A local newspaper columnist much loved by youngsters on his patch has died.

The Tigger Talks column appeared in the Grimsby Telegraph’s Young Telegraph supplement every Saturday until it ceased publication in 1999.

The column, a hit with thousands of children across North East Lincolnshire, also featured Tigger’s Thought of the Day, Tigger’s Postbag and many more fun items.

Sadly its author, a mongrel named Tigger owned by Grimsby couple Steve and Cheryl Bacon, had to be put down last week at the age of 12 following a long illness.

The family got Tigger in October 1997 when he was just three months old from the Blue Cross Animal Hospital, and were soon informed that the Telegraph was looking for a dog to be its mascot in the supplement.

Julie Donn, a fundraiser for Blue Cross, knew that the Bacon family had recently taken ownership of Tigger and put him forward for the role.

Mr Bacon said: “Our children absolutely loved him to bits as he grew up with them as they went through school and university.

“It was one of the most difficult decisions to make to have him put down, but it was for the best for him as he was very ill. He became something of a minor celebrity around here.”