Former Daily Mirror photographer Charlie Ley – who captured an iconic image of John Lennon and Yoko Ono staging their famous sit-in at the Amsterdam Hilton – has died aged 87.

Ley was born in Hornsey in 1925, the son of a merchant seaman. At the age of 14 he joined a sign painting company and, one day, his foreman spotted him doodling cartoons and suggested he try to get a job in Fleet Street.

He tried most titles and the only one to respond was the Daily Mirror, who told him to come back in a year. He was later offered a job as a messenger, slowly working his way up to helping photographers.