Eric Gallagher, owner of Cardwell Garden Centre near Gourock, has died after a short illness, aged 76.

After re-locating his nursery from Gourock to a new site at Lunderston Bay in the 1960s, Mr Gallagher developed the centre into a popular destination attracting around 750,000 visitors a year. The centre has a stunning view over the bay and the Firth of Clyde, with the Argyll and Bute hills and the mountain peaks of the Isle of Arran in the background.

The site includes a 300-seater restaurant and 100,000 sq.ft of covered retail space.

Mr Gallagher received a Lifetime Achievement award in the Greenock Chamber of Commerce Bee’s Knees Awards last year. He was a recipient of an International Rotary Club award for services to charity and a certificate of merit from the Royal Caledonian Horticultural Society for significant contribution to Scottish horticulture.

He is survived by his wife Isobel, daughter Stefanie and sons Drew and Kieran.

The funeral service is on Tuesday 3 September (10am, St Mary's, Patrick Street, Greenock), when the garden centre will be closed all day. The family have requested no flowers but will take a collection for Ardgowan Hospice and the Children's Hospice Association Scotland).