Environmental scientist Mark Davies died in his sleep at his home near Aldbourne last week aged 47.

His family has received scores of sympathy cards from villagers showing the esteem in which he was held.

Dr Davies and his wife Sandy Muirhead, also an environmental scientist, met at Glasgow University while studying for their PhDs.

Dr Davies, who was brought up in North London, obtained a degree in marine biology at Bangor University.

After gaining his doctorate in 1987, his work took him to Arran in Scotland while his wife-to-be found work in London and then Canada.

She was in North America when he proposed to her in a long distance phone call.

The couple married in 1990 in Sussex and moved to Aldbourne in 1991, initially to Lottage Road and then to Woodsend Farm between Aldbourne and Ogbourne St George. With his brother Owen, Mr Davies started his own water treatment business which was flourishing at the time of his death.

His wife described him as a fit and active man who had recently taken up running after a year’s lay-off following a tendon injury.

In his spare time Dr Davies played in a band called Wickstead Solution. He was fond of bird-watching and enjoyed pottering around on his 1957 Ferguson tractor.

Dr Davies had been due to take a leading role in a production by the village’s drama group ALEC last Thursday and Friday. Out of respect, the play has been postponed.

Dr Davies is survived by his wife, daughters Natalie and Carys, mother Jill and brothers Huw and Owen.

A thanksgiving service will be held in St Michael’s Church in Aldbourne next Wednesday, August 4 at 2pm, following a private funeral service. A collection will be made for the charity CRY.