A former journalist who worked for a regional daily for 33 years has died at home at the age of 78.

Ken Price joined the Blackpool Gazette in 1960 after previously working for a newspaper on the Isle of Man.

He stayed at the title for 33 years covering a wide range of stories in different reporting roles until taking early retirement on health grounds.

Ken, who grew up in Liverpool, died suddenly at his home near Blackpool last month, leaving his widow Rose, children Lynn, Gareth and Deborah and seven grandchildren.

Rose said: “Ken was always writing and had several articles printed in the Liverpool newspapers.

“He decided to go into journalism full time and after taking shorthand lessons at night school was offered a job on a newspaper in the Isle of Man.

“Ken must have been the most honest man you could ever wish to meet – everyone would tell you that. He was a very gentle man and would not do anything that would hurt anybody.”

During his time at The Gazette, Ken covered a wide variety of subjects including church affairs and he also wrote a long-running series of local history articles.

He was appointed municipal correspondent in 1979, covering local and regional politics, and he later became a business writer then a commercial feature writer.

Ken’s interests outside work included natural history and the countryside, while he was also a reader for many years at his local church.