Daily newspaper for northern England and south west Scotland to be launched

A new daily newspaper is being launched aimed at readers in the north of England and south west Scotland.

The title, called 24 and published by Cumbria-based CN Group, will go on sale on June 20 priced at 40p.

Described as the North's National, the 40-page tabloid will be published from Monday to Friday and distributed from Preston in the south to Lockerbie in the north, and from Hexham in the east to Workington in the west, an area with a population of 1.15 million adults.

CN Group, whose titles include the North West Evening Mail, News & Star and Cumberland News, said 24 would provide a distinctly northern perspective to the nation's biggest news stories with a politically-neutral digest of national stories, alongside features and regionally-focussed columns.

It will include content from the Press Association, the national news agency for the UK and Ireland, including news, sport, lifestyle, features, celebrity gossip and puzzles. Sport will major on northern teams from Manchester and Liverpool to Newcastle and Glasgow.

A new 24 national news section will also roll out across the publisher's regional news websites.

CN Group chief executive Miller Hogg said: "We see our purpose as serving the communities in which we operate, so it follows that CN Group should produce a national newspaper tailored to our patch.

"We know our customers well and have the capacity to print, publish and distribute a new paper for the local market."

CN Group editorial director David Helliwell said: "After so much doom and gloom for the industry this is an exciting new development.

"We believe we have the right package of content and design, spiced with a distinctly northern flavour, to provide a viable alternative in the national newspaper market."

The announcement comes just weeks after another new daily title, New Day, was closed two months after its launch due to disappointing sales.