TRINITY Mirror has put its Kent and Medway newspapers up for sale.

Adscene, Medway Standard, East Kent Gazette, Folkestone Herald, Dover Express and the Isle of Thanet Gazette are among the titles in the Kent Regional Newspapers stable that will be sold.

Canterbury-based KRN is part of Trinity Mirror Southern which includes around 80 free and paid-for titles and employs more than 1,800 staff. Other titles affected include the Reading Chronicle, South London Press and Croydon Advertiser.

It is also selling the Racing Post, and Midlands-based titles such as the Birmingham Post and Coventry Evening Telegraph. Trinity Mirror is keeping its publishing groups in Scotland, the North of England and Wales.

Senior Kent-based staff declined to comment. But a source close to the company said it was business as usual and staff would not rush to judgement until they knew the name of the new owner.

The move follows a strategic review by Sly Bailey, Trinity Mirror's chief executive. She claimed that the sale would help create "one of the most efficient and modern media groups in Europe".

The review comes amid tough times for newspaper publishers facing increased competition from Internet advertising.

A spokesman from Trinity Mirror in London said: "We initiated the review of our businesses to determine the best way of taking the business forward.

"The review concluded that those businesses in Scotland, the north of England and Wales represent the best opportunities for growth. Our titles in these regions enjoy leading positions in each of their well-defined and concentrated geographic markets.

"Those titles in the Midlands, London and the south-east, while valuable assets, do not offer the same opportunities for the Group going forward and therefore are likely to be more attractive to other owners."

Other newspaper publishers and private equity groups are expected to be among possible buyers.