A FORMER editor of the Messenger - who was once the youngest newspaper editor in the country - has died at the age of 55, after a six-month battle with cancer.

Neal Butterworth died in Poole Hospital, Dorset, on Monday. His wife, Julie, and daughters, Gemma and Dayna, were at his bedside.

He grew up in Timperley, attending Navigation Road Primary and Manchester Grammar, and lived in the area until November 1987, when he moved south.

He was editor of the Bournemouth Echo until 2011, and last year moved to Spain to begin a new life with his wife, Julie.

But after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in November, he returned to Poole for treatment. A talented footballer, he captained England Public Schoolboys and was later on the books at Manchester City, where he played for the reserve side.

But instead of pursuing a football career he turned his talents to journalism - with stunning effect.

After joining the Messenger Group, he became the youngest editor in the country at the age of 23.

He held a number of senior editorial positions in the group before becoming editor of the his hometown newspaper, the Sale and Altrincham Messenger, and also the Stretford and Urmston Messenger, in January 1987.

Alongside his newspaper career he also worked for Piccadilly Radio in Manchester, and played for their Piccadilly Attackers football team in charity matches.

In one match he played at Altrincham’s Moss Lane ground against a team containing Manchester United legend George Best. Jan Lever, Newsquest managing director, Lancashire and Kendal- who was Messenger group editor in the 1980s - said: “Neal made a huge contribution to Messenger both as a talented writer and as an editor.

“He had an infectious enthusiasm that meant he built a strong, vibrant team around him.

“Over the years he raised thousands of pounds for charities through the papers he edited, in Trafford and in later years when he moved to the south coast.

“On top of all that he was a tremendous bloke – a doting husband and father, respected by everyone who knew him.

“He will be truly missed.”

For a number of years - including for a period after he moved to the south coast - Messenger carried his column, ‘Neal’s Point of View’, in which he expressed his wry observations on life.

During his stint as Messenger editor he regularly travelled down to Poole at weekends to see his girlfriend, Julie.

After moving south, he worked as an editor at Southern Newspapers, now Newsquest, until becoming editor of the Daily Echo and Advertiser series in 1998, remaining at the helm until December 2011.

Neal’s sister, Gail Eid - said: “He was one of the hardest working, nicest people you could ever meet.”

Gail - who has two other brothers, Mark and Paul - added:“He was lovely, he made everyone he met feel special.”

Neal’s mother, Sheila, aged 82, lives in Warrington. Her late husband Roy, died of cancer, in 2008.

Neal, a Bruce Springsteen fan and Manchester United supporter, was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bournemouth University in 2007 in recognition of his success at the helm of the Daily Echo, winning a string of awards with the paper and raising nearly £6 million for good causes.

He was also awarded the Rotary’s Club’s highest award, the Paul Harris award, for his services to charities, in 2006.

The funeral will be at St James’ Church, Poole, at 3pm on May 24.

MESSENGER chief reporter, Chris Griffin, recalled Neal’s editorship of Messenger: “I have very happy memories of that period working with Neal.

“He was an absolute pleasure to work with. “We were a young team, we worked hard, and we really enjoyed it. We were a very happy team.

“A lot of that stemmed from Neal - he was such a lively, vibrant and positive person.

“He had an infectious enthusiasm and friendly manner which, allied to his formidable journalistic skills, made him a brilliant editor.”