A new group editor has been appointed to lead Newsquest titles in East London and West Essex after the previous news chief moved to a role at The Sun.

Tim Jones has been promoted to group editor of the Guardian and Independent series, taking over from Richard Firth, who has now moved to work as a sub-editor at the daily tabloid after a number of years with Newsquest.

Tim moves to the new role from his position as deputy group editor of the Times and Independent series in North London, which includes the Haringey Independent and Borhamwood and Elstree Times

In his new role, Tim will oversee titles including the Epping Forest, Waltham Forest, Chingford and Wanstead and Woodford Guardians.

He said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to my first editorship in such a busy and diverse news patch.

“I look forward to strengthening the position of our weekly paid-for titles in the local communities we serve, as well as enhancing our digital coverage.

“As a web-first operation, we are committed to breaking news as quickly as possible, delivering both quality and quantity of news for our local readers.”

Tim started his career in 2000 at the Leamington Spa Observer, which is part of Bullivant Media, and was part of a small team which launched the Coventry Observer.

He later worked for titles including the Stratford upon Avon Herald and the Northampton Chronicle and Echo before joining Newsquest in 2009.

Richard started his journalism career at Stoke-based The Sentinel, where he worked his way up to news editor, then joined the Wakefield Express as deputy editor and later became editor of the Dewsbury Reporter series.

He was made group editor of the Newsquest titles in March this year after being with the regional publisher for a number of years, including being editor of the News Shopper.