AMATEUR rally driver Raymond Syms, from Seagry, has died at the age of 87.

Mr Syms, father to Robert Syms, MP for Poole, died at his home in Seagry on August 17.

He was born on November 12, 1927 and grew up on London Road in Calne with his two brothers Charles, a former mayor of Calne, and Jack.

He was married to Mary and leaves two children, Robert, now Conservative MP for Poole in Dorset, and Ann Simpkins, and five grandchildren.

After a successful career in amateur rallying in the 1950s, which included competing in the Monte Carlo rally, Mr Syms became a successful businessman in the family building business C Syms & Sons.

Robert Syms MP said: “He was a very generous man and he was an extremely good businessman.

“The most important thing for him was his family and the business. He never really gave up work; he was always in fussing around making sure things were going well.”

Despite his dedication to the family business, Mr Syms also enjoyed his holidays and was clearly very fond of his two children and five grand children.

When Mr Syms left Calne, he moved into a bungalow in the nearby village of Charlcutt before moving to Seagry where he spent his last 20 years in a newly built house in the centre of the village.