Tributes have been paid to a well-known former editor who has died at the age of 82.

Arnold Hadwin OBE, pictured left, edited Bradford’s Telegraph and Argus from 1973-1984 as part of a journalism career spanning more than 60 years.

Starting out as a trainee reporter with The Northern Echo in 1945 he held senior positions at the Oxford Mail and edited the now-defunct Darlington Evening Despatch before joining the Telegraph and Argus.

Following his time there, Arnold went on to be group editor of the Lincolnshire Standard Group of 14 weekly newspapers until his retirement in 1989, although he continued to edit monthly magazines This Lincolnshire and Humberside Executive on part-time basis for two years.

Since then, he has trained journalists all over the world as a volunteer for charity British Executive Service Overseas.

Martin Wainwright, northern editor of The Guardian, who was at the T&A when Arnold arrived in Bradford, said: “Like all journalists, he enjoyed the excitement of the deadline and the scoop, but he was more interested in the underlying issues and their long-term implications.

“His active involvement in civic affairs, engagement with all Bradford’s communities and encouragement of ethnic minority coverage, and recruitment to the paper’s staff, were also notable and thoroughly good for the city.”

Mohammed Ajeeb, a former Lord Mayor of Bradford and housing aid worker, added: “He was a very good editor of the local paper but a fair human being who wanted to see the city prosper in every way.”

Arnold’s early career at The Northern Echo was interrupted by two years’ National Service in the Intelligence Section of 40 Commando, Royal Marines, when he served in Malta, Palestine/Israel and Cyprus and he also worked as a correspondent for the Royal Marines newspaper Globe and Laurel.

He returned to the Echo before joining the Oxford Mail in 1951, covering major world events like the Hungarian Uprising and the Berlin Wall going up, eventually became deputy editor at the paper.

In 1964, Arnold became the editor of the now-defunct Evening Despatch and helped to launch the pre-entry course in journalism at Darlington College of Technology.

He was involved with a number of industry bodies including being president of the Guild of British Newspaper Editors from 1981-82, a member of the Press Council for three years and lectured extensively on press and race relations at NCTJ courses.

Arnold leaves daughters Sara and Julie, who both followed him into journalism, and two grandchildren.