FORMER colleagues have described a former Argus assistant editor as a “wonderful and dedicated” journalist.

Chris Chandler worked at the paper for about 20 years from the 1980s.

He went on to become editor of the company’s weekly Leader series.

Those who worked with Chris, who died suddenly last week at the age of 69, said he was an inspiring mentor to many fledgling journalists.

Elsa Gillio, of The Argus Appeal, said: “I was so shocked to hear about what happened.

“I worked with Chris for many years. He was amazing at writing headlines and correcting your work. He was a stickler for attention to detail and he always picked up on punctuation and grammar errors. He had the right attitude to journalism because he expected the highest standards.

“My first impression of Chris was he was well-spoken and incredibly eloquent. He was very quick-witted.”

Terry Page, a former Argus editor, said: “I didn’t work with Chris for long but he made a very good impression on me.

“He was an assistant editor from 1984 to 1989 and had worked for the Bournemouth Echo in Southampton before coming to The Argus.

“He was a very experienced journalist and a great asset in the days of the Evening Argus.

“Chris was a guy who was great at his job.”

Chris also wrote a column responding to readers’ complaints and opinions, entitled Feedback with Chris Chandler.

One of the hot topics at the time was The Argus campaign for a new stadium at Falmer for the Albion.

Chris, who lived in Telscombe with his wife Roberta, was also a tutor for Brighton Journalist Works school of journalism.

He taught essential journalism and court reporting. He also ran his own editing and design company.

Another former Argus editor Michael Beard, who now works in communications with Public Health England, said Chris was a dedicated journalist.

He said: “When I joined The Argus in 2005 he was editing the weeklies.

“I joined as a group editor and as things changed in the newspaper, he became my assistant editor.

“He was responsible for some of the journalist training because that was where one of his strengths lay.

“Chris was old school in the best possible way because he set really high standards.

“He was dedicated and many young journalists benefited from his teachings.

“He was a journalist through and through because he believed in the highest standards.

“It was a real pleasure working with him.

“He was passionate, he loved his job and I couldn’t ask for any more from him when he was working with me.”

Chris’s funeral will be at Woodvale North chapel in Brighton on Friday, April 26, at 11am.