A weekly newspaper editor is to swap the Wiltshire town of Trowbridge for the desert heat of Dubai.

Andy Sambidge, from the Wiltshire Times, is snapping up the “once in a lifetime opportunity” to become editor-in-chief of a Middle East business website.

The 39-year-old is now busy preparing himself to transport his life over to Dubai for his new job with arabianbusiness.com which he starts at the end of June.

Andy told holdthefrontpage: “I heard about it through a friend who used to work in Dubai himself.

“I’ll be covering the whole of the Middle East and still very much localising news for that audience.

“We run a newspaper website now as well as the newspaper so I’m very much used to breaking news on a daily basis.

“I don’t have that much experience of business journalism but what they were looking for was somebody with web experience to drive the website forward.”

Andy has worked in newspapers for two decades and has been editor of the Wiltshire Times for three years.

Prior to that, he was editor of Newsquest’s Free Press Series and Campaign titles in south Wales.

Despite the enormity of upping sticks and starting a new life with his wife in Dubai, Andy says he is relishing the chance.

He added: “It’s a huge move but hugely exciting.

“Now that the ball is rolling and I’ve handed my notice in, it’s started to dawn on me that I have three months to pack up my life which is a bit daunting.

“The opportunities out there are absolutely fantastic. Everywhere you look there’s ambition.

“I want to make a real go of it out there. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.”