A former Parliamentary worker who dedicated his life to journalism and politics has died in a fire at his flat.

Bob Watson, 87, spent decades creating official reports of Parliament for Hansard in a career spanning the Prime Ministerial tenures of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. 

He also worked as a reporter for the Croydon Times newspaper and Reuters news agency, and was awarded an OBE for services to journalism and work with autism charities.

His family today paid tribute to "a gifted mind and a huge contributor to the British people" after his death in Addiscombe Road, Addiscombe, on Monday morning.

The father-of-two's body was found by firefighters after flames broke out in his ground-floor flat, where he had lived for 50 years.

His nephew Mike Watson, 66, told the Croydon Guardian: "He was more than just an elderly man to die alone but a gifted mind and a huge contributor to the British people.

"He had a brilliant mind. If he was watching a quiz show, he'd have the answers out before anybody else. He was exceptionally quick-minded even right up to the end." 

After growing up in Cedar Road, just metres from where he died, Bob starting work in the 1950s for Hansard, which creates archives of the proceedings of the Houses of Commons and Lords.

He rose through the ranks to run the service before retiring in the early 1990s, and was awarded an OBE for his work by the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 1983.

He had two daughters, Vivienne and and Claire, with his wife Anna Marie, who died two years ago of a heart condition. He also had a grandson, Joe, 31, through Vivien, who herself died of breast cancer eight years ago.

Mike, who moved to Australia with his family in 1958, said: "He was very shy about his OBE, but Ann was so proud of him. It was a huge day, but he was a very modest man and a very quiet man. He had a beautiful voice. He could have got a job on the radio - he had a very unique, pleasant voice."

He added: "A lot of people liked him. Bob was a wonderful man and I am so proud of him. He meant a great deal to me."

The cause of the fire, reported to London Fire Brigade (LFB) at about 10.30am, is under investigation but is not being treated as suspicious. It is thought it may have been started by a cigarette in Mr Watson's flat.

LFB sent two fire engines and ten firefighters from Croydon and Woodside stations to the blaze, which partly damaged the building. 

Firefighters are also investigating what sparked fire in Grecian Crescent, Upper Norwood, that killed a 90-year-old woman on Saturday afternoon.