A football club which went without a nickname for 70 years now has one thanks to a weekly newspaper.

Malvern Town FC manager Les Jones was left stumped when the Malvern Observer’s new sports reporter Craig Gibbons casually asked what the club’s nickname was during a telephone conversation in January so that he could use it in his stories.

Craig, pictured above left, was in his first two weeks in the job at the time, and Les jokingly suggested he invent one himself.

Instead, he asked Observer readers to come up with suggestions for a nickname for the club, who play in the West Midlands (Regional) League Premier Division, in English football’s 10th tier.

From the suggestions, five were shortlisted – The Hillsiders, The Elgars, The Enigmas, The 1946ers and The Springmen – for readers to vote for in a poll conducted via e-mail, online, Facebook or by returning a cut-out coupon printed in the newspaper.

The Hillsiders, a reference to the nearby Malvern Hills, was revealed on the front page of last week’s Observer, pictured below, as the winner.

The new nickname has already been adopted by the club with plans afoot to include it on their crest next season.

Said Craig: “It just seemed a simple question to ask when I called up the manager and then it all went from there. I couldn’t believe how well the campaign took off – it really captured the imagination of the fans.

“It’s great that finally, after 70 years, the club will have a nickname and it’s all thanks to our readers. I can’t wait to see it on the badge next season.”

Malvern Observer editor Nigel Slater added: “It’s great that the club have backed us launching this nickname poll. It has no doubt created an interesting conversation topic in recent weeks.

“Chris (Pinder, the club’s managing director) said at the start of the year he wanted more people talking about Malvern Town FC and I hope by having this nickname vote – chosen by our readers and Malvern Town supporters – has helped do this.”