TRIBUTES have been paid to a “passionate and driven” farm worker who died following a car accident near Faslane this week.

Robert Bell, 76, lost his life after a collision involving his vehicle and a lorry at around 12 noon on Monday on the B872 between Garelochhead and the north gate of HM Naval Base Clyde.

And less than 24 hours later, at 10.15am on Tuesday a member of the public reported that a blue Audi had crashed on the A817 Haul Road between Luss and Garelochhead.

Emergency services attended but the life of a 65-year-old man, the Audi's only occupant, could not be saved.

READ MORE: Police appeal after man, 76, killed in crash near Faslane

Born in Nidderdale, Yorkshire, Robert Bell was brought up near Kendal and met his first wife, Alice, in 1963.

He first moved to Scotland in 1998 before divorcing and eventually settling in Rosneath Castle Park with his second wife, Agnes, from 2009.

Son Robert Bell junior, the oldest of three siblings, said his father was inspirational and would be sadly missed.

“He was a well-known farmer in Cumbria,” Robert said, “and even featured in the local press.

“He was a very forward-thinking revolutionary in some of his ideas.

“My father lived quite a nomadic life but built up a very good name through landscaping jobs. He was a man driven by work; he never stopped.

“The number of people getting in touch from the Helensburgh and Lomond area has been overwhelming.”

READ MORE: Man, 65, dies after second fatal crash in 24 hours near Helensburgh

Robert admitted that he had a sometimes difficult relationship with his father, but he was grateful for the work ethic he instilled in his children.

He added: “He was a man constantly trying to succeed, with lots of entrepreneurial skills.

“He was a very hard man and I am a lot like him in many respects. We both always thought we were in the right, but I have a huge amount of respect for what he tried to do.

“His big passion was Swaledale sheep, and his favourite saying was ‘if you make work your leisure, what more could you want in life?’.

“He was a man driven by a determination to succeed, and he was very proud of his achievements up here.

“Our thoughts and condolences go to the family of the other man involved in the tragic accident on Tuesday.”

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Police confirmed the victim of Tuesday’s crash, a 65-year-old man who had not been named as this article was published, had been driving along the Haul Road towards Faslane.

The road was closed for much of Tuesday after the crash, but trauma team doctors could not save his life.

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