A WELL-KNOWN poet from the Tyne Valley has marked his 85th birthday.

Nick Short, of Hexham, is well-regarded for his poems spoken in traditional Northumbrian verse, and he has scooped various trophies over the years for his work.

Three years ago, Mr Short was recognised for his dedication over 25 years to raising money for armed service charities when he was awarded a Hexham Community Champion Award.

The awards, handed out by Hexham's MP Guy Opperman, recognises extraordinary charitable, community, educational, business and sporting achievements throughout the Hexham and Ponteland constituency.

Mr Short received the recognition after collecting money for the RAF Wings Appeal, which supports serving and former RAF personnel and their families, and the Royal British Legion, over the decades.

As reward for the award, he was invited to attend an annual event at the House of Commons.

Mr Short is familiar throughout the county as a veteran dialect poet, and he hit the heights in 2017 when he scooped a personal record haul of trophies at the annual Morpeth Northumbrian Gathering.

Dressed in his traditional Northumbrian shepherd’s plaid, which he inherited from his father, he won four categories at the festival for his writing work, and was highly commended in two others.

The bard, who hadn’t missed a Morpeth Gathering for the best part of 20 years, impressed judges with his writing style, based on Northumbrian dialect.

He won the Northumbrian Prose Trophy, the M.N.G Lowford Cup, the M.N.G.C. Ashington Arts Festival Cup and the English Verse Trophy, to go with the two commendations at the event