A POPULAR postman and well-known Kidlington gardener suffered a fatal haemorrhage behind the wheel of his car before crashing into a garden wall.

Ronald Taylor suffered an aortic aneurysm as he returned home from buying potato plants.

The 80-year-old died after collapsing as he drove his red Ford Escort in the Moors, opposite Helwyns Close in Kidlington last Thursday.

A post mortem carried out on Tuesday found he had died of natural causes as a result of an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Mr Taylor, who retired from his post round in Kidlington after more than 10 years in 1997, was a keen gardener his whole life.

He had entered the Chelsea Flower Show three times with his colourful hanging baskets.

His family is now coming to terms with Mr Taylor’s unexpected death. His son Mark, 48, of Bicester Road, Kidlington, said: “We are all pretty cut up.

“He had a touch of high blood pressure, but he was always in good health. It was a total shock.

“Every year he planted his potatoes on Good Friday. When he was a kid he worked in a garden and was a really keen gardener all his life.

“He went to get his potatoes and he was coming back from there and that’s when we believe that this aneurysm happened.”

Mr Taylor said his dad, who lived in Queens Avenue, Kidlington, with his wife of 59 years Peggy, was well known in the community.

“He was on the committee of the Kidlington gardening club,” he said.

“He was well liked and never got angry.”

The grandfather-of-six was born on September 19, 1931 in Farnborough and moved to Kidlington after meeting and marrying a local girl, Peggy Quainton.

Before becoming a postman he served in the Navy as an able seaman working as a stoker on the HMS Finisterre and the HMS Newcastle.

He joined the Navy at age 18 and served for seven years.

He also served as a retained fireman in Kidlington for five years.

Mr Taylor also worked as a spraypainter for Morris Motors. He was with the company for 20 years after joining in the 1960s.

After delivering letters in the Kidlington area for more than 10 years he retired at 65 and dedicated himself to his garden.

He was also a talented rower and cross-country runner.

Mr Taylor is survived by his wife Peggy, sons Reg, Kim and Mark and six grandchildren.

No funeral date has yet been set.