Norris McWhirter, co-founder of the Guinness Book of Records, died aged 78, whilst playing tennis at his family home in Kington Langley.

Mr McWhirter fell ill on Monday evening while enjoying his favourite hobby, and suffered a heart attack.

He set up the Guinness Book of Records in 1955 with his twin brother Ross and during the 1970s he appeared regularly on the BBC One children's show Record Breakers, hosted by Roy Castle.

His brother was an outspoken critic of the IRA, and was assassinated by the group in 1975 after offering a large reward for information leading to the capture of IRA bombers.

Howard Harding, from Chippenham, was Mr McWhirter's gardener and close friend for 16 years.

"I am going to miss him terribly. He was very generous and he was unbelievable, he was like a walking encyclopaedia," said Mr Harding.

"His garden was his pride and joy and he loved to show it to his guests and introduce them to me. I met quite a few famous people there including the astronomer Patrick Moore."

Mr Harding played tennis with Mr McWhirter, who had a hard court at his home. "He had a wicked back hand spin. He was a good player. He went to Marlborough for extra coaching."

Mr Whirter is survived by his wife Tessa, daughter Jane and son Alasdair.

Andrew Loud, head chef at The Plough pub in Kington Langley said Mr McWhirter was a very friendly man. He used to visit the pub with his family every few weeks to enjoy a meal. Staff described him as a man who had time for everyone and was always polite and a true gentleman.

"He was very knowledgeable. The last time I spoke to him was on Bank Holiday Monday when he came in. He said my surname was an unusual name and did I know my ancestors had invented the Biro pen.

"I remember him from my youth when he was on Record Breakers. He was the intelligent one in the background," said Mr Loud, 28.

Mr Harding said his friend had lived in Wiltshire for 22 years and enjoyed escaping from the hectic life of London.

Mr McWhirter founded the Freedom Association with his twin, which campaigned strongly against British involvement in the European Union.