Journalists at Johnston Press are suffering “dangerously high” levels of stress according to a survey carried out by the National Union of Journalists.

The union carried out a confidential online survey of JP staff earlier this autumn amid concerns at rising workloads and job cutbacks.

The results have now been published and show that 82pc of those who responded believe they have been subjected to unrealistic time pressures, while 80pc said they had been forced to work long hours.

The survey also revealed that 86pc of respondents felt there was a lack of consultation over changes being introduced by the company.

According to the union, some 15pc of JP editorial staff took part in the survey which was carried out in September and October.

It was launched shortly after JP announced plans for new-look newsrooms at a series of titles in Derbyshire and North Nottinghamshire which could be rolled out across the company.

Since the survey there have also been further restructuring plans announced with up to 45 jobs due to go in Scotland as a result of plans to merge the operations of The Scotsman, Edinburgh Evening News and Scotland on Sunday.

And the cull of staff photographers in the group has been extended across three more regions with titles in the North-East, North West and Yorkshire all affected.

The NUJ has now called for a moratorium on further cuts. Its JP group chapel said in a statement: “The results of this survey add to growing evidence of dangerously high stress levels in Johnston Press newsrooms.

“We hope Johnston Press management will take the results on board and work with us to alleviate the intolerable pressures being placed on our members.

“Alarmingly, however, the survey results come at a time when the company is making even more cuts to editorial jobs.

“We call on Johnston Press to halt any further job cuts and invest to bring staffing up to adequate levels.”

Laura Davison, NUJ national organiser added: “These stark findings echo the anecdotal evidence from newsrooms across Johnston Press.

“Its chief executive officer, Ashley Highfield, has accepted that morale has been affected by the cuts but this survey demonstrates that urgent action is needed to address workloads, work intensity and breaks.

“It is not sustainable for the company to rely on people’s professionalism to be always picking up the pieces and filling gaps where colleagues have left.

“There should be a moratorium on any further job cuts, and vacancies should be filled as a priority. We want to work with the company on addressing these critical issues and this needs to be started speedily and be based on meaningful consultation with the workforce.”

Johnston Press has not so far responded to requests for a comment on the survey results.

When the survey was launched, it said: “As a responsible employer we take the welfare of our staff extremely seriously and have a wide range of options available to support and advise them.

“We are also fully committed to ensuring that all of our staff, including our team members who are represented by the NUJ, have a voice and are listened to – which is why we encourage open dialogue and actively seek feedback from our teams on an ongoing basis – both face-to-face and anonymously.

“We have recently undertaken an extensive and well-publicised programme of improvements to ensure all of our teams are working in environments that are fit for purpose and we’re absolutely committed to ensuring our industry continues to thrive despite the challenges all local media faces.”