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'Joanne' body find prompts news team to work past midnight

Staff at the Hull Daily Mail worked into the early hours of Good Friday to report the news that a body had been found in the search for the missing 22-year-old, Joanne Nelson.

Reporters were called back into the office when the news came through to the Mail at 5.30pm and the first 11 pages of the paper were pulled to make room for the story.

An early print run was made during the night to enable the Mail to hit the streets alongside the nationals in the morning with an extra 10,000 copies being produced.

Assistant editor Paul Hartley said: “The body was discovered at 4pm yesterday and we found out about 5.30pm.

“We immediately sent a reporter and a photographer to the scene which is north of York – about an hour-and-a-half drive from Hull.

“Our chief reporter Rick Lyon got a really good interview with Detective Superintendent Ray Higgins, who has been in charge of the search, and who in an amazing twist of fate actually found the body.

“He had been up there to brief the search team for the weekend when he noticed a gate that matched the description of the one the police were looking for. He walked down the lane and found the body.

“He gave us every ‘spit and cough’ for a very dramatic piece. The paper was already under way but we ripped it apart and pulled the first 11 pages for the front page and five spreads inside.

“We called back the newsdesk, reporters and the picture desk and ended up working until gone midnight. It was a fantastic effort from everyone.”

The Mail was updating throughout Friday and producing an extra 2,000 copies of the paper during the day.

He said: “Rick Lyon got an early shout as he’s got great contacts which allowed us to get away and get the interview with DS Higgins. We were the only ones to interview him at the scene.

“Everyone has done an outstanding job. We’ve covered the story comprehensively and sensitively and we have always been ahead.

“Although it’s a big story, our hearts and sympathies are with the family at this very difficult and tragic time.”