A regional daily which has been in business for 140 years has decided to postpone publication of a commemorative supplement due to coronavirus.

Brighton daily The Argus marked its 140th anniversary on Monday, but has opted to delay celebrations of the milestone because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In the meantime, the newspaper is planning instead to publish front pages and other flashbacks from its history over the course of the next two weeks.

The decision to delay the commemorations was announced by editor Arron Hendy, pictured.

He said: “We were planning a supplement and a celebration, but have decided to delay those with the current pandemic taking over our lives. But we will get back to normal by sticking together.

“It will be even more important to celebrate when we can. So with that in mind we will be looking back with people whose marriages, births and civil partnerships were celebrated in The Argus.”

The Argus has received congratulatory messages from local MPs, the leader of Brighton & Hove City Council and Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club.

Arron added it was “an honour for myself and the rest of the fantastic team” too continue being “the eyes and the ears of the city and the rest of Sussex”.

He said: “You can rest assured that while you are all leading busy lives we are at the courts, looking at council papers and holding other organisations to account on your behalf.

“The role of The Argus has never been so important. With the information overload available on the internet it is crucial that you have trained journalists checking facts and details and making sure you understand what can be relied upon as fact, and what is clearly opinion.”

“This crucial role has hardly been more evident amid the coronavirus pandemic, where more and more readers have been coming to us as a central point where we provide news from multiple sources, be they local and central government, the police, and most importantly yourselves.

“I want to thank you, our readers, for sticking with us and continuing to contact us on a daily basis.”