Daily Mirror chief reporter and Bishop's Stortford resident Andy Lines wins Amnesty International award

A Bishop's Stortford journalist has won a prestigious Amnesty International award for his reports from war-torn Yemen.

The Daily Mirror's chief reporter, Andy Lines, won the human rights organisation's News (written word) category.

Lines went into the Arabian republic last May for a series of hard-hitting reports on the war, the shocking famine, use of child soldiers and landmines.

Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK, said: “These awards recognise truly outstanding journalism which has shone a spotlight on the world’s darkest corners, from the crisis in Yemen to the plight of Uyghur Muslims in China.

“We pay tribute to the inspiring bravery and dedication of journalists who’ve uncovered wrongdoing, held those in authority to account and helped create a fairer, more open world.”

Lines, 56, a married father of three who lives in The Stewarts, joined the Daily Mirror in 1995 and has been its chief reporter since 2013.

A former pupil at Hatfield Heath Primary School and the former Mountfitchet High School in Stansted, he started his journalism career in Stortford while doing work experience at the now defunct Herts & Essex Observer and is a regular contributor to the Stortford Indie.

He was short-listed for reporter of the year in 2001 for his reporting on 9/11 and for foreign reporter in 2015 for his work on the Bataclan terror attack in Paris and the Nepal earthquake.