A regional daily turned round an eight-page tribute to former England football manager Graham Taylor within a matter of hours yesterday.

Mr Taylor, who also managed Aston Villa during his long career in football management, died yesterday following an apparent heart attack.

The Birmingham Mail was first to break the story online, having learned of his death from two “impeccable” sources.

Editor Marc Reeves then increased the print run for today’s edition as the Mail team then put together an eight-page tribute which hit the streets this morning.

Said Marc:  “We learned from separate, impeccable sources about Graham Taylor’s death, and were therefore the first media to break the news.

“There was a bit of a stunned silence in the newsroom, as Taylor was such a figure in football in the region for so many years.

“The sports team were right on it, however, with Mat Kendrick and Steve Wollaston taking to Facebook live to discuss their immediate reaction. We had a liveblog up and running, with reaction and tributes pouring in within minutes.

“In print, we put an extra eight pages on to an already bumper Friday edition, and are increasing the print run to ensure readers can get hold of our special tribute to Taylor.”