The Powys County Times has been named Wales' top weekly newspaper in a prestigious industry awards scheme.

The paper was crowned Weekly Newspaper of the Year at the Wales Media Awards 2020.

The award, sponsored by Western Power Distribution, was announced at an online ceremony on Friday night hosted by BBC Wales Today presenter Lucy Owen and ITV Wales' Jonathan Hill.

In a written statement recognising the County Times, the judges said: "The Powys County Times is a great example of a local paper with its fingers on the pulse of the community.

"The pages are full of issues that are of interest to residents, whether it’s town and village news, Wales-wide issues such as opposition to wind power, and bigger issues such as Brexit. It’s also good to see by-lines such as ‘Local Democracy Reporter’ and ‘Court Reporter’."

County Times editor Thom Kennedy added: "I couldn't be more proud of the team at the County Times for its achievements in being named Wales' top weekly newspaper.

"The work that goes in behind the scenes to cover ever aspect of life in Powys is immeasurable, and this is a just reward for a reporting team that has worked incredibly hard in unprecedented circumstances over the last 12 months and beyond.

"This is a paper with an incredible heritage, during a period in which the industry is going through a substantial period of transformation. Hopefully this reward indicates that we are adapting to the changing world around us, and that the title has a strong future representing the people of Powys."

He added: "This award recognises the immense efforts of our Newtown and Llanidloes reporter Anwen Parry, Radnorshire reporter Matt Jones, local democracy reporter Elgan Hearn, and our sport and community content editor Gavin Grosvenor, plus Rory Sheehan, Barry Jones and Josie Le Vay, who all departed in the last 12 months.

"We are looking forward to welcoming our new, returning, chief reporter Mike Sheridan in the next few weeks, and hope to build on this success in the next 12 months.

"We are all very proud of this accolade, and grateful to all our readers for their support."