A former Haworth man has had his first book published at the age of 81.

Jack Wood, who has been in the air force and been an undertaker, builder, farmer and chinchilla breeder, was at Haworth Parish Church to launch his novel, which is set in the village.

Jack was born and educated in Haworth but now lives in his self-built house in the Yorkshire Dales.

He said: "Although I now live in the Yorkshire Dales, there has always been a string attached to me and I have come back to Haworth to tell this tale.

"You cannot find a better subject to write about -- the 1830s and the Victorian age is what I like."

Jack was delighted with the publication of his book and success in his latest pursuit.

He added: "I have never dwelt on things in my life. It is a kind of question of 'What's next?' and that is how my life has been. I have been a creator."

The book, A Man of Stone, was published by The Book Guild after it impressed Jack's friend and former Telegraph & Argus editor Peter Harland.

Mr Harland said: "He is quite a character. It feels great to be clutching one of my friend's books. But it is typical of Jack to do something and to do it thoroughly. And, as ever, he has done it brilliantly.

"He has the same sort of ability as Jeffrey Archer. He starts to tell a story and you cannot put the book down until you have finished."

Mr Harland described his friend as someone who could always tell a tale, but it was Lesley Horton, a crime author herself, who taught creative writing to Jack at Keighley College.

She said: "He listened and he learnt and he knew what he was doing straightaway. So I am not surprised that we have this book.

"But it feels brilliant to be holding his book here today."

Set in the 1830s, the story follows an orphan's life and loves in Haworth and Bradford.

Jailed for a crime he did not commit, John Pickles loses his job, friends and, to the man who framed him, his girlfriend.

After his release he prospers by supplying stone for Bradford's great Victorian building projects, and after his wife dies he is eventually reunited with his first love.

The story is connected to the present by a woman, renting a cottage in Haworth, who sees a ghostly figure.

A Man of Stone will be published as a £14.99 hard back on June 15 and will be available from local bookshops.