Newsquest Cumbria has received a raft of nominations in the Regional Press Awards shortlist for 2020.

The parent company of the News & Star, The Cumberland News, The Mail, The Westmorland Gazette, The Whitehaven News, Times & Star and the Hexham Courant picked up seven nominations across the board.

In the running for the sports journalist of the year award for weekly papers is Carlisle United reporter Jon Colman.

A trio of titles are up for the magazine of the year prize, with Carlisle Living, Cumbria Life and Dumfries & Galloway Life all shortlisted.

The We Salute You! supplement published in The Mail is shortlisted for the special supplement of the year award.

Up for the Special 2020 Award is the Newsquest Regional ACE network (Team RACE).

And the Hexham Courant has been shortlisted in the paid for weekly newspaper of the year category for publications below a total monthly reach of 50,000.

Vanessa Sims, group editor at Newsquest Cumbria, said: "All of the journalists in Newsquest Cumbria have worked tirelessly throughout the pandemic to keep our communities informed.

"We are incredibly proud of them and the work that they do and these nominations really show that Cumbria has some of the best journalists in the country."

Dawn Alford, executive director of the organisers, the Society of Editors, said: “Congratulations to those who made the shortlist amongst an incredible standard of entries, and in a year where demand for trusted news has never been higher.

“We are hugely grateful to judges from across the industry whose time and dedication has enabled the remarkable and varied achievements of those journalists to be recognised.

“The coronavirus crisis has shown more than ever the vital importance of the regional press as the beating heart of communities across the UK.

"It is clear from these shortlists that the local and regional media has risen to the challenge.”

The awards are sponsored by: Facebook Journalism Project; Camelot; Google News Initiative; Amazon; HoldTheFrontPage; the News Media Association and the Journalists’ Charity.

Winners will be revealed on September 16.