From tomorrow, web users who are not already subscribers to the print editions of the two papers will have to pay £1 for a day's access or £2 for a week-long subscription.

Total regional press print advertising showed an annual drop of 5.2 per cent in Q1 2010, a marked slowing of the decline of 14.1 per cent in Q4 2009. Classified advertising was down 10.2 per cent in Q1 compared with a drop of 21.2 per cent in Q4 2009.