AROUND 20 people have lost their jobs due to the sudden closure of a local newspaper series.

It was announced last Thursday that the View From newspapers were to close with immediate effect.

The company was based in Lyme Regis and its newspapers were published by the Sunday Independent, owned by businessman Peter Masters.

The eight weekly editions covered Lyme Regis, Bridport, Dorchester and Weymouth as well as Axminster, Seaton and Honiton in Devon and South Somerset.

It distributed more than 35,000 copies weekly in the areas.

In a statement published on social media, View News said: “It is with great regret that the decision has been taken to close View From Newspapers with immediate effect due to falling advertising revenue and the continued difficult trading climate. Thank you to all our loyal readers and advertisers for your support over the past 12 years.??”

Lyme Regis deputy mayor, Cllr Steve Miller, said: “This is a sad loss. It’s a loss to the town and the surrounding community and it did a lot of good work conveying local information to the local area.

“Jobs are not easy to come by in Lyme and I’m sorry to hear there are losses.”

Lyme Regis town councillor Brian Larcombe said the closure was ‘with regret.’

“I’m disappointed to hear of the closure,” said Cllr Larcombe. “It was a significant employer in the town and it’s very sad and very disappointing. Job losses will have a significant effect on a small town like Lyme.

"In terms of the town council it played an important part in letting people know what we were doing as a council."

Cllr Graham Turner agreed that the closure would be a 'huge loss' for the town. "All of Lyme feels very sad about this," he said. "It's sad that it's closed after all of these years and it seems to be very sudden. People will miss it.

"People think Lyme Regis is big but it's not that big for an influx of people looking for employment. It's very sad."

Mr Masters bought the View From series in July 2017 from Capital Media, which had owned the titles for 18 months.

Capital Media stepped in to save the newspapers in 2009 when faced with administration under then-owners Tindle Newspapers.

Philip Evans, who originally founded View News, ran the papers throughout.