A FORMER Northern Echo journalist has gone from covering murders as a crown court reporter to "making a killing" by plotting her own dastardly deaths.

Two decades after leaving her reporting job, Sara West now runs Tall Tales Mysteries from her home in Gainford, County Durham.

Sara, who is married to a barrister, has written around 20 plots so far - and they are proving to be a big hit during lockdown.

Not only are they providing entertainment for locked down groups all over the world via Zoom, the murder mysteries are also supporting actors badly affected by the pandemic.

“It’s gone better than I dared hope, and the feedback’s been incredible,” says the mum-of-two, who began her journalistic career on her local paper, the Bexhill-on-Sea Observer, as Sara Sweeney.

“It’s provided a way to stay connected, have fun and socialise during lockdown, and people have been so grateful.” 

“We also made a decision early on to use actors who were falling between the cracks, with no income or Government support during the lockdown, so it’s helped to keep some of them off the breadline.”