At the age of 94, nature writer Mr Roberts felt it was time he compiled his final entry about the ever-fascinating life of Northamptonshire's flora and fauna.

The Guinness World Records is now investigating whether Mr Roberts could be the longest-serving daily newspaper columnist in the world, following the publication of his final Country Diary today.

A spokeswoman for Guinness World Records said: "The current record for the longest-serving daily newspaper columnist is held by Hiroyuki Itsuki who has been publishing a daily column in the Nikkan Gendai, in Japan, for 32 years and 220 days, as of June 13, 2008."

If Mr Roberts fits all the criteria, it may be that the world has a new champion.

Mr Roberts said: "One of the things I'm proud of is that I have never missed a day in 55 years; which is not to say a day hasn't been missed. Very occasionally the space was needed for a big story.

"This happened when the last Earl Spencer died, and then again when there was a newspaper strike and the whole newspaper ground to a halt.

"But I never missed a day and I kept a stock pile in case of emergencies, so the Country Diary would be kept going."

He added: "In leaving, I feel a mixture of emotions. I will miss it in one respect, but I don't miss having that commitment.

"I'm 94 now and at that age the brain doesn't work as well as it did. I felt it was becoming more and more of an effort."

When 1950s' Chronicle & Echo editor William Cowper Barrons first asked Mr Roberts to write a column about the countryside, the former flight trainer was more than a little shocked.

But it was a time of change for the young man, as his work as a 'Link' trainer at Sywell Aerodrome had just come to an end and Mr Barrons was very interested in what Mr Roberts would do next.

Mr Roberts, who lives in Overstone, said: "During the 1950s, the RAF side of Sywell was closed down.

That was when the editor asked me to contact him."

As well as his flight-training career, Mr Roberts had earned a name as a writer of humorous copy for Punch magazine, as well as short stories and radio plays.

He explained to Mr Barrons that he wanted to concentrate on his writing more: "He said he would like me to write him a country diary.

I said: 'I can't possibly do that, I'm no country man.' He said: 'you live in the country don't you?' I replied 'yes, but my knowledge of the country is minimal to say the least. He said to me: 'there are lots of books in the library.'"

His first column was published on June 8, 1953, under the name of Robin, for fear that floods of people would seek Mr Roberts out for tips and advice.

It was only after 40 years that he was persuaded to use his real name above the articles.

The first article introduced what was to come in the following years with the simple statement: "From today I shall be writing daily notes on what is going on in the country."

His five-year-old daughter, Jenny, featured regularly in his early pieces as "S D," short for 'small daughter' and his writings were often accompanied by intricate illustrations produced by Edward Stamp, Ian Stephens and Elizabeth Davies.

And the success of the column caused Mr Roberts' fame as a nature writer and expert to soar. He was featured on Radio 4's Today programme, he wrote and published two books on the subject of animal behaviour, and for two years he even fronted his own TV programme, called The Grass is Greener.

Mr Roberts said: "It was amazing how the Country Diary started all of that."

Over the years, Country Diary has attracted hundreds of letters from readers, responding to Mr Roberts' observations.

And the years have seen some changes in the column, not least that it is has recently been published five times rather than six times a week.

He said: "You can't write about something for 55 years without being enthusiastic about it, but I'm a chair-bound naturalist rather than a field naturalist because of the very way I was given the job."