TRIBUTES have been paid to a former editor of the Denbighshire Free Press who has died at the age of 82.

Hector Lloyd-Jones died at his home near Prion, near Denbigh, on January 9.

He leaves behind his wife, Vicky, daughter Cathryn, stepchildren Gen and Cai and his brother, Elphin.

The private funeral service will be at St Asaph Crematorium this Friday and donations in lieu of flowers will go to the Wales Air Ambulance.

After a spell working on the Western Mail, Mr Lloyd-Jones joined the Denbighshire Free Press in the 1970s, initially as the deputy editor and then editor.

Later in his career, he was training officer and also took responsibility for health and safety matters at North Wales Newspapers who then owned the Free Press, the Evening Leader and a string of weekly titles, including the Welsh language paper, Y Cymro.

Martin Wright, the editor in chief of the Shropshire Star and the Wolverhampton Express and Star, was among his protégés.

He said: “Hector was a proper old-school journalist and a great character to have around, particularly to those starting out in the industry.

“When I joined North Wales Newspapers, as it was then called, as a trainee in 1997, Hector was in charge of training.

“He had a great knowledge of journalism, having spent many years in the industry, and his patience in imparting that knowledge helped me enormously on my path to becoming a fully qualified reporter.

“Nothing was ever too much trouble and he was always happy to answer the many questions thrown at him. I continued to work closely with Hector for several years while he helped me become an NVQ assessor myself, and he was always ready with advice and support when I became an editor.

“I owe him a great debt of gratitude and I know there will be many other former NWN trainees who feel the same.”

Former TV journalist Ceidiog Hughes, who now runs a PR company, cut his teeth on the Denbighshire Free Press and benefited from Hector’s knowledge and experience.

Ceidiog, who lives in Denbigh, said: “I remember vividly going for my interview for the trainee reporter’s job at the Free Press on a Saturday morning when I was quizzed by Hector and the then editor, John Euryn Jones.

“Hector was the epitome of what I expected a journalist to be, a bespectacled pipe smoker who was also clearly a great character.

“I feel very fortunate to have been given an excellent grounding in journalism by Hector and Euryn who not only taught me the essential skills needed to become a fully-fledged reporter but also about the importance of integrity.

“Hector was an able and kind mentor but he was also a shrewd operator who taught me a few things that were not in the book.

“He will be greatly missed and my thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

Alistair Syme, former editor of the Denbighshire Free Press, said: “I count myself fortunate as a young reporter to have worked alongside Hector who taught me probably more than anyone else about journalism.

“He was kind, generous and very knowledgeable about just about every aspect of the job and that’s what made him such an excellent trainer of young journalists for North Wales Newspapers.

“He could literally sketch out a story on the back of a fag packet and he was never without a notebook in his pocket or a pipe in the corner of his mouth as he rattled out the ‘Mole’ column, the Free Press’s best-read page back in the Eighties, amidst clouds of tobacco smoke.

“It had Glyndwr Council chiefs gnashing their teeth in frustration at where Hector picked up his information – but they never found out.

“They simply don’t make journalists like him anymore and my condolences go to his family.”