DISTINGUISHED author Dr Ronald Blythe has become the first patron of a countryside campaign group.

Dr Blythe, who has had a long and illustrious career as a writer and critic on East Anglian country life, has become a patron of the Dedham Vale Society.

He is the first person to become patron of the group in its 75-year history.

Dr Blythe lives in Wormingford, in the heart of the Stour valley, part of the Dedham Vale area of outstanding natural beauty.

He was guest speaker at the society’s annual lecture earlier this month and showed a film he produced 40 years ago about the life and work of world renowned painter John Constable.

Dr Blythe made his name in 1969 with Akenfield: Portrait of an English village about agricultural life in Suffolk from the turn of the last century until 1966.

He has since written novels and short stories and is the author of the Wormingford trilogy which observes the changing East Anglian scene.

In 2006, he was awarded the prestigious Benson Medal by the Royal Society for Literature in recognition of a lifetime’s achievement.

Dr Blythe is also president of the John Clare Society and the Francis Kilvert Society.

The Dedham Vale Society was founded in 1938 by Sir Alfred Munnings and Raymond Erith.

It campaigns to protect the peace and tranquillity of the area of outstanding natural beauty.