A free course in community journalism which has spawned a number of hyperlocal news websites has been revived.

Cardiff University is set to run the five-week course next month in association with FutureLearn, a website which helps people to learn online for free.

Topics covered on the course include basic journalism skills, digital publishing, verification, media law, social media and crowdfunding.

This year it will also introduce brand new sections on data journalism and live streaming applications such as Periscope.

In the past, community news websites such as East Grinstead Online and Grimsby Spotlight have been established as a direct result of the course.

The course is taught by the university’s centre for community journalism and led by Professor Richard Sambrook, pictured above left, director of the centre for journalism and former director of global news at the BBC.

Said Richard: “I am delighted that our free Community Journalism course returns next year.

“Since we launched the course in 2014 with FutureLearn, over 23,000 people have signed up from over 118 countries worldwide, making it the largest online journalism course produced by a UK university on FutureLearn. I look forward to welcoming our next cohort in 2016.”