Mr John Wilson, founder of local estate agents Wilson and Partners, died at the weekend, aged 68.

Mr Wilson, of Hayway, Rushden, founded the company when he was only 21 years old. The firm now has branches in Rushden, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough and Northampton.

Mr Wilson died on Saturday. He leaves a widow, Mrs Jilly Wilson and a brother, Frederick, who lives in Canada. A date for the funeral has yet to be fixed.

During World War Two Mr Wilson was a captain in the Royal Artillery and was awarded the Military Cross for gallantry. He served as a JP on the Wellingborough Bench and in his spare time was a keen angler and naturalist.

In 1969 Mr Wilson acquired the Nene Valley Farm, Rushden, and created a man-made lake which has become a haven for many species of wildlife.