TRIBUTE has been paid to a former deputy editor of the Keighley News who has died aged 72.

Dave Greenwood joined the newspaper from sister title, the Telegraph & Argus.

In total he spent 25 years with the then Bradford and District Newspapers, leaving the company in 1995.

John Liddle, who was editor of the Keighley News from 1976 until 1994, says: "Dave Greenwood – or DG as we called him – joined us as sports editor but was soon appointed deputy editor and, in the phraseology of the sports desk, ‘played a blinder’ from then on.

"His role was pivotal through nearly 20 years of sustained and record-breaking editorial expansion. The newspaper, founded in 1862, employed a record number of journalists and achieved historically high circulation figures – thanks to the dedication of an amazingly talented editorial team, and the faith of our publisher, Bradford and District Newspapers.

"DG was responsible for the day-to-day running of a busy and ambitious local paper, especially when my own work as editor was enlarged to project-manage the demolition of the old premises in North Street and their replacement with a prestigious HQ. When I was additionally made manager of the newspaper, DG kept the editorial engine going at full throttle.

"I cannot recall him losing his temper or being anything less than level-headed despite numerous pressures. Never seen wearing a tie, he knew how to wind-down after a hectic week at his desk and the tension of putting the paper to bed at the printing works in Bradford. Those were the local-paper days of encyclopaedic coverage of town life in words and pictures.

"DG was a loyal friend but never subservient; he treasured words and their meaning; he disliked pomposity and preening. He saw life as it was and local journalism was enriched by his participation."

Post-Keighley News, Dave and his wife Carole – a former Telegraph & Argus admin employee, whom he married in 1997 – ran the Station pub at Harecroft for four years and then The New Inn, formerly The Bell Inn, in Wilsden until 2006.

The following year they moved to Malta, living and working at St Paul's Bay.

Dave became unwell in 2020 and two years ago he and Carole returned to the UK, settling in Morecambe, where they had both spent childhood holidays.

Dave died last month at Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Carole says: "Among all Dave's loves were books and crosswords – he did The Times crossword every day right up until his last few days in hospital.

"He also had a passion for guitar music, and films – John Wayne movies, plus The Great Escape, The Magnificent Seven and others from that era – naming all the actors!

"He was also a Dr Who fan, and could name all the doctors up to the modern day.

"And Dave loved woodworking, making models from scratch."

Dave is survived by Carole, three children – David, Cherie and Philip – and two grandchildren, William and Amelia.

The funeral service takes place at Shay Grange Crematorium, Long Lane, Bradford, next Thursday (May 9), at 3pm.