Create loop to show first post of 1 category

Hi guys
I’m trying to create a “latest” section on my home page which would show a scaled down version of my posts. I want it to show the first post from a particular category, showing the title, the featured image and the date of posting. The idea is I’d then to style it CSS so it scaled down like a widget but want to be able to place it in PHP for my home page.

I’ve scanned around and can’t find any code that will do exactly what i want. I’d really appreciate any help someone could offer.

Many thanks