A weekly newspaper’s head photographer has left the publication he worked with for nearly 44 years.

Kevin Bates  – who is he fourth generation of his family to work in newspapers – has taken early retirement from the Bath Chronicle.

He followed in the footsteps of his great grandfather, who was a stone hand at the Daily Mirror, his grandfather, a printer at the Daily Mirror, his grandmother, a reporter for the Press Association and his father, an editor in Kent.

The father of two plans to spend his time freelancing and completing projects around the house, as well as spending time with his grandchildren, 10-year-old Anya, and  twins Lexi and Ella, who are almost two.

He said: “I will miss the Chronicle, as it is a really interesting job and I work with a great bunch of people.

“But I felt this was the right time for me to go.”

At the age of 16,  Kevin got a job as a trainee photographer on the Reading Evening Post.

This was followed 18 months later by a stint in London for an agency, before moving to Bath and joining the Chronicle aged 18 in August 1970.

He said: “People in Bath were more laid-back than in London, it was a different pace of life.

“It took a while for me to get used to it.”

Over the years Kevin has gone from photographer to chief photographer, picture editor and finally head of photography, a position he has held for around 24 years.

He has seen many changes, most noticeably when the Chronicle went weekly in 2007, and the number of photographers was reduced.

But two things have remained constant: his love of photography, and the city he works in.

Kevin said: “The best thing about my job is that I am being paid to do something I love.

“I love photography, and I love the fact that no two days are the same. Over the years I have met so many lovely people, with really interesting stories to tell.”

One job in particular that stands out in Kevin’s mind is when Prince Charles visited Newton St Loe.

Kevin said: “I remember it was raining really heavily, and so a nice security guard let us shelter in a doorway.

“I was snapping away with a long lens as Prince Charles walked towards me when suddenly my camera went blank. I lowered it to see him right in front of me staring down the lens, and he just laughed.”