Former Daily Mirror journalist John Flint has died, aged 65, at his home in Derbyshire.
John worked for the Daily Mirror for 25 years and held the position of night news editor in Manchester for the last 12 of those years.
He joined the paper in 1963 as a staff reporter and worked on all the big northern stories including the Moors murders, compiling the backgrounder and covering the trial of Brady and Hindley at Chester Assizes.
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John became assistant news editor six years later and headed the team in Belfast for their coverage of Bloody Friday.
He was appointed night news editor in 1976 and worked with a team of 24 reporters responsible for the north of England, Scotland and Ireland.
A former colleague said: “John was admired by all of his friends at the Daily Mirror for his quick-off-themark professionalism, absolute unflappability and splendid companionship.
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“He was one of the people at the forefront when the Daily Mirror was selling five million copies a day.”
John started his career in 1958 as a trainee reporter on the Wythenshawe Recorder. He had a break of two years’ from 1958 when he did his National Service as 2nd Lt. with the Royal Army Service Corps in charge of a platoon in Hong Kong.
On his return, John worked on the Manchester Evening News as a staff reporter for three years.
After his Mirror service, he became news editor on the North West Times in 1988.
John then spent six years with the Gloucestershire Echo and, as news editor, passed on his vast experience to reporters just starting out on the ladder.
In 1995 he headed back home to Chinley and worked for Newsco, the business magazine publisher in Manchester.
He continued his column almost up to his death, even sending one from Australia in December when he went to visit his brother with his wife of 35 years, Manick.
John and Manick have two children James and Nicole and three grand-children, Alexander, Dominic and Olivia.
Macclesfield Crematorium was full for the funeral, a tribute to the journalist and the man.
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