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Nationwide, there were only two English daily newspapers that did not record year-on-year circulation falls. The Oxford Mail inched up by 1.5% to 25,373, and the Scunthorpe Telegraph also rose by 2.8% over 12 months to 21,278. The results paint a gloomy picture for the sector overall.

The Manchester Evening News dropped 18% over the six months to December, and was also down by a significant 26.8% year on year, ensuring Trinity Mirror's rival North West title The Liverpool Echo replaces MEN as the newspaper with the highest circulation for the region.

The Liverpool Echo was down 6.1% for the period to 117,976, and also dropped by 7.8% year on year. Sister Trinity Mirror title The Western Mail dropped by 6.6% in the six months to December and fell by 7.4% year on year.

The South Wales Echo, also owned by Trinity Mirror, dropped 4.5% for the period to 53,780 and fell by 5.9% year on year.

In Scotland, the DC Thomson-owned Aberdeen Press & Journal fell by 1.9% over six months to 83,947 and was down 2.7% year on year. The Glasgow Evening Times fared similarly, down 1.7% for the period to 80,705 and down by 2.5% year on year.

The Birmingham Mail, the subject of a possible buyout along with 46 of Trinity Mirror's other Midlands titles earlier this week by free newspaper publisher Chris Bullivant, also dropped by 4.7% to 75,787, and slipped by 13.1% year on year.

Leeds' iconic Yorkshire Evening Post, owned by Johnston Press, fell by 5.2% over six months to 61,332, and fell by 8.1% year on year. The Nottingham Post decreased by 5.4% for the period to 65,623, and was down 9.2% year on year.

In a small note of optimism, The Belfast Telegraph remained steady between July and December, dropping by 0.4% to 88,125. The Northern Irish title was down by 6.4% year on year, but remains the newspaper with the highest circulation of any title in Northern Ireland.