A NEW editor has taken the helm at the Worcester News and its associated titles.

Stephanie Preece, who is the first female editor of the Worcester News, replaces outgoing editor Michael Purton, who has moved on to a new career.

Stephanie is no stranger to the Worcester News, having started her career as a trainee reporter on the paper in 1996.

She later worked for the Oxford Mail and Gloucester Citizen before returning to the Worcester News in 2006 firstly as news editor and later head of content.

In 2018, Stephanie was appointed editor at our office in Stourbridge where she headed up our six sister weekly titles – The Shuttle, Stourbridge News, Halesowen & Dudley News, Bromsgrove and Redditch Advertisers.

She said: “I am so excited to be back at the Worcester News - where my career in local journalism started all those years ago.

“I have enjoyed every moment of my career in local journalism to date and met so many interesting people and heard so many fascinating stories.

“It is an enormous honour to be given the role of editor and I can’t wait to get started.

“Worcester is a fantastic city and one which I am proud to call home. There is so much to praise about the city and I hope to shine a light on the good work being done by so many here.

“As your local paper, we are your voice so please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your stories. As a vibrant, growing city, Worcester has a very bright future ahead and I’m excited to be able to play a part in that future along with all our readers - whether you read us online or in print.”

Stephanie started her new role as Regional Group Editor, which includes the Malvern Gazette and Evesham Journal, on Monday.