A former acting chief reporter of top-selling regional daily the Express & Star has joined the staff of HoldtheFrontPage.

Charlotte Cross, 26, joined the Bromsgrove Standard and Redditch Standard as a trainee in 2008, before joining the Express & Star the following year.

Initially based in the Dudley office, she worked her way through the ranks to become acting chief reporter of the paper’s main Wolverhampton edition.

Now she will divide her time between working for HTFP and studying for a Masters’ degree in multimedia journalism at Staffordshire University.

Said Charlotte, pictured:  “HoldtheFrontPage is one of the most popular news websites for regional journalists, and one I have followed for many years so it is an honour to be given the opportunity to work alongside the team.”

HTFP publisher Paul Linford added:  “Charlotte has proved herself to be a highly capable journalist in her career to date and we are delighted to welcome her on board.”