Nick Hunter has been appointed editorial director of Scottish Provincial Press.

He has been promoted from being managing editor of SPP's 15 weekly titles in the North and North-east of Scotland - a role he took on five years ago.

He said: "I'll be 65 in July but I've still got a few good years left.

"Journalism, to me, is better than work and fortunately SPP still believe in experience.

"I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate my half century than being appointed editorial director."

Nick began his career in journalism 50 years ago on the Forres Gazette in Moray then worked for the Aberdeen Press and Journal and Evening Express before joining the Scottish Daily Record, working in Aberdeen and Inverness.

He moved to the Sunday Mail in Glasgow and spent 25 years with the SDR & SM, rising to become assistant editor of the Sunday title.

He took voluntary redundancy 11 years ago and moved back to the Highlands where, after a short spell as a freelance, he became editor of the Highland News and then group editor of the series, taking the North Star and Lochaber News under his control.

In a five-year period under his editorship the Inverness-based Highland News twice won the title Highlands and Islands Newspaper of the Year.

In the same period the paper became BT Scottish Weekly Newspaper of the Year and was runner-up in the UK competition.