A weekly newspaper has celebrated 150 years in print with a special supplement.

The Newmarket Journal, first published by George Simpson in 1872, produced the 48-page pullout to mark the milestone.

The supplement was researched and written by content editor Alison Hayes and designed by Duncan Bradley.

In a comment piece for the pullout, Alison said the Journal had “steadfastly provided a “record of the lives lived in the communities it serves”.

“I am proud to have been part of this newspaper’s story for a mere 44 years and, on its behalf, I am grateful to all those people I have met along the way for allowing their stories to be part of the Journal’s.

“I have laughed with them, cried with them and shared their triumphs and tragedies. It’s been a privilege and long may it continue.”

Editor Barry Peters and Edward Iliffe, owner of Journal publisher Iliffe Media, also relayed their own anniversary messages to readers.

Barry wrote: “For 150 years, the Newmarket Journal has been your go-to place for everything local.

“Many readers will have been lucky enough to be featured raising money, for sporting prowess or through some photograph taken by our army of photographers down the years.

“And it’s those treasured memories, alongside the hard-hitting news stories of the day, which make the Newmarket Journal so special for the thousands who buy it each week and have bought it for many, many years gone by.

“Without you, the task of bringing out pages and pages of local news each week wouldn’t be anything like as enjoyable. So thank you for reading and thank you for supporting real grassroots journalism – and here’s to the next 150 years.”

Edward added: “The Newmarket Journal is 150 years old and, despite all the challenges from the advent of new news outlets, such as radio, television and the internet, it continues to bring trusted local news to local people.

“It is a publication of which all of us, who are associated with it, can be justifiably proud.

“The stories and news contained within its archive are a valuable and unmatched source of local history and a matter of record that we hope will continue to grow for a further 150 years.

“Its future success, of course, will be dependent on it continuing to provide news and information that readers wish to read, so please keep sending us your stories, so that we can make them our stories.”