Audience figures for the Times & Star and The Whitehaven News have topped the latest web growth figures for local newspapers across the country.

ABC, which measures audience for the newspaper industry, released its web growth charts for the first six months of 2017, comparing it to the first six months of 2016.

It shows that The Whitehaven News recorded a 162.7 per cent year-on-year rise, while the Times & Star scored a 143.1 per cent increase.

The websites are curated by the west editorial and commercial teams, based at Energus in Lillyhall.

Deanne Shallcross, editor of both West Cumbria titles, said: "The teams are over the moon at topping this chart.

"A lot of hard work goes into making sure our websites carry the latest news and information for West Cumbria and it's great to see that effort recognised with such high growth."

Nicole Regan, head of digital content west, said: "We aim to be the first with news for the audiences we serve. We make a lot of use of social media to direct people to our sites.

"Our brands have a great following and it's gratifying for all of us to know that we are reaching more people than ever before."

Frank Stretton, group commercial director, said: "It's great news that we're seeing more and more local people engaging with our news brands across print and online.

"We're now reaching more local people than ever before and it's very clear from these figures that the communities in West Cumbria continue to turn to The Whitehaven News and the Times & Star first for their daily fix of local news.

"This is also a great reminder for all businesses who wish to reach the local community in West Cumbria that CN Group is best placed to help them achieve that. Well done to the content team for these great results."

Overall, CN Group, which owns The Whitehaven News and the Times & Star, was ranked second in the publishers chart, with a 42.4 per cent year-on-year growth.

CN Group's other titles also performed well in the chart. The Mail saw a 50.8 per cent rise, the Cumberland News saw a 43.9 per cent, the News & Star had a 42.7 per cent rise and the Hexham Courant recorded a 43.9 per cent rise.