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Hyperlocal title transforms seaside tourist attraction

A campaigning hyperlocal magazine is transforming a top seaside tourist attraction by encouraging readers to buy stained-glass windows on its pier.

Since the monthly Worthing Journal launched its Windows on the Pier scheme two years ago, readers have purchased around 90 windows worth a total of £45,000.

Some record historic events in Worthing’s history, while others are memorials to loved ones who have passed away.

Dozens more have been ordered by charities and community groups to showcase their causes – including the Journal itself.

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Journal editor Paul Holden, pictured with his window, said: “The response has been astonishing and we are now almost half way to filling the entire windbreak.

“It has become a real tourist attraction, attracting wonderful comments from residents and visitors alike.

“Two windows commemorate a Lancaster bomber crewman who went on to serve in Vulcans. “Another remembers Worthing Victoria Cross winner Montague Moore.

“Famous shipwrecks are also commemorated; plus the 100th anniversary of the Great War.

“We have three glass artists working on the windows and they are getting a steady stream of orders.

“We will have to auction off the last few spaces for charity.”

The campaign is one of a number of initiatives launched by the Journal to improve Worthing.

This month scores of readers will descend on the seafront to plant around 40 flowerbeds with colourful blooms.

The 128-page Journal has also persuaded the authorities to paint black seafront bus shelters in pastel shades to brighten up the area.

And last year it crowdfunded a children’s sandpit for Worthing’s stony beach, raising around £7,000 in a few weeks.