Loyal supporter and influential figure in the Youth Hostels Association (YHA), Arthur Meaby, has died, aged 67.

A member of the YHA for 50 years, Meaby initially joined the Brighton YHA Local Group, which he would later serve as chairman.

In 1975, Arthur joined the National Executive Committee of YHA and remained a member and a trustee until 2002.

He was also an active member of the Gatliff Trust and was a keen walker and cyclist.

YHA National Secretary, Terry Rollinson, said: “Most people who knew Arthur will remember him as someone who was selflessly generous with time, unassumingly modest about his achievements, disarmingly honest and frank with his opinions and inexhaustibly kind to everyone he met. YHA has lost a very dear friend.”