Phil Drabble, the former Midland author, naturalist and surprise TV star of One Man and his Dog, has died aged 93.

Mr Drabble was raised in Bloxwich, Walsall, and later lived in - and wrote mostly about - the countryside of north Worcestershire and at Abbots Bromley in south Staffordshire, where he created a nature reserve.

A former Midlander of the Year and an OBE, he was proud to have never lived more than 20 miles from the place of his birth.

In 1947 he made his first radio broadcast and in 1952 his first television appearance.

At the age of 47 he became a full-time writer. He and his wife Jess purchased a derelict cottage and 90 acres of neglected ancient wood-land, a remnant of the Forest of Needwood, and preceded to turn the latter into the Goat Lodge Reserve.

But he was best known as presenter of the long-running BBC TV series One Man and His Dog, in which he commentated on sheepdog trials.

He was the original presenter of the show, and in its heyday it attracted eight million view-ers.

"When the BBC first asked me to present the programme in 1975, I refused because I thought it would be too boring for words," he said when he left the show in 1993.

"The viewers didn't think so, but I'm amazed it has lasted this long."

The programme continued with Robin Page as presenter but was finally axed in 1999.

Mr Drabble was named Midlander of the Year in 1992 and received an OBE in 1993. He was renowned for his forthright opinions, referring to ramblers as "the woolly hat brigade" and the then Ministry of Agriculture as "monumental incompetents".

Even the Queen sought his expertise on wildlife matters. "She was having trouble with her liberty budgies at Windsor being attacked by hawks, and although she is a good naturalist she wanted my advice," he recalled.

Mr Drabble was an only child, whose mother died when he was young. His father was a GP and they lived in a terraced house in Bloxwich.

Before becoming a broadcaster and wildlife expert he pursued a career at a local factory.

After starting out as a factory lad, he rose to the board of Salters and membership of the management board of the Midland Engineering Employers Association.

In later years he and his late wife Jess, who died 18 months ago, devoted their time to their nature reserve, turning down big money offers for the land.

He collected species which were under threat, such as herons.

As a child he had spent hours with poachers and keepers learning the craft which he put into practice in later adulthood. "In those days, the miners' hobby was poaching, not picketing. I used to go out with these beggars and learn the tricks of the trade."

He hoped his reserve would be the first of a chain of independent, self-supporting nature sanctuaries which did not depend on Government support.

Interviewed in 1994, he expressed the hope that future generations would respect the environment. He said of his reserve: "My aim is to see that children who come here are brought up with discipline and respect for the countryside, and that they enjoy it."

He died at his home in Abbots Bromley on Sunday morning, the BBC said yesterday.

Family friend Ruth Froggatt said: "Phil retired from One Man And His Dog but he didn't retire altogether. He still did his writing and his newspaper column.

"He was writing well into his 80s and it was only in the last few years that he hadn't been so well."

BBC2 Controller Roly Keating paid tribute to the presenter. "Phil Drabble brought the countryside into the homes of BBC viewers and listeners and became one of the BBC's best-loved faces and voices.

"He will be best remembered for his work on One Man And His Dog through which he earned sheepdog trials something of a cult status amongst viewers."