Journalists have been praised for their work in driving a regional publisher’s online growth.

JPIMedia had revealed a 9pc year-on-year digital audience increase, according to the latest Comscore data.

The publisher has credited the “very strong performance” of titles including NationalWorld, The Scotsman and Sheffield daily the Star for the growth.

The Yorkshire Post also had a third consecutive month of year-on-year growth with a 44pc increase in audience.

However, a dip in sports traffic after the football transfer window has been blamed for the Yorkshire Evening Post suffering a year-on-year decline.

JPIMedia group audience editor Steven Chisholm, pictured, said: “Figures from the wider marketplace in September’s Comscore report underline the challenges digital news providers are facing this year.

“We feel those challenges in our newsrooms too, so it’s extremely encouraging to see the hard work of our editorial teams – and our investment in new brands like NationalWorld – reflected in JPIMedia’s positive numbers for September.”