Reader interest fuelled a running story in the Evening Star, Ipswich, which ended with a teenage asylum seeker returning to his family in the city.

Star readers responded in a positive way to the paper’s coverage of Elton Ismaili's plight.

The letters page was flooded with mail in favour of the 19-year-old Kosovan returning to Suffolk. He fled his home country at 14 but had to return when the Home Office declared it safe. But he had nothing to return 'home' to and believed his family to be dead.

As well as the letters page, the Star kept the story in the public eye through a series of articles about the case, interviewing politicians and officials about what was happening.

When Elton arrived back in the UK – initially on a six-month visa - after several weeks in Albania, he thanked the newspaper and its readers who backed his efforts to stay in his adoptive country.

He said: "I've been looking at the stories in the Star and it's just amazing.

"I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has supported me – I appreciate everything."