HOW far would you go to get your hands on a copy of the Evening Press?

Loyal reader John Hudson braved blizzard conditions - and forked out a fortune on taxi fares - to supply his remote North Yorkshire village with copies of the paper.

The 52-year-old, who has hardly missed an edition of the Evening Press since first buying it in April, 1968, sprung into action when he discovered the snowy conditions had prevented the Press reaching the Forresters Arms, in Kilburn, where locals pick up their copy.

The Evening Press vans were unable to supply the village with the paper because the drivers found the roads virtually impassable.

But determined not to be beaten, later the same day, when the snow had eased, Mr Hudson was able to hitch a ride to Thirsk on a bus which ferries workers from the famous Robert Thompson furniture firm in Kilburn.

He then scoured the town's newsagents for copies of the paper, before paying nearly £10 of his own cash on a taxi to get him back to the hotel.

Mr Hudson, who used to live in Acomb, York, then did it all again a couple of days later.

"I wouldn't be without my Evening Press," he said. "I like the local news and the obituaries. All my effort was worth it.

"It's nice to be finally making the news!"

Peter Cussons, who runs The Forresters Arms with his son Paul, said Mr Hudson went in every day to pick up his copy of the paper.

"He is obsessed with the Evening Press and reads it from front to back without missing a thing," he said.

Updated: 10:14 Friday, February 25, 2005