Tributes have been paid to a much loved shepherd who has died recently following a brain tumour. John Little was born on December 21, 1965 and was one of four children to parents Raymond and Helen. After growing up in the Greenhead and Gilsland area, John went on to become a shepherd on a range of local farms where he continued his love for the countryside and wildlife including birds. Later he would continue to work further afield and eventually join the North Tyne Hunt where he would first meet his wife Lynn. After moving to Redesmouth together in 1994, they would go on to marry the following year before another move three years later.