A group of former newspaper colleagues got together to drink a toast to their editor who died during the Covid pandemic.

Mike Colton, who edited the Peterborough Standard for 13 years before becoming features editor of the Peterborough Evening Telegraph in the 1980s and 90s, died in February 2021 aged 89 after contracting the virus.

At the time the country was still in semi-lockdown meaning many former colleagues were unable to attend his funeral.

As a result they decided to hold a reunion this month at The Drapers Arms pub in Peterborough, which was attended by journalists and photographers who worked with Mike.

Former colleagues raise a glass to editor Mike Colton who died during Covid

Organiser Rosemarie Whittaker, said: “It was great to meet up with some of Mike’s former colleagues and to drink a toast to his memory.

“Mike was a very talented journalist and a great friend and mentor to many young journalists in Peterborough whose careers were shaped by his editorship and guidance. We wanted to get together to toast his memory.”

Rosemarie added that the gathering was such a success that the Mike Colton Memorial Reunion will now become an annual event.

City journalist, Rosie Sandall, who worked with Mike on the ET, added: “Mike was a great journalist and he was always keen to encourage young people who were joining the profession. His work as a journalist was also highly respected in the city.

“It was great to meet up with old friends – some of whom hadn’t met for more than forty years.

“We remembered Mike with great fondness, shared a lot of anecdotes and, of course, in true journalistic style, we had a few drinks in his memory!”