Newspaper bosses have refuted claims that they are embarrassed at not being able to distribute the new Argus Lite from railway premises.

The Brighton commuter paper was launched last month and is already showing signs of success, according to Argus managing director Martyn Willis.

The Lite edition is a free format to offer bite-size local and national news, and extend the Argus brand to people who don’t normally see the paper or see local advertising.

Martyn said: "It was always our strategy to have a team of enthusiastic young people, suitably attired in a striking uniform, representing and promoting the major publishing brand, The Argus, in the City of Brighton & Hove and the County of Sussex.

"This has worked to perfection with relationships already developing between our distributors and readers. One lady even made the journey from home to the station to collect her copy of The Argus Lite, when she had a day off work!

"Because of the targeted nature of the distribution, sales of The Argus have not been affected at all. Very few readers of The Argus are aware of The Argus Lite and even if they were it is such a different product, we are confident that it would still complement rather than compete with the main title.

"The excitement inside Argus House is tangible. After a couple of years of taking knocks everybody is delighted with the extension of The Argus brand through The Argus Lite and we are confident that this launch is the start of a positive new era."

The new distribution teams are in place at strategic stations across the region at 6.15am, handing out the new paper to commuters until 8.30am.

Research had suggested that there are 35,000 commuters making the journey from stations across Sussex on the London bound trains, most of whom are not readers of regional newspapers.

Martyn said: "Naturally there are several different aspects that appeal to different readers and we have created a product that we hope appeals to the widest possible audience.

"After week one, the compliments coming from readers has been fantastic.

"We have had response from as far away as Devon, but more importantly, feedback from people returning home in the evening has been extremely positive, with absolutely no negative feedback – and why should there be? It is a great product serving a virgin market what it needs."