A football club chairman who saved a regional Sunday newspaper from closure earlier this year has added a group of weekly newspapers to his portfolio.

Sunday Independent owner Peter Masters, left, has announced the acquisition of the eight papers in the ‘View From’ series – which serve towns in Dorset, Devon and Somerset – from Capital Media.

Capital Media had owned the titles for 18 months, having previously acquired them from Tindle Newspapers in a management buyout.

The Lyme Regis-based operation, headed by 68-year-old veteran publisher Philip Evans, employs 31 people and also produces a series of local ‘Experience’ magazines.

The eight editions of ‘View From’ cover Lyme, Bridport, Dorchester, Weymouth, Axminster, Seaton, Honiton and South Somerset.

Peter, the chairman and co-owner of Truro City Football Club, took over the Liskeard-based Independent after it briefly ceased trading in April – eight months after the death of previous proprietor Brian Doel.

Said Peter: “These are extremely exciting times for the View From group and the Sunday Independent as we work on plans to deliver even better quality, value and ideas for their readers.

“I and all the dedicated staff at both titles believe in the future of print newspapers as the heart of their communities, where people can share their successes, their challenges, their events, their joys and criticisms.

“Both will have a vibrant web presence delivering news and sport updates and digital platforms for advertisers to reach these communities – but we all also believe that nothing beats sitting down with a paper that covers your community or your sphere of interest and reading all the things you can’t find on the internet.”