A journalist who was once the youngest daily news editor in the country has died aged 58 – the day after being told he was suffering from terminal cancer.

Chris Ward, left, worked for the Derby Telegraph for more than 40 years and was appointed news editor of the Northcliffe-owned daily when he was just 23.

He later became features editor and remained with the title in a variety of roles until taking early retirement in a company restructure in 2009.

Chris had gone into hospital for tests and was told he had terminal cancer. He was due to stay with his former wife and good friend Beverley Ward but died unexpectedly the following day.

Friends and former colleague of Chris  have paid tribute to a man they described as a ‘finger on the pulse’  journalist.

Former Telegraph colleague Kevin Palmer said: “Chris was an excellent journalist with whom I had the privilege and pleasure of working for more than 20 years.

“He was also involved in training journalists and I am grateful for the basics he taught me and his advice.”

Motoring correspondent for the paper Robert Maddox said: “I’ll always remember Chris as a journalist who remained cool, calm and collected even when under great pressure. He embraced modern technology with gusto and was a computer whizz-kid.”

Chris was a founder of the newspaper’s Saturday Page, which tracked the city’s music scene and brought him into contact with many famous stars and producers.

One of his biggest stories came in 1971 when Derby company Rolls Royce went into administrative receivership before being nationalised.

It brought him into regular contact with union official and former Derby City Council leader Mick Walker, who this week joined the tributes to Chris.

“He did some superb reporting on the crisis and he had a reputation for keeping his finger on the pulse and good contacts, which produced many stories.” he said.

Chris leaves a son, Anthony, 33, and two grandchildren Alex, seven, and Lauren, three.

His funeral will take place on Friday at Markeaton Crematorium from 2pm. Donations in lieu of flowers will go to the British Heart Foundation.