Dunoon Observer editor Bill Jardine is retiring from the newspaper – and will begin a new life in France.

Bill, (63), is stepping down after four years in charge at the independent weekly.

He is also a former editor of the Holderness Gazette in East Yorkshire, and previously worked at the Dunoon Observer as a reporter.

He and his wife have bought a house in Brittany, and Bill said the couple were looking forward to sunnier climes.

He said: “We are quite struck with Brittany and are attracted by the climate and cost of living.

“I will miss it here. It is a lovely area to live and I have have had a long connection with it, back to childhood, but it is a small world.”

He added: “I’m very much looking forward to it. It will be a challenge doing something different.

“I don’t speak French, but my wife does. I can order a beer in French and I am slowing learning.”

Succeeding Bill as editor of the Dunoon Observer is Colin Cameron, who is currently a reporter on the paper.

Bill said: “I’m sure Colin will do a good job.

“The paper is evolving slowly and he will put a different stamp on it.”

Colin, (39), said: “We are sorry to see Bill go.

“I have learnt a lot from him and we will miss him.”