The Southern Daily Echo today led the way at the EDF Energy London and South of England Media Awards with four prizes.

But the Southampton-based daily missed out on the prestigious Newspaper of the Year award which went to local rival The News, Portsmouth.

The awards, held in association with HoldtheFrontPage, were handed out in a lunchtime ceremony at Brighton’s Amex Stadium.

London 2012 rowing gold medallist Katherine Grainger presented the prizes along with cheques for £100 for each of the individual winners, courtesy of EDF Energy.

The Echo maintained its dominance of the weekly print journalist of the year award, with Jenny Makin retaining the prize she won last year.

It also scooped a second successive victory in the community campaign of the year category with its bid to give wheel-clampers the boot.

Croydon’s two local weeklies also figured strongly in the prizes for their coverage of the summer 2011 riots.

The Croydon Advertiser was named paid-for weekly newspaper of the year, while rival Croydon Guardian won front page of the year for its riot front page headlined ‘the night madness took hold.’

Also honoured was Joanna Till, of the Advertiser’s Croydon Today website, who won the inaugural digital journalist of the year award.

And there was a strong showing in the individual categories by the Camden New Journal which won both weekly print journalist of the year and newcomer of the year.

The awards are now in their seventh year in the London and South of England region and cover an area stretching from the M25 to Dorset.

To see pictures of the winners receiving their awards from Kath Grainger and EDF Energy’s director of London 2012 Peter Hofman, click here.

The full list of winners was as follows:

Newcomer of the Year: Pavan Amara, Camden New Journal

Digital Journalist of the Year: Joanna Till, Croydon Today

Specialist Journalist of the Year: Christine Alsford, ITV Meridian

News Photographer of the Year: Chris Moorhouse, Southern Daily Echo

Sports Journalist of the Year: Andy Steggall, Pergall Media

Feature Writer of the Year: Stephen Bailey, Bournemouth Daily Echo

Columnist of the Year: Paul Francis, Kent Messenger

Designer of the Year: Ashley Austen, KM Group

Radio Journalist of the Year: Liz Allaway, Wave 105

Television Journalist of the Year: Tom Edwards, BBC London

Weekly Print Journalist of the Year: Dan Carrier, Camden New Journal

Daily Print Journalist of the Year: Jenny Makin, Southern Daily Echo

Website of the Year: Southern Daily Echo – dailyecho.co.uk

Community Campaign of the Year: Southern Daily Echo – Clampers Get the Boot

Front Page of the Year: Croydon Guardian – The night madness took hold

Radio news or current affairs programme of the year: Wave 105 – Inside Afghanistan

Television news or current affairs programme of the year: ITV Meridian – Titanic

Free Weekly Newspaper of the Year: East Grinstead Courier and Observer

Paid for Weekly Newspaper of the Year: Croydon Advertiser

Daily Newspaper of the Year: The News, Portsmouth