The man in charge of Brighton's Grand Hotel when it was bombed has died aged of 75.

Paul Boswell took over the Grand just after the Victorian building was saved from demolition in the Sixties.

Mr Boswell had worked at the Old Ship Hotel in Brighton and Bailey's in London before becoming manager at the Warnes Hotel in Worthing. He then moved to the Grand.

During his 17 years as manager he welcomed many famous visitors, particularly politicians at the time of the party conferences.

Mr Boswell was due to retire in October 1984 amid champagne celebrations but instead the departure took place amid heartbreak and sadness.

Three weeks earlier an IRA bomb had destroyed the hotel. It killed five people and injured many others. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped with her life.

Mr Boswell defended the security precautions at the hotel but said there was no way they could have been 100 per cent effective.

Mr Boswell said he was devastated by the bomb and added: "It was a deep personal tragedy. But it didn't stop me thinking fondly of the establishment."

Mr Boswell eventually retired to the village of Newton Popplewell in Devon, where he fished, studied horse racing and tended the garden of a 600-year-old cottage.

Four years ago he married at the local church. His wife, Jenny, said: "Those were the happiest times of his life. He found peace and contentment after all that stress."