Oh God, there’s a 100PT splash heading here?! (Picture: Stuart Roberts‏‏/Twitter)

Somebody forgot to give the Cambridge News a front page headline today and it has made them a surprising hit.

The sub-editing instructions apparently went unnoticed before the paper went to print and and made its way into local shops today.

Can you have friends over - what are the rules about going to people's houses?

The front page read: ‘100PT SPLASH HEADING HERE’ with the strapline: ‘THIS IS A STRAP OVER TWO DECKS WITH A CROSS REFERENCE TO A PAGE HERE.’

Editor-in-chief David Bartlett apologised after the newspaper’s front page started being shared across Twitter.


‘I want to sincerely apologise to our readers for this mistake which happened due to a technical problem,’ he said.



‘We are still looking into how this happened and want our readers to know we take this seriously.’

But the thing is Cambridge News – nobody actually seems to mind.

Front page ready to go? You checked it?

Yeah, it’s good. @CambridgeNewsUK pic.twitter.com/YqazwkQ7ZZ — Gareth Marlow (@GarethMarlow) December 6, 2017

In fact, Twitter users have seen the funny side, with many flooding the Cambridge News feed posting photos of themselves popping out to buy a copy of the misprint.

In solidarity with hard-pressed sub-editors and severe cutbacks to local press in recent years, Metro.co.uk has taken a stand.

Press Gazette reported in July that seven journalists at the Cambridge News, including four members of the design team, were facing redundancy.

Falling readership and declining ad revenues have forced publishers of local newspapers across the country to cut resources and staff.

In August, the London Assembly said the decline of local newspapers was ‘undermining democracy’.

I’ve never seen so many people in the shop all buying @CambridgeNewsUK (and smiling about it)… Who says newsprint is dead? https://t.co/OPKrM0GHbJ — Sam (@smithsam) December 6, 2017

Cambridge News Xmas Party: The Morning After. https://t.co/BqaRvvVzLf — Sara Sheridan (@sarasheridan) December 6, 2017

Wow. It’s real. This’ll be featured in newspaper sub-editing courses for years. And available at all good newsagents near you today, folks. pic.twitter.com/JS8YpuedVW — Chris Rand (@ChrisRandWrites) December 6, 2017

Yes, it's true, the #100ptsplash is imminent. Sadly @CambridgeNewsUK doesn't tell us how to prepare for this event. I have stockpiled straps and decks in preparation though. pic.twitter.com/YzdHQ3y8VO — Alexbam (@HelloAlexbam) December 6, 2017

Just bought my copy of this future classic. Amazing. pic.twitter.com/uQj7hBhCPm — Dominick Reed (@IDrinkLeadPaint) December 6, 2017

You won’t be laughing when you get hit by the 100 pt splash that is heading towards Cambridge. They tried to warn you.., — Simon Barnes (@sibarnes2000) December 6, 2017

Local councils that produce their own ‘news’ publications were partly to blame for the speed in which the regional press was being cut back, the Assembly said.

‘We are at risk of losing one of our most important democratic functions [at local level],’ said Fiona Twycross, chair of the committee.

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‘You start getting quite broad-brush coverage. The investigations into things that might have been going on in council committees and decision making is something that a lot of newspapers can’t do any more,’ Ms Twycross said.

The National Union of Journalists said seven local newspapers closed in London in July, including one in Kensington, where Grenfell Tower is located.

It led many to speculate that had there been proper funding and support put into local press, the fire-safety concerns of Grenfell residents would have been heard sooner.