Long-serving Northern Echo photographer Mike Gibb has retired.
The 60-year-old had spent 34 years at the paper, the last 20 of which were as chief photographer.
He began working in newspapers after first serving as a fireman in Liverpool, and joined the picture desk at the Bootle News before moving to the Echo.
Editor Peter Barron said: “The paper has always had a reputation for strong pictures and Mike has been integral to that.
“He’s going to be a huge miss. He’s been part of the region and the Echo for more than three decades.”
During his time at the Echo, Mike has covered a huge variety of events, from royal visits to sport.
Peter also remembers sending him out to get a picture of the wreckage after a light aircraft which crashed in the Lake District one Sunday – a job which he said demonstrated Mike’s determined attitude.
The pilot had been on his way from Newcastle to Carlisle to go to his favourite chip shop when he crashed on a mountain.
Mike went in search of the wreckage – but had to lug his photographic equipment up three mountains before he found it.
Peter, who was then the Echo’s news editor, said: “He was the only one to get a picture – no one else found the wreckage.
“He has always had a real willingness to get the picture and is an example to us all.
“It was a real ‘Eureka!’ moment when he found it.”
Mike now plans to work as a freelance. His successor at the Echo is Richard Doughty.