Carol Billingham, who worked at the Gazette’s sister paper The Wiltshire Times for more than 15 years in the 1980s and 1990s, died on December 14, just before her 60th birthday.

Born in Northampton, she arrived in Wiltshire in 1982, after training in her home county and then working in Australia as feature writer on a leading women’s magazine. She joined the Wiltshire Times under the editorship of the late Jack Brennen, initially as district reporter for Westbury, but quickly taking on responsibility for the women’s page – a new venture for the paper, and one she embraced with enthusiasm.

She was never afraid to tackle controversial subjects – her in-depth interview with a victim of false memory syndrome was a particularly hard-hitting example of her ability to draw the most from her subjects. At the other end of the scale were her April Fool spoofs – the most notorious of which being a piece about the Trowbridge Diet: an eating plan based on Bowyers pork pies and lardy cakes.

She had an offbeat – often rather black – sense of humour and an infectious laugh. She loved a bargain and was an inveterate jumble sale and car boot shopper.

Her sense of adventure was keen, and she always rose to a challenge with a determined smile on her face.

Carol combined the demands of her career with being a devoted mum to Laura.

With the onset of her illness, she decided to quit full-time employment and embarked on a completely new challenge. She studied psychology at Bath Spa University, gaining a first class honours degree – a source of great pride to her and her family. Her area of special study was horticultural therapy, and her love of gardening and the outdoors helped to sustain her through some bleak years.