A former regional editor who launched his own football holidays magazine last year is to reprint the first issue due to demand from readers.

Jim Stewart launched Football Weekends magazine in March 2015, a year after taking voluntary redundancy as editor of JP weeklies the Bedford Times & Citizen and Biggleswade Chronicle.

The monthly magazine, promoting football trips in the UK and across Europe, has steadily built readership since that first issue and is now into its second year.

A reprint of the first issue is now set to be released this summer for those who came to the magazine at a later date.

A selection of Football Weekends covers

Said Jim: “It was a real venture into the unknown but I’m delighted to report the football travelling public has got behind the magazine. Sales have grown pretty much month on month from issue one.

“That first issue sold out late last year and I’ve had so many requests for copies from people who have come to the magazine later that we’re going ahead with a reprint this summer.”

The 92-page glossy magazine, sold in newsagents across the UK and Ireland and via postal subscription, is written by Jim and a network of football enthusiasts and contributors.

He added: “They say the first year of any magazine is the most difficult and I can vouch for that. But we have got through that challenging period, the magazine is financially stable and we’ve booked the magazine into newsagents for a second year.

“We’re increasing the number of outlets and we have subscribers across the UK, Europe and as far as Australia.

“We are now busily planning for the Euro 2016 tournament with a special issue for the army of fans heading to France, so we are hoping to pick up even more readers.”