The distribution size of the Manchester Metro News is to be dramatically reduced.

Around 320,000 copies of the weekly paper are currently delivered free to homes from Stockport to Trafford every Thursday/Friday, but under a new move this will be cut to less than 100,000.

MEN Media says the part paid, part free model of the Manchester Evening News and the growth of its other weekly newspapers means the position of the Metro News in the marketplace has become less clearly defined and there is some overlap between titles.

As a result the Metro News will be distributed solely in the south Manchester borough of Trafford, where the group has no other weekly titles.

The move will not result in any redundancies. The four full-time journalists who work on the Metro News will be transferred across to the MEN.

Mark Dodson, chief executive of MEN Media’s parent organisation GMG Regional Media, said: “In some areas of Manchester we were putting two competing papers through the letterbox.

“We therefore took the decision to merge the two products together, transferring the best-liked sections of the Metro into the weekly newspaper in that area.

“Our initial feedback suggests that this is something which both our readers and our advertisers have been requesting and it gives us the ability to layer our media in the best way possible for the region we serve.”