Visual and special effects designer Ian Scoones has died. The veteran of numerous classic Doctor Who stories retired some years ago to Spain after a career working in film and television.

Scoones' involvement with Doctor Who stretched back to the series' opening episode, as an uncredited special effects assistant, and he was best known for his contributions to the highly-rated Tom Baker stories Pyramids of Mars, The Invisible Enemy and City of Death.

He worked on a number of Hammer movies during the 1960s, including Quatermass and the Pit, and arranged the special effects for the TV series Hammer House of Horror in 1980. He was visual effects designer on the first season of Blake's 7, and during the 1980s worked on various movies including 1984 and Haunted Honeymoon.