A former agency court reporter has joined a regional daily in a trainee role following a career break.

Alec Whitaker has been appointed by South Cumbria daily The Mail as a trainee reporter and will also work on its Newsquest sister weekly the Westmorland Gazette.

Alec, pictured, previously covered sport for Disability Sport Online and Vavel.com between 2019 and 2020, after studying for NCTJ qualifications at the University of Salford.

In 2021, he joined Manchester-based Cavendish Press, primarily covering court cases.

After 15 months there, he took a career break and spent a year travelling around the world.

Alex told HTFP: “I’m delighted to be given the opportunity at Newsquest after taking a year out of work to go travelling around the world.

“I look forward now to the new challenge, writing human interest stories that matter to the local communities in Cumbria.”