ONE of the richest men in Suffolk has died at the age of 75, within a year of his wife's death.Edmund Vestey was the third generation to head the Vestey meat and distribution empire and had an estimated personal wealth of £700million.

ONE of the richest men in Suffolk has died at the age of 75, within a year of his wife's death.

Edmund Vestey was the third generation to head the Vestey meat and distribution empire and had an estimated personal wealth of £700million.

He died on November 23 at Little Thurlow Hall, near Haverhill, which he had shared with his wife, Anne, until her death on January 24 this year.

Famously publicity-shy, the multi-millionaire was perhaps best known in the county as the Master of Foxhounds with the Thurlow Hunt and for his vehement opposition to the hunting ban.

Iain Fleming, agent on the Thurlow estate, described Mr Vestey as “well-liked and respected” by all who met him.

He said: “He was a consummate countryman and an exemplary steward of the land. He was well liked all over this part of East Anglia and he commanded great loyalty.”

At their peak, the Vesteys - who owned the Dewhurst chain of butchers' shops - were thought to be worth upwards of £2billion. They had 23,000 employees and owned 250,000 head of cattle on several continents.