A highly-respected local journalist who won an award for his sensitive handling of the aftermath of the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy has died, aged 80.
Peter Lovett-Horn, former reporter with The Visitor newspaper and Lancashire Constabulary press officer, passed away in hospital on February 11.
Peter was born in Bombay, India, in February 1944.
He was the third of four children of Frederick and Margerie.
Frederick was working for the Burma Oil Co. at the time and Margerie was a teacher.
At the age of two, Peter's family came to live with relatives in Bristol for a short time. They relocated to Lancaster when Frederick got a job at Nairn Williamsons. Margerie went on to be the Mayor of Lancaster.
Home for the Lovett-Horns was Belle Vue House, off Greaves Road. After attending a private school at Bolton-le-Sands, Peter went to the Friends School in Lancaster.
His father took him to the Vale of Lune Rugby Club when Peter was 16, where he played in the Colts team. It was to be the beginning of a lifetime association with the club.
His first paid job was in an office at Nairn's. He found the work dull and declared his ambition to pursue a career in journalism.
Peter became a junior reporter at the Morecambe Visitor newspaper. The modest office was above a fish shop on Market Street, Lancaster.
The aroma was memorable, but Peter learned his craft there.
At 17, Peter went to an afternoon house party in Lancaster, where he met 16-year-old secretarial student, Joyce Entwistle. He broke the ice with a quip about her pointy shoes. She chose to forgive him for that, and they began dating soon after.
The fact that she lived very near to the Vale of Lune was, of course, a happy coincidence.
At the age of 20, Peter branched out into the world of journalism as a reporter for the Metropolitan Police magazine entitled 'The Job.'
He lived in London, making many friends and contacts in the publishing sphere. Later in his career, he was to report for: Catering Times, Lancashire Life and the Logan Air In-Flight Magazine.
He returned to Lancashire, married Joyce in 1971, and set up home in Watery Lane, Lancaster.
Before their son Daniel was born in 1978, Peter and Joyce embarked on a touring holiday in the United States, visiting Chicago and the Catskill Mountains. It was there in a supermarket, they met and befriended a policeman and his wife, who went on to be lifelong friends.
Peter became a reporter for the Lancashire Evening Post and later edited the Garstang Courier. At the weekends, he combined his profession and his passion for sports by becoming the Vale of Lune's press officer, writing match reports for local news outlets.
In his 30s, Peter suffered with his health. The eventual cancer diagnosis, led to major surgery which incapacitated him for many months, leaving him with permanent internal damage.
He passed on his Vale press officer role to his friend Stuart Vernon, at whose funeral in October 2024, Peter delivered the tribute, despite his own poor health.
Managing his physical limitations, he was able to enjoy golf, which he did for many years, enjoying several trips abroad. On Saturday afternoons, he became the welcoming face of the rugby union community as the matchday gatekeeper. Peter was awarded Honorary Life Membership for his long service to the Vale of Lune.
In 1988, Peter's earlier work with newspapers and the police, landed him the job of press officer with Lancashire Constabulary. By then he was able to share his experience and expertise with a younger generation of journalists in public service.
In 2004, the Morecambe Bay Cockling tragedy broke, and Peter was dealing with press enquiries round the clock, and from agencies all over the world.
His knowledge of the media and his sensitive handling of that complex operation, including the subsequent court cases, led to Peter receiving an award for his work.
He retired from the Constabulary in 2008, and did more voluntary work in the community, including with the Lancaster Art Society. He was proficient at still life pencil drawings, but too modest to exhibit them, preferring instead to facilitate others in that respect.
In February 2025, Peter's health deteriorated, and he was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital, where he died on Tuesday 11th, at few days before his 81st birthday.
He is survived by Joyce, Daniel and Kathryn, and their children Adam and Alex.
Peter's funeral will be held at Lancaster and Morecambe Crematorium on March 7 at 3.30pm.
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