The Liverpool Echo has been crowned Trinity Mirror’s Daily Newspaper of the Year.

The Echo was up against Wales on Sunday and The Journal – both highly commended for the sought-after award.

The judges were impressed with the way the Echo reflected the energy of the city it serves.

They said: “It handled the big stories like George Harrison’s death and Gerard Houllier’s illness impressively.

“Its design, news and sports coverage are excellent and most of all, we were impressed by the page-by-page way that to read it is to feel Liverpool.”

Weekly Newspaper of the Year was the Crewe Chronicle, which judges said was a “rounded package strong in all areas including bold, tabloid design, good use of pictures and graphics, cracking sport and most of all, a local paper closely in touch with its community”.

The South London Press and Hinckley Times were highly commended.

The Journal was recognised for having the Best News Pages for a Daily/Sunday title, with the Uxbridge Gazette winning the same award for the weeklies.

The Journal was: “A well put together package that pulls off the difficult trick of combining local and national news in a mid market style with a confident and generous use of briefs alongside the commitment to the big stories of the day.”

Judges said of the Gazette: “he paper displays evidence that the news coverage is a result of thought and planning rather than mere reaction and has a clear awareness of the concerns of its community”

The Western Mail and South London Press won the daily and weekly awards for Best Features Pages.

The Liverpool Echo was the best-designed Daily Newspaper and the Surrey Mirror the best-designed weekly.

The Birmingham Post lifted the award for the Best Use of Photography on a daily title, with “confident use of strong single images on broad sheet pages gave them a clear edge”.

The weekly award in this category was won by the Harrow Observer: “Overwhelmingly the best in the field”.

Wales on Sunday had the Best Sports Pages for a daily/Sunday paper while the Bracknell News impressed the judges as the top weekly for sport.

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