A NEWSPAPERMAN who brought millions of stories to the people of East Lancashire has died aged 101.

Tributes have been paid to former Lancashire Telegraph production manager William Main, who oversaw the printing presses at Blackburn from 1969 to 1985.

The dad-of-two, grandfather-of-four and great-grandfather-of-four died at Haydock Nursing Home in Blackburn.

Son Derek, 64, of Langho, said he was ‘incredibly proud’ of this father’s career and said he would be missed.

He said: “I was incredibly proud of him and the work that he did.

“He oversaw thousands of editions of the paper which back then the paper was selling around 100,000 copies a day.

“He rose to become second in line to the managing director and was as important as the editor.”

Mr Main moved to the region from Aberdeen with his family in the late 1960s and settled near the former Bull’s Head pub in Wilpshire.

He trained in print production in Scotland during the 1930s and insisted on remaining North of the border until his son had finished school.

He said: “My dad wanted a new job, but he didn’t want to take anything as he thought it would be too disruptive taking me out of school so we stayed until I had finished.

“The first job that came up was the one he got at the Lancashire Telegraph.

"It was a good move as we all settled into Blackburn, he really enjoyed living here.”

After the death of his wife Sylvia in 1998 William relocated to Stalmine where he remained very independent beyond his 100th birthday.