An editor has appealed for readers to help fill a “black hole” in her newspaper’s archives that has emerged over the past seven years.

Kimberley Barber has issued the plea after discovering Hampshire Record Office does not hold physical copies of the Hampshire Chronicle dating from 2015 onwards.

The office, in Winchester, had previously received copies of the Chronicle from a local library before the arrangement stopped seven years ago.

Kimberley, pictured, has made the appeal after visiting the office to view her paper’s first edition as part of its recent 250th anniversary celebrations.

She wrote: “On my visit it was a shame to hear that the record office used to receive its copies of the Hampshire Chronicle from the library, however that arrangement stopped for whatever reason and there now is a ‘black hole’ in the Chronicle’s archives.

“Our historian Barry Shurlock has been looking into the gap and is passionate about filling it to ensure the Hampshire Chronicle continues to be correctly archived and catalogued for future generations.

“He said that now from 1772 to 2009, or perhaps to June 2010, the Chronicle is on microfilm in HRO. After that, unbound, unscanned hard copies to July 2015 are held by HRO.

“Then the archive stops. Everything moves digital, and while we have digital versions of those pages, the physical editions are seemingly not in existence.

“There are a few copies of recent editions at the Chronicle office right now, but only for the past few months. They are not kept anywhere else within our company.”

Mr Shurlock added: “If there are still any gaps, no doubt these could be filled: I know of at least one person who has a collection of hard copies from the last seven to 10 years. There may be others.”