Hugh Worsnip is preparing to retire after 41 years reporting for The Citizen in Gloucester.

Hugh, (60), has spent his entire career in journalism with the newspaper and says - on the whole - it has been a very happy time that has ensured he has never been bored.

Born and bred in Gloucester, he attended the Cathedral school next door to the newspaper and dreamt of a career in the busy newsroom.

When he left school he was told there weren't any vacancies, so he bided his time until there was, working for the county council in the meantime.

Hugh said: "I literally walked into the newspaper off the street, spoke to the editor and walked out with a job.

"That was in 1961 and my first day was January 26, 1962."

And he wasted no time making use of his contacts - writing his first story about his own brother, Patrick, who had passed nine 'o' levels at the age of 13.

During his career Hugh has written about many things, from sport to local politics, and currently has his own weekly column commenting on developments in the area.

He admits that 'getting the story' has always been his interest and he has never wanted to join the subs desk or try his hand on a national newspaper.

After a time as deputy news editor between 1981 and 1989, he decided to return to the back benches and once again become a reporter.

His time as a reporter was interrupted once again, shortly after though, when in 1990 he was the victim of a street robbery on his way home from a late shift at the paper.

Hugh said: "My skull was fractured in 14 places, but thanks to the skill of the staff at Gloucester Royal Hospital I recovered. However I have lost my hearing in one ear."

While Hugh pinpoints that as one of the "nastiest" moments of his life, he says that the biggest story of his career was undoubtedly the Fred and Rosemary West house of horrors, where it was his job to explain what was going on to the rest of the world, giving radio and TV interviews to news teams in Japan, Germany and even Russia.

"I often wonder how it came out in translation," said Hugh.

Another story that sticks in Hugh's mind is his world exclusive concerning Ronnie Biggs, when he discovered that it had been a Gloucester detective who had found the train robber in Rio in 1973.

However this was only uncovered when Ronnie returned to the UK in May 2001.

Hugh said: "Although I had known this policeman for more than 35 years, he had never told me - until one day when he called me and said 'by the way, I thought you might like to know that I was the one who found him'."

But despite the job bringing many more exciting tales like this, Hugh has decided that, at the age of 60 and with a paid-for pension, the time has come to retire.

He will work his last day at the paper on July 4 - Independence Day.

He said: "I think I've done enough. I've been working for 43 years and I think it's time someone else had a go.

"It will be a huge change but I'm pretty confident that I'm doing the right thing - and if not I can always come back!"