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‘Tamworth Two’ journalist retires after 44 years

The journalist who broke the story of the escaped pigs who became known as the Tamworth Two has  hung up his notebook after 44 years.

Nigel Kerton, left, started at the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald in 1968 and returned to the weekly title after a 12-year stint on the Western Daily Press.

It was while working for the WDP in 1998 that he broke the story of the pigs who escaped from a Malmesbury abattoir and defied recapture for some weeks.

The two pigs, later named Butch and Sundance, were later bought by the Daily Mail and their story immortalised in print and film.

Nigel started out in journalism at the Weston Mercury at the age of 17 after initially just wanting a summer job, but he ended up staying for four years.

He was then headhunted to cover the town of Marlborough for the Gazette and Herald and the Swindon Advertiser, although this later changed to just working for the weekly title.

He said: “I intended to stay for three years and then move up through the provincial dailies to Fleet Street but this town just grabs you.

“It has been an absolutely wonderful career. There’s not one thing I would change except more money. Most people in the town know me.”

He moved to the WDP in 1986 and won an award for campaigning journalism with two of his colleagues after exposing a scandal at West Wiltshire District Council involving its IT company.

After 12 years at the Bristol-based daily, Nigel returned to his old role covering Marlborough for the Gazette and Herald.

Nigel said he was very family-orientated and had got many stories from his wife and children, who work in the town.

He said: “It has been very much a family affair. My wife Joy has brought me stories left, right and centre.”

During his career, he has reported on 27 murders and met everyone from film stars to oversees Royalty, as well as countless ordinary residents in Marlborough.

In 2007, Pewsey Parish Council presented him with an award for Outstanding Service to the Community, while in 2000, Marlborough and District Rotary Club gave him their Centenary Community Award for outstanding vocational service to the community.

Gazette editor Gary Lawrence said: “This industry won’t see many more like Nigel Kerton. His love for the communities he serves, his determination to bring in a story and his knowledge of the area and its people are very rare commodities.

“If I had to sum up what makes Nigel such a great journalist it is the fact that he lavishes care and attention on every story he writes, no matter how mundane it may seem at face value.

“He understands that every story is important to the people it is about and to me is that is a quality to cherish.

“We’ll miss him at the Gazette but more importantly the people of Marlborough and Pewsey will miss him.”

Nigel continues to be involved in many local organisations and plans to stand as a councillor for Wiltshire County Council next year.

Last year, the Newsquest title closed its Marlborough office so Nigel has been working from home since then, while holding regular surgeries in the town.

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  • November 23, 2012 at 1:33 pm
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    Best of luck to Nigel for his retirement.
    Sounds like a thoroughly decent man and a great reporter, the sort who inspired me back when I was in local newspapers.

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