A weekly newspaper’s website is set to be absorbed by that of a neighbouring sister daily in what has been described as a “powerful alliance” of the two titles.

Trinity Mirror has announced the Southport Visiter’s online platform, which averaged 13,862 monthly users, will be merged with the Liverpool Echo’s from the 27 February.

The regional publisher says The Visiter and her reporting team “will work alongside Echo journalists to ensure round-the-clock coverage” of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton and the Borough of West Lancashire following the switch.

There are no changes to The Visiter’s print product or its staffing levels as a result of the move.

Alastair Machray, pictured, editor of the Echo and editor-in-chief of Trinity Mirror Merseyside, Cheshire and North Wales, said: “This is an important development for coverage of this key area.

“I am thrilled that we will now have the strength and resource to ensure we produce the very best possible journalism from a region we have been proud to serve for 174 years.

“This will be a powerful alliance of two famous Trinity Mirror titles.”

Prior to TM’s decision to stop providing monthly figures for its online operations to auditor ABC last year, The Visiter topped the company’s charts for growth on Facebook for four months in a row between April and July 2017.

It also topped the July charts for year-on-year growth in terms of website page views – a feat it previously achieved in October 2016.

Trinity Mirror North West and North Wales managing director Carl Wood said: “It is clear that consumer behaviour has changed massively with millions of readers choosing to access content online via mobile and tablet and it is that audience that advertisers want.

“We are the only local media company in the Sefton and West Lancashire area with the ability to offer advertisers this unrivalled scale of audience together with the expertise on how to target it which is way beyond the capabilities of any print-focused local media competitors.”