West Worcestershire MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has praised the efforts of a local entrepreneur to champion rural Worcestershire.

And the MP visited publisher Alan Hughes to celebrate his work producing the hundredth edition of the Pershore Times.

Alan now produces newspapers for Powick, Upton-upon-Severn and Kempsey alongside the long-running Pershore edition.

As well as producing the popular papers, Alan produces high-quality books and publications for global customers.

Dame Harriett said:

“I would like to pay tribute to Alan and his team for starting up a really popular local paper which celebrates good news and is a positive mouthpiece for the community.

“I am a huge supporter of the local media and the role they all play keeping people in touch with news and current affairs.

“The sheer popularity of the papers is demonstrated by its geographic spread across the county and I am glad I was able to drop in to Alan at his Pershore HQ to say a personal thank you to Alan and his team for 100 editions of the Pershore Times and hopefully many more.”