A regional daily has revived a pair of historic newspaper titles to replace existing sister weeklies, echoing a similar move earlier this year.

The Bournemouth Echo has announced the launch of the Bournemouth Herald and Poole Herald, which were last published in the 1980s, to replace the Bournemouth Advertiser and Poole Advertiser.

The move follows the launch of another weekly heritage title in March, the Christchurch Times, by the Newsquest-owned Echo.

The part-free,  part paid-for Times, which had last been published in 1983 is selling 1,000 copies a week through retailers in the town.

The new Herald titles have a cover price of 40p, are available through selected retailers, door to door delivery and free pick up.

All three publications focus on local issues, human interest and community content and information, with an absence of death and crime.

Andy Martin, editor and head of news at the Echo, said; “All three have been incredibly well received, especially the Christchurch Times which has a very traditional look and has been selling extremely well and way above our initial expectations.

“There appears to be a huge appetite across our area for reviving heritage titles which have a real community feel and focus. The titles fully complement what we are doing in the Daily Echo.”

According to the Echo, all three papers have also seen a substantial rise in advertising revenue compared with the previous titles.