Cambridge News: Paper apologises over headline gaffe Published duration 6 December 2017

image caption The paper blamed the error on "a technical problem"

A local newspaper accidentally published instructions to writers on the front page instead of a headline.

The Cambridge News left "100pt splash heading here" as the text in place of a headline about a "sex lair" school.

The newspaper's editor-in-chief David Bartlett apologised and said it was unclear how it had happened but blamed the gaffe on "a technical problem".

Readers were quick to poke fun at the paper on social media, with some suggesting a headline competition.

One person suggested "austerity ate our headline" as a possible entry.

Another commented: "The 100PT Splash heading... doesn't get as much coverage as it should."

A further apology explained "the headline should have read ' £2m for 'sex lair' school ' in reference to a story printed on page 11 of today's newspaper".

Mr Bartlett added: "I want to apologise sincerely to our readers for this mistake, which happened due to a technical problem.

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

The Cambridge News is owned by Trinity Mirror plc.