A respected and well known reporter has died in hospital after a short illness.

Tom Ashworth, (85), was a journalist for 53 years.

He began his career at the Torquay Times, aged 17, before moving to Whitby where he became the Middlesbrough Gazette's district reporter for 51 years.

He served in the RAF in the Second World War in Northern Ireland, France, India and Ceylon.

In 1946, he returned to the Evening Gazette where he worked in Middlesbrough, Bishop Auckland and Stockton, before returning to Whitby where he continued to work until his retirement in 1981.

One of the highlights of his career came in 1960 when he scooped everyone with the details of the Fylingdales early warning station, its exact location and specifications.

Daughter Jill said: "He knew so many people in Whitby and on Teeside over the years.

"He was a great reporter and so well loved. But he wanted to be remembered cheerfully."

Tom is survived by his daughter, three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

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