A former newspaper journalist has died suddenly after a suspected heart attack at the age of 74.

Mike Brettell, who started his newspaper career on the Midland Chronicle in West Bromwich, died in hospital after being taken ill at home in Sedgley on Sunday morning.

After a spell on the Chronicle he then moved to the Wolverhampton Chronicle but left in the 1960s to work as a freelance journalist.

He covered football matches every week for the Sunday Express and also organised court coverage by the Express & Star in Wolverhampton.

Mike then opted for a change in career and went on to join the staff of Wolverhampton Crown Court, taking charge of the logger department.

Wife Janet, who he was married to for 25 years said: “He was a man with a huge personality who was loved by everybody.”

Freelance journalist Ron Warrilow, who had known Mike for over 50 years, told the Express and Star: “He was a great guy who loved a joke.”

Tributes were also paid by judges and barristers at Wolverhampton Crown Court, where he had worked as a reporter and member of staff since the 1980s.

Judge Jonathan Gosling said: “I had known him for 33 years. He had an impish sense of humour and was impossible to dislike. He lived life to the full and went about with his tongue firmly in his cheek.”

The funeral will take place on 15 September.