TODAY marks the end of an era with the final edition of the Ulverston and South Lakes Citizen.

Its history goes back to March 2, 1988, when The Lakes Leader was launched as a free weekly newspaper, published on Wednesdays, by the team that also brings you The Westmorland Gazette.

Its launch followed extensive market research that showed there was a gap in the market for a newsy mid-week publication.

It was distributed throughout South Lakeland and parts of north Lancashire and featured strong news, features and sport content.

Regular columns included women's interest features written by Karen Barden, along with television previews and reviews, music and DIY tips.

The Leader changed its name in May 2000 to the South Lakes Citizen, with distribution expanded to cover about 28,000 homes. Regular features at this time included Video View, Poets' Corner and Looking at Cooking with food writer Gillian Cowburn.

For the past five years the Citizen has focused on 'people' stories and has aimed to highlight the positive actions of the many community-minded people who live in this area.

In autumn 2015 the newspaper was branded as the Ulverston and South Lakes Citizen to reflect the fact it was mainly available in Ulverston and surrounding villages. One of its most popular columns has been View From Hoad, where a rota of prominent Ulverston residents have written about the town and its issues. View From Hoad is to transfer to The Westmorland Gazette.

All the staff at the Citizen would like to thanks its readers, advertisers and all those involved in its distribution over the years.