A Newsquest-owned weekly has claimed the Local Newspaper of the Year prize at this year’s Northern Ireland media awards.

The Enniskillen-based Impartial Reporter beat off stiff competition from seven shortlisted other weeklies across Northern Ireland to claim the title.

Judges commented that the Reporter could form the blueprint for any successful local newspaper.

“It serves its communities exceptionally well, is very professionally designed and is a pleasure to read. In addition to its print product, this newspaper is ahead of the curve in its digital presence,” they said.

The awards, sponsored by the Charterered Institute for Public Relations and Coca-Cola, were held in the MAC Theatre in Belfast on Friday night.

Editor Sarah Saunderson said: “This award is testament to the hard work and dedication of the talented staff working at this newspaper. I am absolutely delighted for them that this has been recognised and we have won this highly-prized award.”

The paper has already claimed the same award twice before, in 2004 and 2013. It was also named as the Weekly UK Newspaper of the Year at the 2014 Newspaper Awards.