Hundreds of newspaper readers in Shropshire can safely boast that they had their pictures taken by David Bailey.

On Teesside, it's not unusual to find Brian Clough turning up to cover events for the local paper.

But sports writers need have no fear that they've missed the story of Old Big Ead's career change. And THE David Bailey really hasn't given up photographing top models for the likes of Vogue in favour of cheque presentations for the Shropshire Star.

Brian Clough the photographer has been enjoying and enduring quips like "How's Nottingham Forest" during 24 years with the Darlington-based Northern Echo.

"I take it with a pinch of salt," he says. "They say 'THE Brian Clough?' and I say 'Yeah, this is the real one'.

"I've often been mistaken for Kenny Rogers or Noel Edmonds. And I used to work with a guy on a radio station called James Bond."

Brian, who is in his 50s, had the pleasure of meeting his more famous namesake - and has a picture of the paid of them in his collection. Cloughie - who began his playing career with Middlesbrough - was opening a housing complex in Durham and Brian had been sent along to take his picture.

"Unbeknown to me, they had sent another photographer to take a picture of me photographing Brian Clough."

His name once got him into trouble, however. He had been sent to Sunderland FC to take team pictures for the first time and, not being a football fan, had no idea who was who. When he asked one player his name, the response was decidedly frosty.

"If you don't know who I am, I'm not telling you," the player said. "And who the hell are you?"

"I said 'I'm Brian Clough' and he said 'You can eff-off, taking the Mickey out of me with a name like that!'"

Down in Shropshire, David Bailey originally wanted to be a plumber but "fell" into a job as a photographer with a press agency and realised he loved it - "and let's face it, the name would provide some excellent one-liners".

He joined the Shropshire Star in 1998 and is now photographer for the north edition.

He says his name often draws laughter - or disbelief - as he goes about his patch.

"They think I'm taking the Mick," he says. "I spend most of my time flashing my press card but even then they don't believe me.

"It's a good ice-breaker - and there are lots of people in north Shropshire who proudly tell their families that David Bailey took their photo!"

Once, when comedian Ken Dodd was in the area to turn on the Christmas lights, the paper persuaded him to call at a pub where one of the barmen was called Ken Dodd.

As David tried to arrange the shot, Doddy asked what his name was - and was absolutely tickled by the reply.

"The whole pub erupted," David said.

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