An editor is leaving his role after five years to take up a new position with a regional publisher.

Paul Rowland has announced his departure from Wales Online in order to become head of live brands at its owner Reach plc, following the company’s announcement of its intention to launch a news website covering every county of England and Wales by the end of the year.

Steffen Rhys, executive editor at Wales Online, has stepped up to take on Paul’s role as a result.

Paul, pictured, has run the Cardiff-based site since 2016, when he was promoted from digital development editor.

Posting on Twitter, he said: “After a fantastic five years, it’s time to hand over the reins as editor of Wales Online to Steffan Rhys.

“It’s been a complete joy to grow a title that I’ve been involved with since its inception with the support of one of the absolute best teams in the industry.

“Steff is a first-class journalist and a brilliant leader who has been the driving force behind so much of what Wales Online has achieved over the past decade. He’s more than ready to step up to the top job.

“I’m not going far, and will be taking on the role of head of live Brands here at Reach on an interim basis for the next six months, working with incredible titles like the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, Birmingham Live and a host of new launches (as well as Wales Online still).

“It’s a huge honour and I’m really excited to get to work with our superb teams up and down the country during a period where we’ll be recruiting 50 new digital journalists and launching seven new Live brands.”

Steffan said: “I’m absolutely delighted to become Wales Online editor. I have loved working on the site since day one and am very proud of what we’ve built.

“Paul Rowland a brilliant editor, mentor and friend. The growth and direction under his guidance has been phenomenal and I’m excited to see him have an even more positive influence on regional journalism around the UK.”