Presses stop at rural newspaper

The last edition of a North Cumbrian newspaper has rolled off the presses.

The North West Observer covered Aspatria, Silloth and Wigton, the Solway plain, and the Caldbeck and Ireby Fells.

The paper's editor, Joe Cowell, said a drop in advertising revenue was responsible for the closure.

The paper was founded in October 1998 and had been approaching its fifth anniversary.

He said: "During the foot-and-mouth outbreak about 75% of advertising was lost.

"It came back, but not to the levels it had been before.

Free paper

"We have been subsidising the paper from day one, but have come to the point where we cannot carry on.

"The need for the paper is still there, the problem is finding a financial structure to keep a paper going for the area.

"The local regional development people look like they are going to produce a community newspaper.

"That looks a viable project and hopefully we will be given a chance to produce it."

If it gets off the ground it would cover the same area as the North West Observer, but would be a free newspaper.