Sales of the Gravesend and Dartford Messengers went up by 0.9 per cent in the first half of this year.

It's a great achievement given it was the only fully paid-for title in the UK to register a circulation increase during this period, compared with 2012.

Average weekly sales of the paper during this six months was 5,146.

With our expanding website, twitter followers, Facebook friends and 23,134 copies of the free Messenger Extra going out to homes across the area each week, it means we're got Gravesend and Dartford covered.

Editor Bob Bounds said: "These figures are proof that there's a great demand for good local newspaper journalism in Gravesend, Dartford and the surrounding villages.

"They are also a testament to the terrific work of our team who are thoroughly committed to serving our readers with quality content every week."

Our countrywide website KentOnline is also the UK's fastest growing regional news network.