Tributes have been paid to a South Hams man who died in hospital after suffering an accident during the Easter weekend.

Stuart Nuttall, 61, slipped and fell at the Regal Club in Kingsbridge on Easter

Saturday and was taken to Derriford Hospital by air ambulance the same night. He died on Saturday, May 11, as a result of his injuries.

A journalist of some 30 years’ standing, he worked for South Hams Newspapers for almost nine years,

joining as deputy editor in 2010 before becoming editor in 2017.

His colleague Tim Leigh said: “Stuart was a

valued and respected leader of the editorial team and a man who had a true passion for journalism, always hunting out the stories and dedicated to standing up for those who needed help the most. There is a profound sense of shock here at the paper and he will be much missed.”

His daughter Sue expressed her shock at his death, saying: “I’d do anything to hear his voice and just have a laugh and

banter with him about the football – I’m a Bristol City fan and he was Rovers all the way. I’ll miss joining him for a 10-mile hike to the pub, with me running to keep up with his walking pace, or being with him sitting on

the beach watching his grandkids play.”

Jackie Smith, managing director at Tindle Newspapers South Hams and Devon, said: “Stuart’s tenacity on the trail of a good story was legendary. News was his obsession and he had an immense commitment to producing good newspapers. His absence will be strongly felt.”

Born in Accrington, Lancashire, he went to secondary school and university in Bristol. He began his journalism career at the Wiltshire and Gloucester Standard series in 1990 as a reporter then subeditor after changing his career in his early 30s, when he was manager of a betting office.

From there he moved to become deputy chief subeditor at the Slough and Windsor Observer in Berkshire, where he stayed for four years.

In 1997 he moved to become design subeditor at the Express and Echo in Exeter, where he helped the paper win South West Daily Newspaper of the Year in 2009, before joining South Hams Newspapers.

He leaves his wife Lydia and daughter Sue.

Sue thanked Regal Club manager Ian Voyse and his team for their kindness in hosting the wake, which will be held at the club at 4pm following Stuart’s funeral at Torquay Crematorium on Friday, May 31, at 2pm.