A regional press reporter has told how he turned to journalism after losing enthusiasm for his career in law.

Bob Beale, who works for the Bristol Evening Post, had carved out a successful career as a solicitor and had practised law for 32 years.

As a partner at Bristol's Beachcroft Wansbroughs, he managed a team of lawyers and secretaries, monitoring their work and handling his own high-level case load.

But feeling that he had achieved all he could, and that he needed new challenges, Bob, (58), decided to opt for the cut and thrust of journalism.

He said: "I qualified as a solicitor in 1971 so had been in practice for 32 years.

"I had been with the firm that became Beachcroft Wansbroughs for 29 years and I had been involved in most aspects of the job, including management, marketing and fee earning, and felt I had nowhere else to go.

"I had lost my enthusiasm and felt I needed new challenges."

With a passion for writing and a desire to "get away from law", Bob decided on journalism, approaching the Evening Post and meeting with the newspaper's news features editor.

Bob said: "I wanted to write and get more involved in what was going on around me; politics, theatre or whatever - current affairs, really.

"I thought the best way to involve the two was to become a journalist."

Bob was invited to join the Evening Post on work experience for five weeks in summer 2003, then headed south to Cornwall to take a trainee journalism course.

On hearing about a vacancy, he made a formal application to the Evening Post, joining the paper in October.

Bob said: "I didn't think it would be easy starting again and it hasn't, but I am enjoying it and feel I am lucky to be working with a good daily paper at this stage of my re-launch.

"There is a lot to learn and the writing styles and detail needed to make a good newspaper story are very different from those that are needed as a lawyer.

"A lot of un-learning has got to be done, but I have no regrets."