A former regional press sports journalist whose match reports were hailed as an example to trainee reporters has died after a short illness.

Brian Crowther worked for many years at a number of newspapers and magazines in the North-West.

He died last month at the age of 79 after an illness and his funeral was held on Monday.

Brian was born in Manchester and started out in journalism as a reporter on a weekly newspaper in Rawtenstall, Lancashire, before joining the Middleton Guardian.

He then went to work at the Manchester Guardian, now the Guardian, where he worked as a sports writer, eventually becoming the paper’s northern sports editor.

Brian was initially the Guardian’s swimming correspondent and covered several Olympic Games but also wrote about other sports.

And one of his Football League match reports was used by the National Council for the Training of Journalists as an example of how to blend fact and comment for balanced coverage.

When the Guardian moved to London, Brain remained in the North-West, joining forces with Joe Lancaster to set up the Lancaster and Crowther sports news agency.

He later worked for the Farmers’ Guardian, then became deputy editor of Lancashire Life and edited Yorkshire Life magazine.

Brian later freelanced, working for the Bolton Evening News then becoming a restaurant reviewer for Lancashire Life.

He also had an article about George Best included in a book about the footballer.

Brian’s wife Doreen Crowther is a former drama critic at the Bolton News and he also leaves stepchildren Jennifer and Ralph, and six step-grandchildren.