Guinness Book of Records founder Norris McWhirter has died aged 78 after suffering a heart attack.

Mr McWhirter fell ill while playing tennis at his home at Kington Langley, near Chippenham, yesterday evening, a spokeswoman for the family said.

The founder editor of the Guinness Book of Records, Mr McWhirter appeared regularly on the classic BBC children's show Record Breakers.

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

Mr McWhirter's family said in a statement: "Norris cared passionately about Great Britain, democracy and the rule of law and was always active in politics, but usually behind the scenes.

"The two things he attached most importance to were the freedom of the individual and the sovereignty of the United Kingdom.

"Apart from his family, his great loves were visiting the 1,049 offshore British islands and having a good game of tennis. He was energetic to the last."

Mr McWhirter's son Alasdair said: "He will be hugely missed by his family he was an amazing person."

Mr McWhirter and his identical twin brother Ross both enjoyed successful careers in athletics before entering journalism and joining the BBC as sports commentators.

Mr McWhirter, a talented all-round sportsman, represented both Scotland and Britain at running in the 1950s.

In November 1975 Ross was assassinated by the IRA, a tragedy which Mr McWhirter said stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Speaking about the murder in a television programme in 2002, Mr McWhirter said: "I felt not so much bereaved but it was an amputation.

"You had sort of lost part of you it is a very difficult thing to describe."

The brothers had set up the Guinness Book of Records together in 1954 and both co-presented Record Breakers, which first hit the nation's TV screens in 1972.

It was as the show's resident records expert that Mr McWhirter was best known to children of the 1970s and 1980s.

Each week he would answer from memory any question about records that the audience chose to ask, and the exchanges were never rehearsed.

Mr McWhirter continued to edit the Guinness Book of Records until 1986, remaining as advisory editor until 1996.

By 1999, the book had been translated into 37 languages and sold more than 87 million copies around the world.

One of Mr McWhirter's closest friends was Sir Roger Bannister, who famously ran the first four-minute mile on May 6 1954.

Mr McWhirter had been one of the time-keepers on that day, and announced the record to great cheers from an ecstatic crowd.

Today, Sir Roger, 75, told PA News he would miss his friend more than he could say.

"Norris was a dear and staunch friend," he said.

"We had known each other since 1945 - nearly 60 years - and we were dining together just last Saturday night before the Marathon."

Sir Roger said Mr McWhirter had "kept his courage" through personal tragedies and "never lost his total conviction in the greatness of Britain".

"Many disagreed with his views but his integrity was never in doubt," he said.

"My family and I will miss him more than I can say, as will his own family.

"He was a human dynamo. It is really hard to believe he's gone."