An author and poet whose love for writing was ignited when she attended secretarial school as a teenager has died aged 76.

Sally Bailey-Young, who lived in Wells on the north Norfolk coast, would go on to publish a children's book in 2017 entitled Oliver the Owl.

The grandmother was inspired to write the story after watching birds flying over the salt marshes on her walks.

And although she had spent her life writing poetry it was the first time she had published a book. 

Sally Bailey-Young when she was youngerSally Bailey-Young when she was younger (Image: Claire Brown) Daughter Claire Brown said her mother would also take inspiration from her grandchildren, who would come home and share the adventures they had been on with her.

She said: "They'd tell us how they'd been pirate hunting with Granny. It was very sweet." 

She died on October 25 after suffering a stroke.She died on October 25 after suffering a stroke (Image: Claire Brown) Mrs Bailey-Young was born in Somerset but her father moved their family to Norfolk for work. 

Mrs Brown described her mother as "very funny", adding: "Mum was very private but she used her poems to express how she was feeling."

Her writing was inspired by the people in her life and those she met.Her writing was inspired by the people in her life and those she met (Image: Claire Brown) With her brother, she will be working through the hundreds of poems their mother left behind to create a booklet to send to friends and family. 

Mrs Brown said: "I'm sure there will be poems in there about people we know, which she might have been too shy to share but she was a lovely writer and they deserve to be read.

"I'm sure the process will be quite raw but we'll get a hidden look into how she saw the world."

Sally Bailey-Young died on October 25 after suffering a stroke a few days before. The family will be having a private cremation.