Ken Caulder, one of Surrey and England’s top cross country runners of all time, has died.

Caulder, who was 76, belonged to the former Surrey Athletic Club, the men’s side of which was subsumed by Belgrave Harriers in 1982.

While he also competed on the road and in track events, Caulder’s main strength was as a cross country runner and, in 1954, he won the English junior title at Birkenhead, with his Surrey AC team-mate Tony Barrett finishing runner-up 12 seconds behind.

The same year, he finished runner-up in the Southern junior cross country championship.

He twice ran for England, in the international cross country championships in 1955 and 1958, finishing 20th and 27th respectively.

He also won the South of the Thames junior cross country title at Caterham in 1953, leading the Surrey AC team to second place.

At the end of his athletics career, Caulder took up bowls and played for the Great Bookham and Mole Valley clubs.

In his working life, he trained as a carpenter and joiner and set up his own building and carpentry firm, which was based in Tolworth, Stoneleigh, Epsom and Great Bookham at different times.

Caulder had three sons, one of whom, Richard, is a member of Epsom & Ewell Harriers and has run five marathons.