Tributes paid to former Melton Times editor who has died aged 54

Andy, who was 54, was one of the youngest newspaper editors in the UK when he was appointed at Melton in 1992, aged 26, and went on to run the paper for 13 years.

He will be remembered in Melton for overseeing the most successful period in the town paper’s history.

Working with a talented team of experienced colleagues, the paper grew its circulation to record levels as it documented the life of the town over the 13 years of his editorship.

In March 2019, Andy was diagnosed with glioma blastoma, a rare, aggressive and incurable brain cancer, which is known as the deadliest of cancers.

He underwent a major operation and then weeks of chemotherapy and radiotherapy with great fortitude and typical humour.

Andy died at the Cransley Hospice in Kettering last Monday (February 18) with his family at his side.

He leaves a loving wife, Maria, who was also a journalist on the Melton Times.

The couple, who married in 2007, had two sons, Jack (11) and Albert, known as Albie, aged six.

Andy also leaves two children from his first marriage, James (21) and 19-year-old Katie.

Brian Johnson, a former senior journalist who worked alongside Andy throughout his time at the Melton Times, said: “Andrew was a damned good all round journalist and the Melton Times became a hard news-led community paper under his his stewardship.

“A number of trainee young journalists owe him a great debt too as they got a good grounding in the arts of journalism.

“During his time the Melton Times and its staff won many awards too thanks to his leadership.

“I was so shocked to hear of his passing. Such a sad loss.”

Nick Rennie, a current news reporter on the Melton Times, worked under Andy in his first spell with the paper in the early 1990s.

He said: “I remember when Andy took over he was one of the youngest newspaper editors in the country.

“I was around the same age as him and he confided in me that it was a difficult job managing people who were older and much more experienced than him.

“But Andy quickly showed that he had the strength of character and the journalistic nous to thrive in the job.

“I also worked with him at the Rutland Times in his last newspaper job and always enjoyed spending time with him in and out of work.

“His loss is a huge shock to us all and my heart goes out to Maria and his family.”

Melton resident Jan Jackson, who was Andy’s deputy editor at the paper, said: “Andy had a big impact on the Melton Times.

“He built up good links with the community and was well-known and popular in the town.

“His love of writing and appreciation of eye-catching design meant the paper thrived under his editorship.

“He was able to get the best out of his staff by recognising their individual talents and developing them, and in the process created a strong editorial team around him.

“My thoughts go out to his family at this sad time.”

Former Rutland and Melton MP, Sir Alan Duncan, said: “This is very sad news.

“Andy was an exceptional editor.

“He was mild-mannered and thoughtful and cared deeply about the local community.

“I admired him immensely, and enjoyed working with him.

“He was a lovely guy. My deep sympathy to Maria and their children.”

Andy was born in Spalding, the only child of Russell and Jenny Plaice.

He attended The King’s School in Grantham before studying Drama and Writing at Crewe and Alsager College, now part of Manchester Metropolitan University, where his daughter is now a student.

At 21 he was flown to Sydney when a play he had written two years earlier was chosen to represent the UK in an international drama competition.

That play, Under Control, is still regularly performed in Australia.

His first job after university was as a drama teacher at Grantham College.

In 1988 he joined the Grantham Journal as a reporter, rising quickly through the newsroom to become deputy editor, before his appointment to the editor’s chair at the Melton Times.

In 2005 he was appointed managing editor of the nearby Rutland Times and in 2006 he joined De Montfort University and spent the rest of his career working as an incredibly effective and popular journalism lecturer, helping shape the journalistic talents of more than 1,000 journalism students.

He taught all aspects of the profession to students over his time as a lecturer but particularly enjoyed teaching students on his own specialist module about arts and entertainment journalism.

Many students developed careers in or lasting passions for the arts thanks to Andy.

While at DMU Andy also wrote for a wide range of publications, magazines and websites including the The Times, Daily Telegraph, Sunday Express, The Stage, the Daily Express, the British Theatre Guide, the British Comedy Guide and The Voice.

His interest in cultural journalism led to his successful book Arts Reviewing: A Practical Guide published by Routledge in 2018, which offers advice on the subject, along with a debate on challenges facing the craft.

Tor Clark, Associate Professor in Journalism at the University of Leicester, who worked with Andy, first in newspapers for 10 years before teaming up with him again to run the Journalism degrees at DMU, said: “Andy was both a fantastic journalist and also an amazing teacher of journalism.

“He inspired hundreds of students at DMU and before that countless young journalists on his newspapers.

“He was a very successful editor of the Melton Times for a long time, documenting all that happened in that area in such a compelling way that the paper’s circulation surged to all-time record levels.

“Later he used those talents to inspire and motivate a generation of DMU journalism students.

“He was just a lovely man, a joy to spend time with, a sincere friend, full of fun and with a fantastic sense of humour.

“But most of all he was a much-loved husband, father and son.”

Andy’s funeral will take place on Tuesday March 3 at 11.30am at All Hallows Church, Seaton, Rutland, followed at 1pm by cremation at Peterborough Crematorium.

The wake will be held at the George and Dragon pub in Seaton from 2pm.

The family has requested no flowers, but any donations in lieu can be made to Cransley and Cynthia Spencer Hospices, which cared for Andy in his final

weeks.