A local council in East London has announced the closure of a fortnightly newspaper that it said would save taxpayers £250,000 a year.

The News, produced every other week by Barking and Dagenham Council, is to be axed as part of a series of cutbacks.

When it launched the title four years ago, the council originally claimed it would save the £250,000 annual cost of advertising in the Archant-owned Barking and Dagenham Post.

However it has now announced that it is closing after 96 editions “as part of a raft of savings to allow the council to balance its books.”

The decision was announced in a stort on the front page of the paper’s final issue, which included a supplement featuring 50 of its “best stories” over the past four years.

Council leader Liam Smith said:  “The council is very proud of The News and the way it has served the community for the past four years.

“But the financial position, through government cuts and circumstances that aren’t of our own making, is such that we have had to find savings across the board and we really don’t have a choice.”

“I’ve really enjoyed reading thenews. And they’re doing a round-up of the best stories from the past four years, so I’m looking forward to that.”