THE Evening Press has been named Newsquest Daily Newspaper of the Year - for the second time in three years.

The Press fought off competition from other dailies across Britain owned by Newsquest, the country's second-largest newspaper group, to win the award at a ceremony in London yesterday.

Judges praised the paper as "bold, challenging and successful".

They said: "This paper bears all the hallmarks of a newspaper that gets involved. It stood out among many fine entries. There are more smiling faces in this paper than in any of the others.

"The writing is uncluttered by clichs and to the point - well done to the reporters and the sub-editors."

Former editor Liz Page was presented with a glassware trophy by chief executive Paul Davidson.

Liz, now York & County Press publisher, said: "We are all thrilled to collect this honour for the second time. We are proud of our role as a newspaper that campaigns on behalf of the community we serve and this was clearly recognised by the judges.

"The credit should go to every member the team which creates the Evening Press each day.

"The award comes at a time when we have been experiencing some technical problems with our newly-installed printing technology and I hope our readers will bear with us while we overcome the difficulties."

Updated: 10:45 Friday, June 20, 2003