He added: "We are very much a Teesdale paper, covering a far wider area than just Barnard Castle, and I felt that carrying the town crest sent out the wrong message to readers living outside the town.

"The new compact headings inside the paper also give us a little more space to play with, as our pagination is restricted by the size of our presses. For the same reason, we have introduced more single-deck headlines.

"Several readers have called me to say they find the paper much easier to read now, and the new features are already proving very popular."

The Teesdale Mercury is independently owned and printed on site. The bulk of the newspaper is still printed in black and white, but colour supplements and the occasional colour page are printed off-site.

Adrian said: "The new design makes the most of the lack of colour. I am delighted with the finished product, which really stands out on the news-stands."