Tributes have been paid to an Observer photographer who died suddenly after covering a football match on Tuesday night.

Steve Bostock, aged 45, of Moss Avenue off Kingsway, suffered a suspected heart attack and died outside Spotland Stadium just minutes after the end the Rochdale v Bradford City match, which he was covering for the Observer.

The professional photographer, who had two children and four step-children, ran his own photography business and had worked freelance for the Observer and several of its sister papers, including the Heywood Advertiser, Middleton Guardian and Oldham Advertiser, for the past five years.

Although his primary interest was sports photography, he covered other events for the Observer and was also known for his wedding and portraiture work.

He spent his childhood in Rochdale, but moved around a lot because of his father’s job in the Army, including several years spent living in Cyprus.

At 18 he himself became an engineer in the Royal Signals, before he left the forces in his mid twenties and started working in computing. His passion for photography began when he received a camera for his 40th birthday.

He soon became a regular contributor to the paper, photographing football, rugby and cricket matches for the sports pages.

He was due to celebrate his second wedding anniversary with his wife Paula in May.

Paula said: "Steve loved his kids, and his cats and photography. It was his absolute passion.

"I’m just glad he was doing something he loved at the time.

"He loved working for the paper.

"We used to take the Mickey and say he was grumpy, but he had such a good sense of humour.

"He was a massive sci-fi fan, and he loved anything to do with Egyptology.

"He was so generous. He would have done anything for anyone, he never sat still and if anyone ever called needed help, he’d be there.

"One of his Army pals described him to me as ‘a solid gold bloke’."

Observer sports editor Richard Partington said: "It was always a pleasure working with Steve, such was his love of the job.

"Whenever we needed a freelancer to cover a job, Steve was top of the list – dependable, keen and accurate in his work.

"He was proud of his photographic kit, a collection he’d spent a lot of time building up over the years.

"Working for the The Observer on a freelance basis gave him an outlet for his passion for photography and the paper benefited greatly from that.

"He’d become a regular fixture on the sidelines at Spotland over the last few years, snapping both the football and the rugby, but he would just as willingly turn his hand to amateur football at Firgrove on a wet Sunday morning or cricket during the summer with equal enthusiasm.

"It is a great credit to his craftsmanship that his photos always reflected his enthusiasm.

"So impressive was his work that my wife and I asked him to snap our wedding day three years ago, and he did so with his usual panache.

"I’ll miss the sight of Steve turning up to sporting events, broad smile across his face and photographic kit weighing heavily on his shoulders – a weight he bore only too gladly.

"In decades to come, when people pore over back copies of the Observer, they will see his work brightening the pages, the images he captured so succinctly providing a fitting tribute and a lasting legacy."

Steve is survived by his wife Paula, children Alex and Amanda and his four stepchildren.

His funeral is due to take place at Rochdale crematorium at 1pm on Wednesday.