Tributes have been paid to a man described as “one of farming’s kindest gentlemen”.

Greg Anderson, died following a collision on the A149 near Stalham on August 14.

Mr Anderson was born on May 27, 1962, and grew up on Abbey Farm in Haveringland, where he began his farming career alongside his father Ian, brother Fergus and sister Peggy.

In 1992 he purchased Church Farm in Lessingham and established a successful arable and contract farming business.

Mr Anderson and his brother married sisters Diana and Jane Hirst, both from another well-known farming family based in Ormesby. He married Diana in 1989 at Ormesby St Margaret church.

Mr Anderson’s son Michael, 26, described him as a family man and a gentleman who was “a very kind person and really funny”.

Michael said Mr Anderson’s passions included farming, skiing and rallying. In his early 20s, he competed in rallies across Norfolk and the UK in his much-loved Ford Escort. In recent years he had enjoyed cycling and walking around the county with his beloved wife Diana.

In 1999, he formed a farm contracting company called Happisburgh Farming Company, with four other local farmers, out of this came a very successful spray contracting business which he built up over several years.

Michael said one of the highlights of his father’s farming career was when he won the Stalham Farmers‘ Club Barley Cup and Wheat Cup in 2007.

Later in his career, he started working for NSF International as an auditor and was well respected in this community. Mr Anderson was known as a fair and knowledgeable auditor and he was quick to point out if he felt something was wrong.

He was also very proud of both of his sons James, 29, and Michael. James had taken over the running of the farm in the past few years enabling Mr Anderson to focus on his auditing.

Michael said: “Farming was more than a job to him really, he was very passionate about it and loved sharing his knowledge with everyone, whether they were from a farming background or not.”

He recalls one story of when Mr Anderson became a victim of mistaken identity.

He added: “He walked into a law firm once in his John Deere overalls and the receptionist sat him down and said ‘just wait there Mr Deere’, thinking his name was John Deere. He replied ‘if I was John Deere I wouldn’t be here’.

“He enjoyed little things like that, he was very funny and he liked making people laugh. He will be sorely missed by all those who loved him.”