I’ve written a book about local news, focussing on “walk-ins” – when the public walk in with a story to tell. Click the image below for more information and to buy a copy.
I started my journalism career in local newspapers, working my way from trainee to chief reporter at the Crawley News from 2007-10. I then became news editor of the Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser.
In 2012, after some freelance work at the BBC and Evening Standard, I got a job at BBC South Online in Southampton, then at BBC UK Online in London. I stayed there until 2016, reporting on national news including elections, Brexit and major incidents such as terrorist attacks.
Here are some examples of my work:
In 2015, I went to France to report from the Calais migrant camp known as the Jungle. I wrote articles including:
- What do Calais migrants know about the UK?
- Calais migrant crisis: Fences ‘push migrants elsewhere’
- ‘English mafia’ trafficking people to UK
- The Britons in the ‘Jungle’
This visit also led me to write my short story, The Tunnel
I wrote features and explainers for the BBC Magazine, including:
I worked on a weird and wonderful range of other stories, including:
I did several stints writing the BBC newspaper review, including on the night of the Brexit vote:
I have written news and comment articles for a variety of publications:
I’m a co-founder and writer for the website Blue Sky Questions, which answers unusual queries such as: