A popular landlord who was known to ban people from his pub for being boring, has died aged 62.

Noel Reilly, former landlord of the Jude The Obscure pub in Walton Street, Jericho, and The Bullingdon Arms in Cowley Road, passed away on Friday, September 5.

His son James said his dad was the perfect landlord.

He said: "I would describe my father as somebody who lived life to the full, wasn't afraid of new and exciting experiences, always liked to challenge himself and who would stretch the boundaries just to see what was out there."

Mr Reilly, above, a former student at Ruskin College, first got into the pub trade at The Bullingdon Arms, but later moved to Swindon in 1982 to run the Beehive pub.

He got the attention of international press in 1988, after he invited the philosopher and Czech dissident Dr Julius Tomin to the pub to give lectures.

Mr Reilly returned to Oxford in 1993 and took over at the Jude The Obscure, where he remained as landlord until 2001.

He went on to run the Far From The Madding Crowd in Friar's Entry.

Throughout his career Mr Reilly could be unpredictable, banning people for the wrong hairdo or drinking in another pub — but always let them back after a few days.

Mr Reilly died from pneumonia at the John Radcliffe Hospital. His funeral is at St Aloysius' RC Church in Banbury Road, Oxford, tomorrow, at 11.30am.