Six years before England last won the World Cup, James Lawton was beginning his reporting career at The Flintshire Leader. The 16-year-old Lawton covered all the council and court stories before being made sports editor, in addition to his usual reporting duties.

He counts himself lucky that the Leader had him, as he was "pretty hopeless at school" and joined the local paper because "it seemed about the only thing I might do".

Forty-six years later, the venerated journalist has, in sporting terms, pretty much seen it all and has reported on football, cricket, boxing, golf, rugby, American football, horse racing, baseball, ice hockey, Indy 500 racing, every Olympics since 1976 and eight football World Cups since 1966.