PETER Manders, former staff artist at the Hereford Times, has died at the age of 83.

Mr Manders, whose work was first featured in the Hereford Times and its sister paper The Evening News in 1960, range from artistic paintings of virtually every historic or important building in the county to caricatures.

His early work concentrated on the black and white buildings for which the county is renowned. These were published regularly in the Hereford Times as well as being featured on annual calendars.

In 1997, 700 charity fundraising calendars were sold, raising money for Herefordshire Heart Fund and the Hereford branch of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

The year before, Mr Manders staged an exhibition where he showcased caricatures of some of the world's greatest jazz musicians, including Count Basie, Billie Holiday and Louis Armstrong.

Locally, Mr Manders' weekly "Saturday Sketch Book" in 1976 featured Hereford United's games were enjoyed by readers and players alike.

Born and brought up in Shrewsbury, his first work was published in the Shrewsbury Chronicle when he was just 12 years old.

The talented artist was handed one of his many awards in 1986, as the Newspaper Society awarded him a certificate of merit for a page which appeared in the paper in the February, marking 25 years service to paper.