BOB Hamilton, a former superintendent of Worsham Waterworks, near Witney, has died aged 94.

Mr Hamilton ran the river pumping station and other stations in the Oxfordshire area from 1968 until his retirement in 1983.

He had previously run Sutton Bingham reservoir pumping station near Yeovil in Somerset from 1955.

He was brought up in Hampshire, where he met his wife Ann Laver, who died in 2001.

His career in water treatment began in 1947, when he worked at Timsbury pumping station and then Otterbourne waterworks, both in Hampshire.

When he moved to Oxfordshire, he and his family lived in a tied home within the grounds of the Worsham Waterworks. He escorted numerous school parties around on tours, explaining the chemical process of converting river water into drinking water.

Recording rainfall was one of the many tasks that Mr Hamilton did daily and he relayed the monthly totals to the media over many years.

The closure of the waterworks was followed by its conversion into apartments. The attractive pumping hall has survived.

Mr Hamilton was a member of West Oxfordshire Field Club and he enjoyed gardening and bird-watching.

He died in Witney Hospital on October 24 having contracted pneumonia following a hip operation three weeks before.

A funeral service was held at Oxford Crematorium on November 2.

He leaves a son Peter and daughter Judith Russell, two grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.