A journalist who spent 40 years in the regional press has published his debut novel – 40 years after he started writing it.

Ian Harvey was still an 18-year-old trainee reporter when he first put pen to paper to write a horror story he entitled Saint & Sinner.

Over the next four decades the unpublished manuscript gathered dust at Ian’s home in Priorslee, Telford, while he worked as a sub-editor and latterly internet editor for the ShropshireStar and Express & Star.

But after he retired last year, Ian, pictured, has finally found time to edit and publish the book.

Said Ian, now 62: “The typed manuscript has variously sat in cupboards, attics and on bookshelves until I decided to dust it off post-retirement and see if it held up to scrutiny.

“I discovered it was the proverbial curate’s egg; good in places and absolutely awful in others, so I set about knocking it into some sort of shape I’d be happier with nowadays.

“It was scanned, uploaded and edited after retirement – so it really is ‘a story over 40 years in the making’.

“After over four decades I genuinely couldn’t remember the ending – and I was pleasantly surprised!”

Set in the sleepy fictional town of Stockleigh, the book features a battle between good and evil which threatens the entire planet.

Added Ian: “The book was written pre-personal computers on an old-fashioned typewriter and I was delighted that technology meant I could now scan it directly into my computer and didn’t need to retype it all!

“Even though I’ve had bylines for years on articles and for concert photos at gigs which I reviewed for the Express & Star and Shropshire Star, it was a unique and extremely pleasant thrill to see my name on an actual book cover.”

The book is available on Kindle and in paperback at amazon.co.uk/Saint-Sinner-Ian-Harvey/dp/B0F7XRD89G