A former local newspaper chief has looked back on his career as he marked his 90th birthday.

Lynne Plummer, who served as chairman and chief executive of the Hexham Courant until 1990, turned 90 last week.

During his time at the Courant, he oversaw its move from being a business owned by his family to one which become part of Cumbrian Newspapers, itself now part of Newsquest.

Mr Plummer, pictured, has recalled his time with the business in an interview with the Courant marking his 90th birthday.

He said: ““The change from lino machines to computers was a huge move, not just for the newspaper but for print journalism in general.

“The other big change was when we joined the Cumbrian Newspapers Group. Before that, we were an entirely separate entity as an independent local newspaper.”

Mr Plummer added: I miss the people I worked with, but not so much the job and the day to day work. Overall, I miss the craic of the work environment and all the different people who worked there.

“The Courant had, and still does have, a powerful presence in the area. Small market towns all over the country rely on newspapers to keep them informed, there’s still an affection for them.

“While our main purpose was to reflect the news and character of the area, we would often receive complaints from locals about something we had not covered or missed out. But that was the nature of it all”.