PHOTOGRAPHER Keith Turner has been capturing some of the most iconic moments at Barnsley FC for over a quarter of a century but he’s finally set to hang his camera up for good on Boxing Day.

The 54-year-old from Athersley is a lifelong Barnsley fan and admits it’s been surreal covering the club he loves for over 25 years.

From Wembley trips to teaching ex-striker Sam Winnall how to take photographs in his kitchen, it’s been quite a stint for Stretch.

But where did it all start?

He told the Chronicle: “It was 1999 and I asked Chronicle photographer Wes Hobson if I could come down to Oakwell, carry his bags and just observe, really.

“I was over at the college studying photography and I really wanted to get into sports photography.

“The gentleman that Wes is kindly said yes and it just went from there.

“We played Sheffield United at home and I remember it well - I took a picture of Craig Hignett going over for a penalty and it was published that very same day.

“The Chronicle were kind enough to get me a pass into the games for the rest of the season and it just sort of snowballed from there.”

Keith estimates he’s covered more than 1,200 Barnsley games over the last 26 years - but some of his most special memories of his time at Oakwell come away from the pitch.

He said: “I think that some of my best memories are not actually from games.

“My son Tommy has been a mascot twice.

“He walked out once with Marc Roberts and then Ethan Pinnock as well.

“He loved and it and I love photographing him so it’s little things like that.

“I’ve always had a soft spot for photographing mascots, especially when you become a dad yourself you really appreciate what it means to them.”

Keith only has six teams remaining out of the 92 and he’s hoping he’ll be able to complete those games as a fan - but he’s created plenty of memories in his time at Oakwell.

“The Wembley experiences were just out of this world,” he said.

“The Oxford game was the first time we went to Wembley and stopping down there, going on the pitch before and then winning was brilliant.

“There’s been so many good memories stopping over as well at Portsmouth, Plymouth and London.

“And obviously any time we beat Sheffield Wednesday or Leeds is a bonus as well.

“Brentford away during Covid was a surreal experience.

“Staying up in the dying seconds was a brilliant but lonely day.”

Perhaps Keith’s most used photo in his time as a snapper was the one he took of Reuben Noble-Lazarus when he came on as a substitute at just 15 years old and 45 days - making him the youngest ever player in the EFL at the time.

And he made sure he was the only one to get that picture.

He said: “I was travelling down to Ipswich with Andrew Lodge and he gave me the heads up that Noble-Lazarus might be playing.

“I did a little bit of a digging session and rang the academy who told me that he was going to be on the bench.

“The story goes that in the couple of minutes before he was due to come on he started to warm up and I thought ‘I better get ready here’.

“It was a gloomy, cold wet night in Ipswich and I was sat at the side of a game from a sports agency and he really, really didn’t want to be there.

“He just wanted to get off and he knew that the car park would be a nightmare trying to get away from the ground.

“When the substitutes were coming out I just said to him ‘you might as well got off, Barnsley’s not going to win this’.

“He gets up and says ‘see you next season, Keith’ and went and that was the end of him.

“Lo and behold he comes on and I get the picture and in the days following it got published 19 times across the country and in Europe,

“I never saw that photographer ever again.”

And it’s not just the fans that Keith has resonated with over the years, the players are also fond of him.

Winnall even wanted to learn some of the tricks of the trade.

Keith said: “I always remember when my son came home from school and Sam has called up to our house for a bit of a photography lesson.

“He was really keen to get into it.

“He came into the kitchen and he just stared at Sam.

“He ran out of the house, went up the road for his mate and they both came in the kitchen and were just stood staring at him.

“That was brilliant.”

Mansfield on Boxing Day will be Keith’s final match of his Oakwell career - and he’s looking forward to watching his son playing football on the weekends now.

“He said: “These last sort of 18 months I’ve been really struggling with my back but I think the main reason I’m stopping is that my son started playing for Pontefract Collieries under 18s on a Saturday.

“I really don’t want to miss him.

“I really enjoy him playing football and I’ve got to be honest Id rather watch him than be down at the Well.

“It’s just been really, really enjoyable.

“I’ve made so many good friends and memories.

“I really will miss it but it’s probably around about the right time to do it.

“I’ve done 25 years and I know the club’s going to be in good hands.”