He was a familiar presence on TV and radio during some of the darkest days of the Troubles.

Reporting for BBC Northern Ireland's Scene Around Six and as the national radio correspondent he covered some of the worst atrocities including Bloody Sunday and Bloody Friday.

Born in Belfast, his journalistic career began at the Newtownards Chronicle.

It was with the Chronicle where he had his first encounter with a major news story, covering the sinking of the Princess Victoria in 1953.

He spent a few years working in Vancouver, returning to Northern Ireland to edit a local paper, then joining the reporting staff of the Belfast Telegraph and on to the BBC.

Mr Capper joined the BBC team in Buenos Aires during the Falklands War.

After 26 years, he left the BBC shortly after reporting on the Enniskillen bomb in 1987, but continued to work in media advising developing radio stations abroad.

His family said he eventually settled in Donaghadee where he had spent his childhood summers.

They said apart from travel, his passions included music and narrow gauge steam railways.

He had three children, Chris, Diarmit and Samantha, and nine grandchildren.