Renowned journalist and garden enthusiast Bob James has died, aged 72.

Bob, who was The Argus gardening correspondent for more than 25 years, loved Sussex, gardening and writing.

He believed gardening should be fun and enthused thousands of readers of The Argus with his weekly column in the Weekend section.

Bob, who was married to journalist Sally James, lived in the shadow of the South Downs at Hassocks. They have a son, David and daughter, Eliza.

He loved growing vegetables in the garden of his home and also liked cooking and eating meals from the fruits of his gardening endeavours. He wrote his first article for The Argus on February 16, 1979, entitled "My Tips for the Perfect Parsnip".

Despite a serious heart condition for the last three years, he continued writing a column until the day before his death.

His last article will be published in tomorrow's Weekend section of The Argus.

Bob had a varied career in journalism, starting in 1949 as a reporter for Westminster Press, the newspaper group which once owned The Argus.

He worked for The Northern Echo and the Evening Despatch in Darlington, where he became sports editor. His talent for training and encouraging young journalists was quickly recognised Bob lectured in journalism at Harlow College, Essex, between 1966-69, where he met his wife Sally. He joined the National Council for the Training of Journalists in Epping before rejoining Westminster Press in 1974, where he stayed as group editorial development manager until 1993.

He also lectured at the Editorial Centre, Hastings, was chairman of the judges for the British Press Awards and played a leading role in the Commonwealth Press Union.

Bob was co-author of a book, regarded as 'The Bible' of sub editing called, The Compleat Sub Editor. He was also author of Newspaper Design Today and a columnist for Printing World. He redesigned countless newspapers, not only in the UK but in Australia, Africa and India.

Peter Sands, who runs the Editorial Centre in Hastings and is director of training at the Press Association, said: "You cannot overestimate the role Bob had in the newspaper industry. He touched the lives of thousands of journalists, turning them on to typography and design and inspiring them to reach for higher standards."

The funeral will be at the Woodvale Crematorium South Chapel on Thursday at 3.15 pm.