Daily Post named best in Britain.

THE Liverpool Daily Post was yesterday named as the UK's best performing regional morning newspaper.

Official figures released by the Audit Bureau of Circulation showed that the number of copies sold rose by 4.2% in the last year.

That equates to over 3,000 extra readers and bucks the trend shown by most other newspaper titles in the country, whose circulations are in decline.

The Newspaper Society yesterday hailed the rise, saying it proved that 'a large metropolitan regional title can capitalise on the renaissance of major cities outside London and successfully grow its sale'.

The figures were released almost a year after the newspaper was relaunched and saw the introduction of new supplements, more pages, a redesign, and high quality newsprint.

Research conducted since then has shown that readers have reacted very positively to the changes, with 94% of those questioned describing the paper's coverage of the region as 'good' and 83% categorising it as an 'enjoyable read'.

The title is also the current holder of the North West Newspaper of the Year award.

Editor Jane Wolstenholme said: 'The figures show that more and more readers are discovering the new Liverpool Daily Post.

'This region is undergoing a major renaissance and the revitalised paper is very much a part of that.

'Just as Liverpool has changed in recent years, so have we - and readers are clearly recognising that. That said, we're always looking to improve even further