The South London Press has been honoured for its work to try to save a 24-hour emergency mental health clinic.

The local newspaper topped the print category of the Mental Health Media Awards, which were presented at Bafta in London.

The paper had been the only regional press title to make the shortlist, and in scooping the top prize it beat shortlisted entries from Men’s Health magazine and Society Guardian.

The SLP has been campaigning to safeguard the future of Maudsley clinic in Denmark Hill, and earlier this year editor Hannah Walker was among those to debate its future at the House of Commons.

The clinic treats people who are suicidal or suffering a mental health crisis, and is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but is under threat because the local NHS trust is trying to cut costs.

The Mental Health Media Awards celebrate the best portrayals of mental distress and reporting of mental health issues in the media.

Other category winners included BBC Six O’clock News and BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

The awards were presented by chat show host Trisha Goddard, who has personal experience of mental distress and has spent time as an in-patient in a psychiatric hospital.

She said: “Our job is to help people tell their stories – these awards give us a standard we should all aspire to.”