A court reporter who worked for the same regional publisher for more than three decades has died aged 68.

Tributes have been paid to Jim Hislop, who worked for DC Thomson titles in Dundee after choosing journalism over the priesthood.

Jim worked at Dundee daily The Courier and its sister paper the Evening Telegraph, latterly as a dedicated reporter at Dundee Sheriff Court.

He was also one of the first reporters on the scene following the Invergowrie rail crash in 1979, which killed five people.

Jim, left, with wife Joy on their wedding day last year

Born in Dundee, he won a place at St Andrews University to study theology after leaving school but left after deciding to become a journalist.

He began his career in 1967 when he joined DC Thomson’s The Weekly News, later moving on to the Dundee dailies.  He retired in 2009.

Paying tribute in an obituary in The Courier, George Donnelly, vice-president of Dundee Bar Association, said: “He was the epitome of the court reporter. He was utterly trustworthy.

“He was loved by all the court professionals and everybody to a man and woman is devastated by his death.”

Away from work, Jim was a jazz aficionado and talented pianist. He was diagnosed with cancer last year, and married wife Joy following his diagnosis.

More than 200 people turned up to his funeral, which was held at Dundee Crematorium last week.