Fewer than one in 100 British people are taking out paid subscriptions to regional news titles, new research has found.

A report by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has revealed 9pc of UK people currently take out digital subscriptons and of these, just 10pc obtained them for regional news outlets.

Of 19 countries surveyed in the report, the UK had the lowest proportion of the population signed up to a regional title, along with Ireland and Portugal.

Just 0.9pc of people in those countries have taken out subcriptions to a regional title, compared with table-topping Norway – where almost one in five are committed to paying for local news.

The survey by the Oxford University-based Institute also found the UK has the joint lowest percentage of paid digital subscribers for all news outlets – regional, national or international – anywhere in the world, being tied with Japan.

However the survey also found high levels of trust in regional news among UK people, with 53pc saying they trust their local newspaper – behind only the BBC, Channel 4, the Financial Times and ITV on that metric.

Senior research associate Nic Newman, pictured, who co-authored the report, wrote: “Our detailed research this year across markets highlights how important news subscriptions are to some, but also how fragile the arrangement is for others.

“In countries such as the UK and US, many people subscribe based on either a long-standing relationship, or the sense that the outlet speaks to them and speaks for them.

“This brand identification is closely linked to the content itself, raising questions about whether paid models may encourage more partisan editorial approaches.

“Beyond this, respondents need to believe they are getting value for money, especially in the current economic climate.

“They also need to be sure that the content is exclusive, curated, and that it is unavailable for free. But they do not want to pay over the odds.

“Larger, more expensive bundles appeal to those already interested in news, but may be less attractive to many casual news users.”

The 53pc level of trust in UK local news is the same pecentage reported by Austrians and Romanians.

The most trusting of regional titles in Europe were readers in the Netherlands and Norway, where 75pc responded positively, while the lowest was Hungary, where just 34pc trusted their local paper.

The full report can be read here.