TWO of The Northern Echo's senior managers have won national awards at a prestigious ceremony in London.

They were among the winners of the Excellence Awards announced by the paper's parent company, Newsquest, which owns more than 300 titles around the country.

Peter Barron, editor of The Northern Echo, won the category for editors for the third time in four years.

Chris Moore, the paper's head of advertising and marketing, was judged to be the best in his field, being described as a great motivator, leader and innovator.

The Northern Echo was particularly praised for the way it has embraced the opportunities presented by the internet, with the successful introduction of video and audio features on www.thenorthernecho.co.uk

Paul Davidson, Newsquest's chairman and chief executive, said the award-winners had helped put the company in great shape for the future.

David Coates, managing director of Newsquest North-East, publisher of The Northern Echo, said: "The Excellence Award is the highest internal accolade a senior Newsquest manager can achieve.

"There are just seven awards presented each year in a business which employs nearly 10,000 full-time staff. For just one Newsquest company to win two of these awards is quite remarkable.

"But for The Northern Echo's editor, Peter Barron, to receive this award for a third time, this really is an extraordinary achievement.

"We are all very proud of Peter and Chris."