A group of former newspaper colleagues are aiming to bounce back from redundancy by launching a series of new titles - in oppositon to their old employer.

The five staff all worked for MEN Media in the North West but left as part of a series of shake-ups, which involved centralising operations in Manchester and closing most district offices.

Now they have teamed-up to launch what is planned to be a series of new free monthly titles in the Greater Manchester area.

The first new title, the Rochdale and Heywood Independent, is due to be available for pick-up at supermarkets, libraries and other locations from the week commencing 25 January.

It will go into direct competition against MEN Media-owned weekly the Rochdale Observer and will be followed by a title for Middleton and North Manchester in February and papers for other, as yet undisclosed, areas thereafter.

The new company 'PIP Media' comprises: Richard Catlow, formerly editorial director of MEN Media's weeklies, ex-Accrington Observer editor Mervyn Kay, former Stockport Express editor Mandy Leigh as well as commercial staff Kath Fielding and Brent Armistead.

Mervyn told HTFP: "We weren't happy with MEN Media's policy of closing the branch offices and moving everything into Deansgate, in Manchester.

"We were just sitting around with our redundancy money and not much to do.

"Hopefully, it is the right time. We have newspapers in our blood and wanted to have a go at it."

Also joining the team, which will be based in Rossendale where Richard also runs a communications company, will be Richard's wife Helen, to work on editorial content, and Helen Goodwin who will be focusing on design and page layout.

The titles will be produced with Horwich-based firm Big Spark Publishing which runs a series of local newspapers in Greater Manchester and Lancashire.