Christ Church in Wellington Heath was packed yesterday (Thursday) for the funeral of popular fruit farmer and author, Allen Leeds.

Mr Leeds, 89, died peacefully in his sleep at Withers Farm on Wednesday, January 11, after fighting a battle with lymphoma.

His son, George, who runs the fruit farm, paid tribute to his father's dedication to farming and willingness to embrace fresh ideas.

He said: "He remained involved with the farm until his last few days. He was always interested in the new developments and embraced all the new technology of fruit growing."

Since Allen Leeds bought the smallholding of Withers in 1958, it has grown to become one of the major fruit farms in the area.

In recent times it has made use of both polytunnels and imported foreign labour in an increasingly competitive market, serving mainly supermarket outlets.

The morning service was led by The Rev. Judy Scholefield and was attended by many friends and neighbours, including farming neighbours Peter and Barbara Goodhew.

Mrs Goodhew, a neighbour since 1970, said: "He was a very well-respected man, very dignified, and a good farmer, very much of the old school.

"He stayed active to the end, working up to two hours a day in his office."

Mr Leeds was born at Hanley Swan and attended Bromsgrove School and Wye College in Kent.

He studied tropical agriculture in Trinidad before leaving for the Gold Coast in Africa in 1939, working in cocoa production in Ghana.

When Mr Leeds and his wife, Barbara returned to England, they settled at Withers.

George Leeds added: "My father was the author of two books when he was in his 80s. One, Long Ago and Far Away described his life on colonial Africa, and the other, The Withers Farm, was the story of the fruit farm."