The tales of a Deal photographer - whose trademark of blowing raspberries never failed to raise smiles - continue to live on a decade after his death.

Today marks 10 years since the passing of Basil Kidd, a freelance photographer for the East Kent Mercury for more than 20 years.

The snapper captured life in the area through the lens of his camera, turning out in all weathers, at all times, for a picture opportunity and working way into his 70s.

And as well as his impressive archive which remains at Deal Maritime and Local History Museum, so do many of his stories.

His son James Kidd, who lives in Deal, said: "People still come up and speak about him all the time. Occasionally I hear stories I didn't know.

"It's lovely to know that he was well thought of."

He recalled the story of the time his father was photographing musical legend Michael Jackson on-board the Pride of Dover in between his London and Paris gigs when he got his name wrong.

Basil referred to him as Malcolm, proceeding to ask the star to write his correct name down.

"That's how he managed to get his autograph," James said.

"It was in the late 80s when Michael Jackson was at the height of his fame. I don't know whether it was a genuine mistake but I wouldn't put it past my dad not to have known."

Another story which was documented in the Mercury at the time, was when Basil crashed his car outside the Queen Street office and was arrested for drink driving offences.

James said: "The policeman commented that he always beats them to the scene before later realising he was the driver!"

James added: "As a dad, he was great fun. He used to use me as a bit of a dog's body. I used to have to write down the names of the footballers for him and follow him around at weddings."

Basil died on October 27, 2008, aged 85, leaving sons James and Nick, a daughter Annette and a granddaughter Alice. A second granddaughter, Faith, was born four years ago.

As a child he sang with the depot choir at the Church of St Michael and All Angels, much later joking he was once of the angels.

He became a members of the Royal Marine Cadets, later a band boy and served with the corps overseas during the Second World War.

It was during the war that Basil first saw himself taking charge of a camera. People became so used to seeing him with the equipment, they forget his was indeed an oboist.

He worked with and for the Royal Marines for the best part of 60 years, photographing all young Royal Marines as they went through their initial training.

He was the main photographer for the barracks and was one of the first on the scene after the IRA bombing on the School of Music in 1989.

After the bombing, he took his oboe out of retirement and played in the All Stars Band specially formed to raise money for the disaster fund.

Speaking ahead of the Royal Marines departure from Deal in 1996, he said it would be like having "his roots pulled out" and that the town would "never be the same again".

At the time of his death, he was the longest serving member of the Rotary Club of Deal.

A book of Basil Kidd's photographs which was published two years after his death sold out with orders made from around the world.

Basil's Deal was compiled by former Mercury reporter Judith Gaunt, who worked with Basil as a cub and then senior reporter from 1971-77.

It featured nearly 200 photographs depicting members of the Royal Family, the Royal Marines, Prime Ministers and numerous celebrities, as well as Kent coalminers, lifeboatmen, sportsmen, carnival queens and countless children.

She said: "After Basil died it was a great honour when his family gave me the opportunity to do a book with his archive of photos and negatives which I published in 2010.

"It sold out with orders from around the world and even now I will be contacted from someone in Europe or across the globe asking for a copy.

"Often they are retired Royal Marines who will send a story of their memories of Basil i.e taking their first photo as a young recruit alongside their bed and locker to send home to their mum.

"They would often say he had also taken their wedding photo and if you mention Basil now you will get similar reactions."

In 2014, Mrs Gaunt also curated an exhibition of Basil's Royal Marines photos at Deal Maritime and Local History Museum.

She said: "It was very moving, and humbling that there was, literally, a queue outside the entrance on the first day of people wanting to see it.

"I could hear them exchanging stories and pointing to photos and saying "That's me."

"Basil's family has since donated the archive to Deal Maritime and Local History Museum and the museum has received two grants from Deal Town Council for appropriate archive standard storage materials."

She added: "Basil's archive, of more than 40 years work, is so important to the town and surrounding area.

"It isn't just his collection of photos, though that would be enough, it is a local history resource in its own right telling the story of the changes to the area, the events, the people and more.

"Those that stand out for me are the vast changes to the seafront, sadly, from those showing all the boats and fishermen in Basil's early days when he started out as a photographer in Deal in 1957, the major fires at Ricemans department store and The Queen's Hotel and the Royal Marines material as it is so intrinsic to the town."