Iliffe Media's Cambridge Independent has won the Local Weekly Newspaper of the Year title for the fifth time on the trot.

Judges of the The 2023 Newspaper Awards praised the Cambridge Independent’s “striking design and bold images” as they announced that the title, published by the independent Iliffe Media group, had retained the title it won last year and in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021. Covid prevented the awards taking place in 2020.

Editor Paul Brackley said: “We are absolutely delighted. Every member of the team works so hard every week to produce the best newspaper we can, so it’s wonderful to be recognised for a fifth time in a row at a national level.

“We are grateful to all our contributors, who play such an important role for us, and for the vital ongoing support of our readers and advertisers.

“Regional media faces all kinds of competition, but we believe it has a huge role to play in connecting, informing and entertaining communities.”

The awards are organised by the Production Journal in association with Fujifilm

Highly commended in the Local Weekly Newspaper of the Year category - which was sponsored by Papermule - was a fellow Iliffe Media title, the New Milton Advertiser & Lymington Times.

A&T editor Ben Craig said: "It's so encouraging to get this kind of national recognition for the hard work our team puts in week after week to bring genuine local news to our readers."

And Velvet, the Cambridge Independent’s sister monthly lifestyle magazine, was commended in the Regional Supplement/Magazine of the Year category, sponsored by Walstead UK, and won by Shropshire Magazine.