The Ham&High's historic first Readers' Edition, published last May, has won a Gold award at last night's Newspaper Society awards. The UK-wide award was for outstanding content, and the judges decided the Readers' Edition was a clear winner

The Ham&High's historic first Readers' Edition, published last May, has won a Gold award at last night's Newspaper Society awards.

The UK-wide award was for outstanding content, and the judges decided the Readers' Edition was a clear winner despite hot competition from daily titles including the Aberdeen Press & Journal, the Western Morning News and Yorkshire Evening Post.

The 28-page Readers' Edition was launched to coincide with Local Newspaper Week in May 2007 and more than 100 contributions were received - so many that almost half had to be excluded because of pressure on space.

Ham&High editor Geoff Martin said: ''We received a huge number of submissions, from in-depth articles on controversial subjects like parking, planning and the environment, to book and theatre reviews, cartoons, poems and even crosswords. The edition proved just what a diverse and talented community the Ham&High serves.

''Other newspaper editors in every part of the country have told me they are now looking at producing their own readers' edition, but they will do well to match the quality of content provided by Ham&High readers. ''

Another Archant London title, the Willesden and Brent Times, won the Gold Award for weekly newspaper Scoop of the Year with its campaign for the release of an innocent man detained at Guantanamo Bay.

The Circulation, Editorial and Promotional Awards event was staged at Crewe Hall in Cheshire.

The Newspaper Society represents and promotes the interests of Britain's regional and local press. It was founded in 1836 and is believed to be the oldest publishers' association in the world.