THE Hereford Times has a new editor!

Anthony Murphy has stepped into the hot seat for seven days as part of Local Newspaper Week.

We wanted to hand over the reins to a guest editor as we promote the newspaper industry’s annual initiative to promote the importance of the local press.

Mr Murphy is known to many in Hereford for his involvement in musical and business circles.

He has long been a supporter of the arts, having started the FourPlay Production company which worked with young actors at The Courtyard, and later went on to manage two nightclubs – The Lock Up and The Jailhouse – while also starring at both venues (and many more) as the MC, Mouthmaster Murf, in his band, The Anomalies.

He has most recently found fame as one quarter of the Beefy Boys team.

Along with his friends from Aylestone High School – Lee Symonds, Daniel Mayo-Evans and Christian Williams – they turned a hobby into a pop-up business before winning awards and opening their own burger restaurant on the Old Market in Hereford.

He has also dabbled in local politics and written for this newspaper as a guest columnist.

So with an extensive CV, a great contacts book and the enthusiasm of youth, we have handed over several pages of this week’s paper – and the all important leader column on our letters page – to our new leader.

Mr Murphy, who is from Whitecross in Hereford, said he hopes to use the opportunity to bring some positive news to the paper to celebrate the great county we all call home while also dispelling some of the myths he repeatedly hears while out and about in the community and reads on social media.

So, without further ado, it’s over to you, Murf.