A man from Barrow has finally published his first book - 18 years after the first page was penned.

Ian Atkinson, who now lives in Ulverston, began the journey of writing 'Wagtail: Bright Lights' in 2006, committing himself to completing 500 words a night following shifts at BAE.

The first book in a potential series, the tale is a coming-of-age story set between 1968 and 1986 in the fictional seaside town of Bright Lights.

The blurb reads: "Northern England in the late sixties. Failing at school and unhappy at home, John Woods takes refuge in the local flora and fauna, tramping the countryside with his only friend, Lenny Fields.

"A chance encounter with free-spirit, April Meadows, will change their lives for ever and bring them face-to-face with the drug-dealing Savage brothers and their fearsome enforcer, Clocherty.

"How far would you go for friendship?"

Ian is a lifelong birdwatcher and nature-lover, both of which have inspired his work.

He said: "Wagtail contains some unsavoury characters and violent scenes, and they were great fun to write, but the book is mainly about nature and friendship - and it’s a love story too.

"I set myself a target of 500 words every night after work - 50 days later, I had a 25,000 word stand-alone short story that I was really happy with and that could be continued and developed into a novel."

However, it was not until the first Covid lockdown that Ian rediscovered the story.

"I read it through again and I knew right away where I wanted it to go - that was the most productive spell of writing I’ve ever managed, and I had it finished in August 2021," he said.

"I used some song lyrics in the narrative and I knew that if I wanted to publish Wagtail I’d need permissions, so I applied, and I waited, and waited - until August 2023, with Wagtail then published in January this year."

The book may be out at last but that is not the end of the work for Ian.

"I’ve been working on a sequel for a while, and three or four shorter stories with new characters for another book, all set in the same town," said Ian.

You can get your copy of 'Wagtail: Bright Lights' here.