A local news journalist who worked for both newspapers and radio over the course of a long career has died aged 76.

John Hobson started out at the Ilkeston Advertiser aged 15 and remained in the Nottingham area for most of his career.

He later joined the now-defunct Nottingham Evening News in 1961 before its merger with the Nottingham Post.

John stayed with the Post until 1970 when he joined the newly-launched BBC Radio Nottingham, later serving as its news editor.

Colin Slater, who worked with both at the Evening News and at Radio Nottingham, described him as one of the finest journalists he knew.

Said Colin: “He always had the ability to get along with people. He could turn his hand to anything.

“I remember him chiefly for the way he could turn the story round, but also the way he could get the story in the first place because of how he got along with people.

“He was a bit of an all-rounder – he was just as proficient in local government as he was with a crime story or if he was covering proceedings in a magistrates’ court.”

Among those John helped on their career paths at the BBC was a young Simon Mayo, who worked at Radio Nottingham in the early 1980s.

John left the station in 1987 but continued working as a press consultant with colleague and former station manager Tom Beesley, providing media advice to companies and organisations across the county.

His son, Sunday Times sports writer Richard Hobson, 47, called him “a very old-fashioned, hard-working, scrupulous reporter.”

“He enjoyed being around journalists. He couldn’t divorce himself from watching the news or reading the papers after being part of that world.”

John died last month after suffering a heart attack.

His funeral service is due to be held at 11.45am today at Bramcote Crematotium.