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Regional journalist who went on to BBC dies at 78

A journalist who started out in the regional press before going on to work as a producer for the BBC has died at the age of 78.

Martin Noble, left, began his career as a trainee at the Stockport Express before moving on to work for the Manchester Evening News, the Daily Telegraph in Manchester and on Fleet Street.

He then joined the BBC and was part of a team which established BBC TV in Leeds, where he became the longest-serving producer of regional news programme Look North.

Martin, who has died at the age of 78, was described as a “pioneer of television in Yorkshire” in an obituary by the Huddersfield Examiner.

He had a keen interest in aviation and he made a number of documentaries about the subject, including one about the 1967 Stockport air disaster, which was screened in 21 countries and became a training film for accident investigators.

Martin took early retirement from the BBC to write about aviation with Airline World/Travel Weekly and then became Air Transport Correspondent of Interavia in Geneva and UK correspondent for French weekly Air&Cosmos.

He was also an international judging panel for the Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards.

While travelling the world, Martin narrowly escaped death at the Canadian High Arctic, when the door on a light ski-plane opened and the pilot managed to grab him, so preventing him falling out.

He was also a keen supporter of rugby union, initially as a player before becoming a referee and was then involved with a number of rugby organisations, including as former secretary of Huddersfield RUFC.

Martin was a member of Holme Valley Parish Council for eight years and the founding chairman of the Brockholes Village Trust.

He leaves wife Bryden, sons Andrew and Nick, and grandchildren Jack and Isobel.

His funeral took place on Tuesday at St Georges Church, Brockholes, and was followed by a private cremation.