The Accrington Observer was given a Highly Commended honour at a glittering awards ceremony.



The O2 Media Awards were held last week with the Observer in the running for the Weekly Newspaper award.



We faced stiff competition from our sister paper the Macclesfield Express and the Liverpool Post but top honours on the night went to the Crew Chronicle.



Judges praised for the Observer for its commitment to local news.



They said: “The Accrington Observer was everything a local weekly newspaper should be. Proud of its heritage and determined to hold on to its 125-year history of being a pillar of the community. This was also a weekly determined to give value for money through busy news and sport content and information sections.”



Observer editor Gareth Tidman and senior reporter Stuart Pike attended the ceremony at Old Trafford where they were presented with a certificate by Coronation Street William Roache aka Ken Barlow.



Gareth said the nomination was a testament to the quality journalism that is done week-in and week-out.



He said: “It was a fantastic honour to be nominated as the award recognises our ongoing commitment to bringing our readers the news that is happening in their community each and every week.”