THE Evening Press has scooped a national award -for being a great local newspaper.

ITN news-reader Dermot Murnaghan praised the paper as "a daily friend coming through your letter box" as he announced our success at the Regional Press Awards.

The Evening Press was named as winner of the Local Newspaper Week Award in the ceremony at London's Park Lane Hilton Hotel, organised by the UK Press Gazette.

The judges said our supplement, Making a Difference, published during Local Newspaper Week in May, was a "convincing effort to remind readers of what their local newspaper gives them".

Features production editor Julian Cole stepped up to receive the award from Press Gazette editor Philippa Kennedy for what was described as a "crisp Local Newspaper Week supplement that captures the broader importance of local newspapers as well as celebrating the newspaper's own work."

The campaigns included Save Our Swims, The Post Office campaign, Close the Gaps, and the Hospice 2000 Appeal.

Evening Press editor Liz Page said: "This award is a great tribute to all our journalists who make the Evening Press the paper that makes a difference."

The paper was also the only publication to receive two nominations in a single category, with photographers Mike Tipping and Frank Dwyer both winning recognition for their outstanding work by being short-listed for the Photographer of Year awards.

The Evening Press travelled to the awards ceremony courtesy of GNER.