LES Gent, a former editor of The Bolton News, has died at the age of 79.

Les, who lived in Lostock, died at the Royal Bolton Hospital this morning.

He was editor of the then Bolton Evening News from 1979 to 1986 and oversaw the newspaper’s transition from broadsheet format to tabloid.

He had joined the newspaper as a 17-year-old trainee and his career as a local journalist spanned 48 years.

Les started in a role on the Bolton Evening News’ sister weekly newspapers, the Farnworth and Worsley Journal, the Horwich and Westhoughton Journal and the Bolton Journal.

This year is the 150th anniversary of The Bolton News and Les wrote about his time at the newspaper as part of a souvenir publication.

In it he talked about his role in introducing a nostalgia column which he thought might prove to be popular.

He launched and produced on a daily basis the ‘Looking Back’ column, which is still a daily feature of The Bolton News and has its own weekly pull-out on a Wednesday.

He also wrote two local history books - Bolton Past (1985) and Making Headlines (2005). He also received an Honorary Fellowship at Bolton Institute in 1998 “in recognition of outstanding contribution to journalism and local history” in 1998.

He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Bolton in 2010.

Les leaves a widow Barbara, to whom he was married for 48 years, and two children, Mark and Susan.

Current editor of The Bolton News, Ian Savage, said: “Everyone is deeply saddened by the news.

“He was an excellent journalist, cared passionately about his home town of Bolton and supported his local newspaper to the end.

“In our 150th anniversary special publication he wrote a brilliant piece about his time with the newspaper and his pride at being involved in such a local institution shone through in his words.

“On a personal note, Les also supported me from the beginning of my career and I was lucky enough to work alongside him for a number of years before he retired.

“When I took over as editor in 2008, he wrote a lovely letter to me, with advice and support. It meant so much because he - like me - is one of the privileged few to have sat in the editor’s chair and he understood the challenges I would face. He was always on hand if I needed someone to talk to about the issues you face as a local newspaper editor.

“He will be sadly missed by a lot of people in Bolton.”

Funeral arrangements have yet to be finalised.