Former Oxford Mail journalist Molly White, above, has died at the age of 86.

Brought up in the Essex countryside, she gained an early enthusiasm for horses and riding.

She came into local newspaper journalism in 1965 when she started to write for the Oxford Mail's sister paper, the Witney Gazette - then a privately owned newspaper - after her husband Bill was posted to RAF Brize Norton.

When the Gazette was taken over, she became part of the staff of the Oxford Mail and The Oxford Times and continued to produce news reports and features for the area.

She died on Tuesday and her funeral is on Thursday at Kingsdown crematorium, near Swindon.

A full obituary will appear in Thursday's Mail.