The Southern Daily Echo has been recognised in the journalism industry press as being among the very top performing regional daily newspapers in the UK.

Journalists at our Ocean Village newsroom work every day to bring you - our loyal readers - the very best stories across the patch, from Southampton FC exclusives to justice in action from the courts.

Last month saw a record high in our online audience with 7.2 million editorial page views, with 1.85m unique users turning to the Echo for their news online.

More readers are visiting dailyecho.co.uk more regularly too - with our loyal visitors figures on the increase.

Online and in print, the Echo is read by more than 81 per cent of Southampton.

And in recent days both Press Gazette and Hold the Front Page - industry news sites - have reported the Echo is among the very top performers in Britain.

Press Gazette's polling by Ipsos revealed that the Echo is the second-fastest growing regional news website in the UK - and ranks in the top 25 for audience size.

The news site said: "Six out of the ten fastest-growing sites were published by Newsquest: The Daily Echo in Southampton, Oxford Mail, Bournemouth Echo, Brighton Argus, Dorset Echo and Glasgow Times."

Press Gazette also reported on rigorously audited figures that rank the Echo as having joint best performance in newspaper sales in the UK for the first half of 2024.

We tied with the Irish News, and also our stablemate the Dorset Echo.

Separate data reported by Hold the Front Page records the Echo as the second best in the UK for newspaper sales performance.

Newspaper sales are in decline across the country as more people turn to our online coverage - but the Echo saw a drop of just nine per cent between January and June this year.

Ben Fishwick, Regional Editor at the Echo, said: "Behind all the numbers are people who have trusted my team with their stories.

"From people whose bins haven't been emptied, to businesses telling reporters about their latest venture - or indeed victims of harrowing criminal offences, I know that journalists at the Echo are trusted by a great many in the Southampton area.

"These figures are a real testament to the team's work - but we all remained focused on bringing you the very best stories."