ONE of Cirencester’s most celebrated chefs, Justin Ashley, has died aged 44.

Justin, who was known for his award-winning cuisine at various Cirencester eateries, passed away at the Great Western Hospital in Swindon on Thursday, of a suspected brain haemorrhage.

Ambulances were called to The Waggon & Horses pub, where he was working, on Wednesday afternoon after he collapsed.

Justin made his name in the culinary world whilst working at Harry Hare’s in the 1990s, before moving on to The Twelve Bells where he worked under his father, the landlord, Bob Ashley.

After its closure he went on to The Golden Cross Inn in Black Jack Street where he won a host of awards for his honest and hearty style of cooking.