspaper for 27 years, died on 16 May.

He had been struggling with ill health in recent years having been forced to call a halt to his career after suffering a serious stroke in 1985.

Fergie, who started as a copy boy at the the age of 14 and served 40 years at the paper, has been described as a ‘maverick character who instilled a sense of ‘terror mixed with inspiration’ among reporters on his staff’.

Former Record chief reporter Anna Smith, said: “Fergie was something of a legend in the Scottish press and I’m sure he will be missed by many people.

“He was a one-off and a frightening man if you were a cub reporter. He ruled over a lot of talented people in his day and was given major respect, despite the terror he could instill.

“If you got something wrong once you would be in for a bawling out. If you did it again you certainly wouldn’t do it a third time.

“For all that, he had a very soft heart and a very sensitive side. Once you got through the gruff exterior he would be a man of good counsel and he had the interests of his staff at heart too.

“In Fergie’s day there was no such thing as political correctness, which is just as well. In that respect he was no different to any other news editor in the land.

She added: “But he was a great believer in the importance of the press and to serve so many years in such a stressful and demanding job pays great testament to his character.”

In recent years Fergie had been living in Plymouth with his daughter, Lynne French, also a journalist.

His funeral is set to takes place in Plymouth this week and his family hope to have a Scottish memorial service at Loch Lomond later in the year.