The Evening Express in Aberdeen has marked the historic milestone of publishing its 40,000th issue.

It all began with a paragraph in a morning paper, then called the Journal, on Saturday, January 18, 1879.

It read: "On and after Monday, January 20, the Evening Express will be published - a first-class local newspaper with telegraphic general and commercial news to the hour of publication."

Price one halfpenny - exactly the same as the paper costs in today's money, the advertisements and public notices filled the front page.

The main news story in the first edition was the sensational trial of six Glasgow bank managers who had fiddled more than £1.6m - a staggering sum.

Demand for that first Evening Express was so great the printing presses in couldn't cope.

Every milestone of North-east life over the past 127 years has been written about, photographed and printed in the Evening Express.

Editor Damian Bates said: "Along with the staff, I'm delighted to be seeing this very special edition.

"It is a historic milestone in what I believe is a remarkable and much-loved newspaper."