A FORMER Echo reporter who left school with four O-levels has graduated from university despite losing much of his eyesight during his degree.

Paul Deal started out after landing a summer job as an editorial messenger boy at the Echo while studying for his A-levels.

Spotting a big story that the newsroom had overlooked got him noticed by the editor, who offered him a position as a trainee reporter.

Now retired, Paul was halfway through his Master’s degree (MA) in history when his vision began to blur while he was walking the dog.

Echo: Reporter - Paul while working as a reporter for the Echo in 1971Reporter - Paul while working as a reporter for the Echo in 1971 (Image: PA)

But at 2am the next day, he was rushed into theatre where an eye surgeon sought to halt an infection which was travelling through his right eye.

The 70-year-old spent 40 years working in journalism but says none of his deadlines had felt as urgent as this.

“It was a traumatic time. After another operation the next day I was told I might not get my sight back. I thought ‘what the hell am I going to do about my MA now?’,” he said.

He was left with about 20 per cent vision in his right eye and not much more in his left.

Echo: Journalist - Paul in 1984 when he was editor of the Bedfordshire Times SeriesJournalist - Paul in 1984 when he was editor of the Bedfordshire Times Series (Image: PA)

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The dad-of-three returned to his studies after a year out, only to suffer a spate of nose bleeds so severe that he ended up in A&E three times.

The ex-reporter would take two trains and a bus to get to the university in Bristol from his home in Wiltshire while he struggled on to finish his mammoth 15,000 word dissertation.

“Growing up in east London and Essex I never thought I’d go to university. Never,” he said. “None of my family had gone and I was just completely focused on becoming a journalist.”

On Thursday, he graduated in front of his wife, Diana, and youngest daughter, Rebecca.

Echo: Extra, extra - Paul was editor of the Buckinghamshire Advertiser Series in the early 80sExtra, extra - Paul was editor of the Buckinghamshire Advertiser Series in the early 80s (Image: PA)

“It’s been a heck of a time and I’m very proud to be graduating. I’ve been looking forward to this day immensely,” he said.

During a successful career, Paul edited newspapers including the Bath Evening Chronicle and the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph.

He spent 15 years at the BBC, producing national news bulletins, and later worked as a communications officer for Wiltshire Police.