The death of legendary science fiction writer Arthur C Clarke saddened his fans around the globe.

But for artist Danny Flynn, 49, from Milton-under-Wychwood, in west Oxfordshire, it meant the end of a special relationship.

Mr Flynn first met the writer at a space festival in Minehead, Cumbria, in the mid-1990s.

The science fiction legend was such a fan of Mr Flynn's illustrations that he even wrote the foreword to a book of Mr Flynn's paintings.

Mr Flynn said: "I hadn't seen Arthur for a few years because he lived in Sri Lanka and was too ill to travel, he had his 90th birthday just before Christmas.

"He had been ill for a while, but his death has still shocked me because he had so much enthusiasm and I thought he was going to live to 100 - I've spoken to his family on the phone. Every now and then I would get a phone call from him and I feel privileged to consider him a friend - I would always send him an original picture on his birthday."

Mr Flynn, who creates cover illustrations for science fiction novels and computer games covers, had been working as an illustrator for 10 years when Sir Arthur first got in touch to say he admired his work.

In the mid-1980s, Mr Flynn provided an illustration for the author's book Expedition to Earth, a collection of short stories.

The illustration shows a kingfisher in an ice landscape, and it was the first time that the cover of an Arthur C Clarke book had not been decorated with a space scene.

The author immediately got in touch with Mr Flynn to thank him for the "refreshing choice of subject matter".

Shortly afterwards, Mr Flynn met the author at the space festival and continued to provide illustrations for his books, including A Fall of Moondust and The Deep Range.

Mr Flynn, who is originally from Scunthorpe, added: "Arthur always encouraged me to create my own work, so I have now created a new world inside the moon and I am hoping to get models and figurines licensed.

"I've been working on this for four years and I'm hoping it will lead to a TV show and computer games."

Sir Arthur C Clarke, born in Somerset, died last week in his adopted home of Sri Lanka at the age of 90.

The author achieved his greatest fame in 1968 when his short story The Sentinel was turned into the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Since 1995, the author had been confined to a wheelchair by post-polio syndrome.

He served in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, and predicted the concept of communication satellites.

Sir Arthur's descriptions of space shuttles, super-computers and rapid communications systems inspired millions of readers and scientists.