AN INTERNATIONALLY experienced journalist from Sedlescombe has released his first work of fiction.

David Sapsted, who lives in New England Road, has published Blind Willie, a black comedy following the suicidal struggles of a blinded photographer living in North Carolina.

The book was originally written around 30 years ago, as were many other pieces of his work, but he never thought to try and have them published. "I have always enjoyed writing stories, but when finished they would just get stuffed in a drawer," he said.

Mr Sapsted, 61, has worked in the Middle East and the United States, as well as writing for the Times and the Daily Telegraph. He currently writes for United Arab Emirates paper The National, based in Abu Dhabi.

The story of Blind Willie is loosely based on an incident which happened while he was working in North Carolina in the 1960s.

Mr Sapsted described how he and his photographer had been involved in a car crash which left him with severe facial injuries requiring 10 reconstructive operations.

It was during his time in hospital that a colleague commented on the fact that at least the photographer had not had his face damaged, and joked of the idea of a blind photographer, sowing the seeds for the book.

Accepting that the topic of the book was quite dark and depressing, Mr Sapsted explained that he had approached one publisher who had rejected it on the grounds that it was too funny. "As with every first-time author I found that it is actually tying to get the book out there that is the problem," he said. "I had the advantage of having worked in Fleet Street for 17 years and so have built up all kinds of contacts, and this really does help."

Mr Sapsted, who breeds alpacas with his wife Anne-Marie in Sedlescombe, is now looking at revisiting some of his other earlier work, and is currently rewriting the story Mr Bailey Grocer.

Blind Willie is out in bookshops now and can also be found online priced at £7.99.