A journalist who worked his way up from copy boy to deputy editor at his hometown daily has died aged 89.

Tributes have been paid to Jimmy McGhie, left, who was second in command at the Greenock Telegraph from the mid-1970s until 1992.

Greenock-born Jimmy spent most of his career at the Telegraph, although he also worked as a sub-editor at the Glasgow Evening Times before returning to take on the deputy editor role.

Jimmy died peacefully at his home in Greenock last month.

Former editor Ken Thomson, who retired the year after Jimmy in 1993, described him as “a wholehearted Telegraph man”.

Ken told the Telegraph: “I knew Jimmy almost all of my working life. He was a tremendous source of local information and wrote many, many popular features which demonstrated his great, dry sense of humour.”

Jimmy’s writing included the Saturday Sidelight and Talk of the Towns features, as well as editorial comment columns, features on a wide variety of subjects and theatre reviews.

Ken said: “Jimmy had a great love of amateur dramatics, and this could be seen in his theatre criticisms, which were always so well written. He was a lovely man and such an important part of the Telegraph – a laid-back, quiet person who just got on with the job.”

Jimmy is survived by daughter Sandra, son Bill, son-in-law Kenny, daughter-in-law Trish, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

His late wife, Sheena, who was a nurse, passed away in 1996.

Said Sandra: “The Telegraph was a large part of his life. He was very interested in local history, and this helped when he wrote the Talk of the Towns pages.

“He knew lots of local characters and was a keen musician, playing the clarinet in jazz sessions with friends including former Telegraph advertising director Bill Duncan, and had a busy and enjoyable retirement.”