The Manchester Evening News is now reaching more young readers and more ABC1s, according to its latest market research.

The MEN says the introduction of free copies in the city centre has allowed it to reach 15 per cent more of the sought-after 15 to 44-year-olds, and 20 per cent more ABC1s.

Up to 60,000 free copies of the MEN are now distributed in the city centre every weekday, an area which had previously only sold 7,000 copies per day.

Paid-for copies of the MEN are no longer available in the city centre, except on Saturdays.

The impact on sales will not be known until figures are audited next month, but editor Paul Horrocks said that, in time, the number of free copies could increase further.

He said: "It's still early days and it is crucial that we maintain the paid-for sale is the outer areas as well as driving up the free in the city centre.

"In an ideal world we would stay over 100,000 paid-for and maybe have 100,000 free."

The MEN's first edition is now printed overnight and on sale outside the city centre at breakfast time. The same paper is then given away free mid-morning in the city centre.

A second paid-for only edition is produced mid-morning, and a third edition is on sale at lunchtime and then given away in the city centre in the early afternoon.