FORMER Lancashire Evening Telegraph cartoonist Jack Tipping has died at the age of 76.

Jack collapsed at his home in Observatory Road, Blackburn, on Sunday after suffering a suspected heart attack.

For decades his "Tipping's Topic" cartoons were a must for all Telegraph readers, satirising events of the day in his own inimitable style.

And his simple but hilarious drawings drew praise from celebrities ranging from chef Egon Ronay to TV personality Terry Wogan.

Jack joined what was then the Northern Daily Telegraph as a cartoonist and photographer in 1950.

His talent as a cartoonist first came to the fore when he was stationed with the RAF in the Middle East during the war.

At the Northern Daily Telegraph he began to concentrate more on cartoons and his last photographic assignment was at the FA Cup Final between Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers in 1960. His cartoons were so popular that in 1967, '68 and '69 he was the only British provincial newspaper artist to have his pictures published at an international exhibition of cartoonists in Canada.

One fan was celebrity chef Egon Ronay who asked to buy an original of one of his cartoons.

And Terry Wogan fell foul of Jack's wit when he drew a cartoon showing a dog handing its master its lead when Wogan's "Blankety Blank" came on the television.

"I didn't know you could read," was the punchline.

Wogan replied to Jack: "Maybe the dog was right. Our cats won't watch it and I have a terrible time locking the kids in the room so they will look at it."

Jack leaves a wife Vera and son Paul. His funeral will take place at Pleasington Crematorium on Friday at 9.30 am.

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