A FORMER newspaper editor whose crime reporting earned praise from the notorious Kray twins has died aged 68.

Vince Price was editor of the award-winning West London Informer group, which he set up from above a shop in Kingston with just a handful of colleagues and built up to the largest editorial-led free newspaper series in Europe, writes Hartley Milner.

He died from cancer and his ashes will be scattered along the tracks of the Bluebell steam railway in Sussex at his request.

Mr Price built up a team of more than 30 journalists and created 13 editions for the Informer with a combined distribution of 850,000 copies a week, including the Kingston Informer.

Its biggest title, the Staines Informer, used to carry 120 pages.

Mr Price, originally from Enfield, started out in newspapers in 1966 as a photographer on the Walthamstow and Leyton Guardian.

His passion for photography was something he would carry throughout his career and life.

Mr Price’s days as a reporter began by chance after he accidentally stumbled upon a murder while driving home from a photography job.

Being the first journalist on scene he secured a picture exclusive and soon joined the Walthamstow Guardian’s crime desk.

After rising through the ranks and establishing a reputation on the crime beat, he built invaluable contacts and would frequently receive praise from his colleagues and peers.

He once reportedly received a phone call from an associate of the famous 1960s gangsters the Kray twins who complimented him for “telling it like it is”.

Mr Price then spent a short time as a sub-editor for the Harlow Gazette in 1976 before moving on to create the Informer.

By the time he left in 1987 the series was the largest in Europe.

Numerous spells at magazines across the capital followed, including at satirical magazine Punch before it folded.

He spent his retirement with his partner Anne in Cambridgeshire, where he was able to indulge his great love of steam railways and canals.

Having flourished as a city crime reporter, he spent his final five years writing articles on the simplicity of country life, accompanied by his own photos.

He was lauded in obituaries in trade media the Press Gazette and HoldTheFrontPage.