A new book charting the history of Johnston Press from its inception to the present day has been published, written by one of the group's former newspaper editors.

Edward Riley, who edited the Halifax Evening Courier for 16 years, began the project after taking early retirement in 2003, and spent two-and-half years researching and interviewing people key in shaping the group.

The 110,000-word book - Life Is Local: The History of Johnston Press Plc has had three endings, having initially been completed last year before Johnston's takeover of Score Press, Local Press Limited, The Leinster Leader Limited and Scotsman Publications, which are all covered in the final book.

Edward spent hours travelling up and down the UK speaking to people involved in the various sales and mergers from both sides, insisting that he interviewed everyone face-to-face.

Edward told HoldtheFrontPage: "It took me back to my early days in newspapers and I approached it as a straightforward reporting exercise, but one on a much bigger scale.

"I started with a blank sheet of paper and had complete access to all Johnston's records and minute books. There was a wealth of material there if I could find it."

Life Is Local traces Johnston's roots back to the 1700s when it began as a printing firm, and in 1845 it bought its first paper, the Falkirk Herald.

From there it progressed to what is now the second largest regional newspaper group in the UK and the largest in Ireland, although it wasn't until 1994 when it bought its first evening paper - Edward's former title, the Halifax Evening Courier.

Edward said: "That was significant and so I covered it in-depth, and also I knew the history there.

"When the company bought the Courier it took it a while to get used to the evening newspaper culture and it was one of the defining moments in its history."

He added: "Having proudly typed 'the end' last July, the second half of the year was a major time for acquisitions and I had to write a new chapter and do more research.

"With the Scotsman I had to research the background to the takeover, but this also affected lots of other things in the book like the index and the statistics which all had to be updated, but it is topical and has a newsy feel.

"For the very first time the complete story has been told about the behind the scenes negotiations that helped to change the face of the industry.

"It was great fun - like turning the clock back 40 years to when I was a reporter chasing the big story."