A sports editor whose regional press career sandwiched more than two decades on the nationals has died aged 70.

Tributes have been paid to Phil Rostron, who worked for newspapers across the North of England during a career which also included stints on the Daily Mirror, The Sun and the Daily Star.

Phil, pictured, served most recently as sports editor of the Carlisle News & Star and Cumberland News from 2008 to 2018, having previously held the same position at the Yorkshire Evening Post.

Phil, who had been suffering from cancer, is survived by Caroline, their three children Jo, who is also a journalist, Gary and Hollie, son-in-laws Silv and Olivier and grandchildren Luca and Bella.

Neil Hodgkinson, his former editor at both the YEP and the News & Star, told HTFP: “He was my friend and colleague for more than 40 years.

“He was a great journalist, generous with his time to help others and life was never dull with him around. Everyone who knew him will have ‘that’ story of being in his company. He will be sorely missed.”

Phil began his career at the age of 16 on his hometown paper the Oldham Chronicle, later moving to the Rochdale Observer before a two-year spell in Australia at the Sydney Morning Herald.

After returning to the UK, he joined the Blackpool Evening Gazette, where he met Caroline, his wife of 45 years as well as leaving  his mark on the nearby town of Poulton-le-Fylde.

Former Gazette deputy editor David Upton recalled: “Phil was working for the Blackpool Evening Gazette in the 1970s when his friendship with a local builder led him to suggest that a housing development planned off Derby Road in Poulton should take its road names from racing connections.

“Which was how The Oaks, Shirley Heights, The Downs and Furlong Lane came to be added to the local landscape.

Phil then began working shifts in Manchester on the Mirror, the Sun and the Daily Star before relocating with family to London where he worked for 20 years.

There, he interviewed Prime Ministers and sporting greats including George Best, Paul Gascoigne, Phil Tufnell and Lennox Lewis.

He joined the YEP as chief sports writer in 1999 and went on to become sports editor at the Leeds-based daily.

Phil also wrote a number of books on Leeds United, including We Are the Damned United, and became close with legendary former player Peter Lorimer, as well as ghostwriting the autobiography of football manager Barry Fry and another book with racing trainer Henry Cecil.

Anne Pickles, a long-standing colleague in both Leeds and Carlisle, told the News & Star: “Phil Rostron was a big man in every respect. His smile was huge, his laugh outrageously loud. His love of and enthusiasm for all sport was enormous and unrivalled.

“A career spanning 18 years on Fleet Street, five books, sports editor on any number of regional newspapers and counting top sporting personalities among his close friends, Phil had the natural gift of stardust. He sprinkled it generously and widely.

David Helliwell, former editor of the News & Star and the Cumberland News, added: “Phil loved sport and he loved journalism. The Cumberland News and News & Star were fortunate to have someone of his huge experience of covering major sports clubs and events at the helm of the sportsdesk.

“Phil was the definition of what you might term an old school journalist. He was a firm believer that when the work was done, the final words crafted and the back page perfected, there was no better way to unwind than to head off to the bar to re-live the whole day and its triumphs and minor tragedies. He was rarely short of an audience.

“One of Phil’s greatest skills was he was a genuine guy who found pleasure in just talking to people and would have no qualms about stepping into any new situation and sparking a conversation.

“He was also a kind, caring man, extremely proud of his family and their achievements. A very sad loss.”

And Phil Hay, the former chief football writer at the YEP and now Leeds United correspondent at The Athletic, said: “Phil’s one of the people I owe my career to.

“He took a chance on me twice and he was a great sports editor to work under – big on key stories, very happy to take people on, not afraid to upset anyone who deserved it.

“His job interviews were legendary and the best you could ask for: a few pints over the road from the old Yorkshire Evening Post building on Wellington Street in Leeds as he sussed you out.

“I went home steaming from mine but with a very generous job offer too. He seemed to love the cut and thrust of the newsroom and it was hard to imagine him ever doing anything else.”