A WHITEHAVEN man has just been made editor of the Gloucestershire Echo.

Kevan Blackadder, 47, son of Joe and Sheila Blackadder of Victoria Road, Whitehaven, joins the Gloucester newspaper from the Bristol Evening Post, where he is currently assistant editor. Kevan began his journalistic career with The Whitehaven News.

Kevan said: “I’ve loved working at the Bristol Evening Post and it will always be special to me, as will The Whitehaven News, where I was so proud to start my career.

“I’m really looking forward to the challenge of editing the Gloucestershire Echo.

“The provincial newspaper market is changing rapidly and I’m delighted that I’ve been given the opportunity to improve the Echo both in print and online.”

Kevan started as a young reporter on his home town newspaper in 1978 and also worked for Cumbrian Newspapers’ daily title The Evening News & Star.

He also had a spell with the Sunday Independent in Plymouth.

His father Joe formerly taught at Wyndham School, Egremont and has been a key figure for many years at Rosehill Theatre. His mother Sheila is a retired Whitehaven magistrate.

The Gloucestershire Echo, alongside The Citizen and The Forester, is part of the Gloucestershire Media, part of Northcliffe Newspapers, the regional press division of the Daily Mail group.

The Echo is published six days a week from Cheltenham, and covers Tewkesbury and the Cotswolds.