Independent weekly newspaper the Newquay Voice enjoyed a double whammy this week when two of its exclusive stories made it onto the national news agenda.

First up was its exclusive pictures of Prince William drinking at a bar in Newquay where another clubber was later bottled.

The image made it into almost every daily and was the front page splash on the Mirror and Daily Star and was broadcast extensively throughout the national media.

Pic by Samantha Bazeley

Its second national scoop was the extraordinary tale of great-grandmother Mavis Ward who lives alone in a luxury block of flats in the popular tourist resort. This story also made it into almost every national paper and was broadcast on national radio and television.

The Newquay Voice believes that the following up of the stories illustrates perfectly that local newspapers will always be a news source at the heart of its community.

Newquay Voice editor Matt Bond said: "The Newquay Voice is getting used to its stories going national.

"In the last three months alone we have had our exclusives about the killing of rare monkeys at Newquay Zoo and the disappearance of a Newquay climber in South America go international but to have two in the same week is a great achievement and testament to our editorial team's determination, professionalism and, most importantly, our valued contacts throughout the community.

"We knew as soon as we heard Prince William had been in the resort that we had to get pictures and assumed that with today's technology someone must have had some.

"Thankfully after some frantic phone calls to 'someone who knew someone who knew someone' we struck lucky.

Mavis (pic: Chrissie Laming)

"With regards to Mavis Ward, it was obvious as soon as we learnt of her predicament, again through local contacts, that we had a great story on our hands and being a lovely lady, she was only too happy to help us out.

"These latest examples simply serve to illustrate that once again, due to a local newspaper's unprecedented position embedded within its readership, that where local newspapers tread, the nationals tend to follow."

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