A REPLACEMENT has finally been appointed to take over the duties of disgraced North Yorkshire coroner Jeremy Cave.

Geoff Fell, who is based in Northallerton, has taken the reins as the coroner for the western district of the county.

He had previously been the deputy coroner, but has been fulfilling all coroner duties since Cave was arrested about two years ago.

Earlier this year, Cave was jailed for three-and-a-half-years after being found guilty of swindling clients out of £155,000. He has since been struck off as a solicitor.

Mr Fell will be responsible for all coroner matters in a district that takes in the Richmondshire, Harrogate, Cra-ven and Selby areas.

His duties will include looking into all unexpected or violent deaths and inquiring into any finds of treasure.

County councillor John Dennis said: "I'm very pleased that we've appointed a person with such a wealth of experience of dealing with the public. Geoff takes over at a very challenging time for the coroner, and I have every confidence that he will bring a very client-centred approach to this work."

Mr Fell said: "I'm naturally very pleased about the appointment. One of my aims will be to make the coroner more accessible and visible in the community."

Mr Fell has been a qualified solicitor for more than 15 years and most of his career has been in local government.

Before qualifying as a solicitor he worked as an engineer with a particular interest in public rights of way, an interest that continues to this day.