A weekly newspaper news editor was seen as the best man for the job when he was invited to open a local jobs fair.

The organisers were looking for someone whom “the community trusts but also someone who promotes Wisbech and the people of Wisbech”, when they picked Wisbech Standard news editor John Elworthy.

The Standard reports on many successful innovations in the Fens, and John told visitors to the event how there was growing cause for optimism, especially with the soon-to-open Thomas Clarkson Community College, the county council’s Building Schools for the Future initiative, and the re-development of the College of West Anglia.

John said: “Fenland is a great place to live and work, but the truth is that sadly too few skilled jobs are available here, and too many people have to commute out of the area to find work.

“Fenland Council is doing a fantastic job in weaving new initiatives together – the challenge is to reduce the time table for narrowing some of those gaps. Twenty years is a long term to draw level with the rest of East Anglia – 10 years would be good.”