A regional daily published its environmental writer’s last column at his family’s request following his death.

Tributes have been paid to Keith Thomson, who wrote the weekly Envirowatch column from 2007 onwards for the Bradford Telegraph & Argus and covered a variety of green issues for the newspaper.

A former headteacher and Labour councillor, he was also known as a “reliable, constant source of information” among Telegraph & Argus journalists for many years.

His last column was published at his widow Brenda’s request after he died in his sleep, following an illness, three days earlier.

Helen Mead, a T&A columnist and former environment reporter, told the paper: “In the 1990s, during a period as environment reporter with the T&A, I found Keith to be a reliable, constant source of information on just about everything, from flooding to fossil fuels, litter and wind farms, and, most importantly, how to live more sustainably.

“He was so knowledgeable and could talk at length about issues close to his heart.

“I remember talking to him about the scourge of decking in suburban gardens and its impact upon wildlife and, on another occasion, the removal of front gardens to make way for car parking spaces.

“It was clear he had a great passion for green issues. Keith was a man who really did make a contribution to saving the planet.”

Keith, who it is believed was in his eighties, had four children and several grandchildren.

His funeral will be for family members, and a celebration of his life is planned, for friends and former colleagues, in June.