Readers of a weekly newspaper in Manchester compiled an online video tribute after owners Trinity Mirror decided to axe the title.

This week’s edition of the Prestwich Advertiser is the last after the publisher decided it was no longer commercially viable.

Distribution of the free title has been slashed over the past year from an average 29,392 copies in the first half of 2011 to just 3,947 in the most recent set of ABC figures covering the same period this year.

It is understood there will be no job losses as a result of the paper’s closure, with journalists redeployed within Trinity’s MEN Media stable.

The closure announcement, carried in last week’s edition, led to a flood of tributes on Twitter, with one user @InsidePrestwich, even creating a video tribute on YouTube.

It featured memorable headlines from the paper’s past such as ‘Lettuce all go to the garden show,’ ‘Milk misery for pupils as weather is too wet for cows,’ and ‘Black Death could return to Prestwich.’

Messages of support also came from Mike Connolly, leader of Bury Council, who said: “The Advertiser has served the community of Prestwich, Whitefield, Unsworth and Radcliffe well over the years. Thank you, you’ve done a great job.”

And Ivan Lewis, MP for South Bury, said: “The Advertiser’s greatest service has been as a campaigning newspaper reflecting the issues which matter to local people.”

Acting editor Bethan Dorsett thanked readers for their messages in an article in this week’s final edition, published yesterday.

“We’re grateful to all of you for your support over the years and have been moved by your response to our announcement. To borrow from a much better writer, so long, and thanks for all the stories.”

Trinity Mirror said the decision to close the title was down to “rising production costs and the challenging economy, both of which have made the Advertiser no longer commercially viable.”

MEN Media managing director Steve Anderson-Dixon said: “We would like to thank our readers and advertisers for their support over the years and hope they understand that this was a very tough decision to make.

“As a multimedia company our commitment to offering the best coverage of events in Prestwich and surrounding areas will continue unabated.

“The Manchester Evening News brings you news, features and sport from the area six days a week. And there is extensive coverage on our website www.menmedia.co.uk which has the largest audience of any regional newspaper website in the country.”