A football reporter who covered England’s World Cup win for a regional daily has died aged 92.

Tributes have been paid to Ray Robertson, who was selected by the Northern Echo to be its representative on the press benches at England’s 4-2 victory over West Germany in 1966.

Ray, pictured, spent the vast majority of his career with the Darlington-based Echo, where he covered Middlesbrough FC.

He reported on hundreds of the club’s matches from the early 1960s until his retirement in 2009.

Ray’s son Paul told the Echo: “My dad’s happiest time of the week was filing a Boro match report for the Echo on a Sunday morning, closely followed by a hike on the North Yorkshire moors.

“He cherished his role at the heart of the Teesside sports community and one of his proudest moments was becoming life member of the Football Writers’ Association in 2017.

Scott Wilson, the current chief sports writer of the Echo, added: “Ray was a true legend of the North-East sports writing scene.

“He came from a generation when journalists were at the very heart of the club they covered, and he was there for all the key moments in Middlesbrough’s recent history.

“He would be a regular at the Riverside long after leaving the Echo, and it was always a pleasure to sit with him before a game and listen to his memories, especially when it came to covering England in 1966.

“All of us at the Echo send our best wishes to Ray’s family and friends.”

Ray died after contracting aspiration pneumonia following an emergency hip operation after a fall in December.

Paul said: “My sister, Simone, and I will be forever grateful for the tender, compassionate professionalism of the nurses and staff on Ward 25 at James Cook [Hospital, in Middlesbrough] – the NHS at its absolute finest.”