An East Midlands editor has retired after a decade with the same paper.

David Horne has been in the hotseat of the Ilkeston Advertiser and Eastwood and Kimberley Advertiser since the late 90s before which he edited other Johnston Press titles in Belper and Chesterfield.

Responsibility for the two titles now passes to group editor Amanda Hatfield who already edits three other papers in the series – the Belper News, Matlock Mercury and Ripley and Heanor News.

It is not yet clear at this stage whether David will be replaced.

Friend Peter Jordan, who worked with the 65-year-old on the Nottingham Evening Post, said he was a great journalist and someone who you could trust your life with.

Dawn Sweeney, MD of JP subsidiary Wilfred Edmunds Ltd which runs the Ilkeston Advertiser, said he had a fantastic nose for news and paid tribute to his dedication and great ideas.

Staff sent him off with champagne, chocolate cake and a small gathering of friends and ex-colleagues.

The Ilkeston Advertiser is thought to be planning a four-week trial of covering stories from the neighbouring Long Eaton patch, vacated by Trinity Mirror last month when it closed three weekly titles there.