Funeral details have been announced following the death of Richard Wood of the Burton Mail who was struck by a train on the Derby to Birmingham railway line.

The funeral will take place on Monday, February 21, at 3.45pm at Bretby Crematorium. No flowers are requested, with donations instead to St Giles Hospice, Whittington, Lichfield, Staffordshire.

Richard, 49, known as “Dickie” to his friends and colleagues, was born in the town and joined the Mail’s print room straight from school in 1966 as a linotype operator. He retrained as a reporter in the mid-1980s and later became a sub-editor.

In the last year his career was interrupted by illness and he recently agreed to take early retirement on the grounds of ill health.

South Staffordshire Coroner Reginald Browning has been informed of the death, which occurred just before 8pm on Thursday at Clay Mills, just outside Burton.

Editor-in-Chief of the Mail, Brian Vertigen, said: “Dickie’s life was the Burton Mail, and his death has left a large void in our midst. He first joined the company 34 years ago straight from school at the age of 16, and worked in various sections of the production department.

“But a few years ago, with the introduction of new technology in his area he asked to transfer to the editorial department.

“After a period of re-training he soon became a valued member of the editorial team, both as a reporter where his wit and knowledge of Burton were much appreciated, and latterly as a sub-editor where again his sense of humour and local knowledge were a tremendous asset to the paper.

“Dickie was a true newspaperman, and to have been proficient in both the production and editorial departments was a rare quality which we shall all miss.”

East Staffordshire councillor Peter Beresford, a friend of Richard’s since his school days, said: “It is always a tragedy when something like this happens.

“I know he did great work for the Burton Mail which he was dedicated to, and he will be missed by a great many people in Burton.”

Richard, who lived in Byrkley Street, Burton, leaves a sister. Until the death of his father, Tom, several years ago, Dickie had lived with him.

Councillor Beresford added: “Like many other people, he really never got over the death of his father, and loneliness is a terrible thing.”

Dickie left the Burton Mail twice, to join a newspaper in Worcester and to work on a cruise ship, but both times he returned to the Mail, most recently in 1973.

Colleagues say that after re-training as a reporter he excelled in his new role, helped by his extensive knowledge of local history. He had a particular talent for court reporting and covered a number of high-profile cases for the Mail.

He became a sub-editor three years ago and showed an aptitude for writing concise and witty headlines. He returned to reporting last year.

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