Gardening guru leaves £4m fortune

THE WORLD'S bestselling gardening writer David Hessayon left his family a £4.7million fortune following his death aged 96 in January.

- By Matthew Davis

His "Expert" guides for green fingered enthusiasts sold 67 million copies globally and it is estimated that half of all British homes have at least one of his manuals.

Probate details revealed his estate was valued at £4,907,926 but after expenses were paid this was reduced to £4,740,925.

Dr Hessayon's will stated the money would be split between his daughters Angelina and Jacqueline, with cash gifts of £70,000 made to his four grandchildren.

In his will, which was drawn up in 2019, he also left a gift of £250,000 to his long-term assistant, Gillian Jackson, and £70,000 to his son-in-law.

His illustrated guides which he designed himself gave easy-to-follow expert advice to gardeners from the release of the first one, "Be Your Own Gardening Expert", which was published in 1959.