CAN I, through the letters page, pay my humble tribute to the fabulous Mike Tipping as he leaves you after almost 25 years of great photography.

Not only is Mike a brilliant photographer, but he is also the perfect gentleman and in my roles as a parish councillor (retired), president of the Probus Club and chairman of Stamford Bridge in Bloom, Mike has always turned up when needed and has polished off the most superb photography.

His deft eye, as displayed in his sly picture of the Queen at Royal Ascot at York 2005, surely marks him out at the top.

Bryan Lawson, Burton Fields Road, Stamford Bridge, York.