A MUCH loved local artist whose first Tele cartoon was drawn when Harold Wilson was in power is finally stepping down after almost 50 years.

Tom Johnstone drew his first cartoon for the paper in March 14, 1974 and it has been a popular weekly feature ever since.

But now, at the age of 86, he feels it's time to put down his sketching pad.

Tom, who lives in Shore Street in Gourock with wife Marion, said: "Things are different now - there's PC culture in Britain and lockdown has changed people's lifestyles.

"It's not the same - you are frightened to make a joke in case people are offended.

"My first cartoon was about a streaking craze - and in Greenock the streaker had to wear wellies and carry an umbrella - they were all about silly things."

He said he got his ideas from ordinary people chatting on buses and trains.

Tom said: "I used to travel up to night school at Reid Kerr College and I'd listen to the students and to people in pubs and people used to come up to me with ideas for a cartoon."

Tom is a Greenock boy born and bred and he grew up in Ann Street, attending the former St Columba's High School in Peat Road in Greenock.

He said: "St Columba's was a good school and I met some good teachers.

"I was inspired by my art teacher Joe Kelly - he was an ex-miner from the east coast who'd lost a leg in a pit accident and he was sent to art school and became a teacher."

Tom enjoyed a varied and colourful career, training as a marine engineer at Rankin & Blackmore before joining the RAF where he was a driver and worked in the armoury department.

He said: "I was in the air force for three and a half years and I was in stationed in East Africa, Libya and Aden in the middle east."

Tom returned to finish his apprenticeship and Lithgow's had taken over Rankin & Blackmore by then.

He started attending night school, completing A-levels and pursued his love of painting, a passion that he'd had since he was a boy, and made a living as an artist.

He also joined Greenock Art Club and became president and things developed from there.

Tom says his cartoons have been popular because people can associate with the characters or well-kent phrases.

He said: "People love nostalgia and remembering the old dance halls and cinemas, and Greenock was full of characters."

His role as Tele cartoonist links in with his other passion, giving demonstrations to local arts clubs such as St Bart's and presenting slide shows of Greenock in times gone by.

Tom says he likes keeping active and enjoys walking while he enjoys listening to jazz fan to relax.

He has been following the Capitol Big Band for many years.

Now that Tom will have more free time he is looking forward to spending it with his family, his daughters Janice and Kay and three granddaughters Ellis, 30, Carly, 17, and Grace, 14.

Tom said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my career and I've met a lot of nice people through it."