A journalist whose career developed into editorial training has died aged 77.

Eric Firth worked at the North West Evening Mail as training officer in the early 1980s, where he was also a sub editor and later chief sub.

He had previously worked in a training capacity in Bristol and then with United Newspapers, which published Lancashire titles the Lancaster Guardian, Morecambe Guardian, Barnoldswick and Earby Times, the Lancashire Evening Post, Farmers' Guardian, and others.

He also spent some years in his native Yorkshire on the Sheffield Telegraph, which was a morning paper serving the city.

After retiring in 1990 he moved from Furness to the Norfolk coast where he spent his retirement.

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