A RENOWNED Gwent doctor who discovered a breed of moth has died at the age of 89.

Dr G A Neil Horton discovered the new moth half-way up a mountain in the north of Monmouthshire, and was also well known as a family doctor in Usk.

Dr Horton was born in Llantarnam, Cwmbran, and attended Newport High School.

He went to Christ's College, Cambridge, and the medical school at St Bartholomew's before serving in the Far East with the RAF during the Second World War. He returned to Monmouthshire shortly before the NHS was founded.

He spent nearly 40 years serving the families of Usk as a GP, but it was the natural history of Monmouthshire that was his true passion.

He discovered the breed of moth during work for his long-term goal of producing a list of all the moths and butterflies in Gwent.

The moth was named 'the Silurian,' after the ancient British tribe that once inhabited the region.

His book, Monmouthshire Lepidoptera - the Butterflies and Moths of Gwent, was published in 1994.

Dr Horton's funeral will take place at 11am on September 13 at St Mary's Priory Church, in Usk.

His family have asked for flowers from family only, but said donations could be made to the Gwent Wildlife Trust.

Julian Branscombe, chairman of the Gwent Wildlife Trust, said: "We're very grateful to Dr Horton's family.

"People like Dr Horton are a rare breed. It was wonderful to have an expert like him in the area."