TRIBUTES have been paid following the sudden death of an award-winning farmer whose expertise was even sought by television soap opera Emmerdale.

Robert Peter Gill, who was judged to have the finest dairy farm in Britain, died at his home in Barnard Castle, County Durham, at the age of 58.

That top honour was awarded in 1986 when he was running Scaife House Farm, at Staindrop, near Barnard Castle.

Three years later, he was invited to meet Prince Charles, in London, after being runner-up in a national conservation project.

He won a string of awards from the Grassland Society for the silage he made for his 150-strong pedigree Holstein herd.

Tyne Tees Television made a programme about the high-quality milk his herd produced, and for several years he was an advisor to scriptwriters on Emmerdale.

Mr Gill, who was always known as Peter, moved with his wife, Rosemary, to a house in Galgate, Barnard Castle, in 2003 after their herd had been reduced by BSE.

Mrs Gill said yesterday: "He could quote the registered number of each of his 150 cows by looking at their faces. He loved them all, and was devastated when he lost a lot of them during the BSE outbreak.

"He was always regarded as one of the most skilful dairy farmers in the region."

Groups of other farmers called regularly to see how Mr Gill did things and he was happy to pass on his knowledge.

"Officials from the Emmerdale programme using to ring him regularly to check script details and ask for guidance about what farmers would be doing at various times of the year," said his wife.

One of his friends, Dennis Raper, said: "Peter won a great number of prizes because he put 110 per cent effort into making his farm run well. He tried to be a perfectionist in everything he did."

He was the fourth generation of his family to farm at Scaife House over a period of 113 years.

He later took up golf and became assistant greenkeeper at Barnard Castle Golf Club. He won a trophy in an NFU Golf Society competition two months ago. In younger years, he was a keen rally driver.

Apart from his wife, Mr Gill leaves two daughters, Joanne and Gillian, and a son, Roger.

The funeral will be at Barnard Castle Methodist Church tomorrow. Donations in lieu of flowers will be given to the British Heart Foundation.