IN this month 150 years ago, the Malvern Advertiser, forerunner of the Malvern Gazette, printed the town's first ever newspaper.

The publishers of that first edition on June 16, 1855, hoped that in a short time it would become "the means of enabling the Malvern public to supply their wants in the best manner".

One hundred and fifty years on, the Malvern Gazette is still doing its best to supply the wants and needs of the Malvern, and now Ledbury, public using technology that would have amazed those early founders of the newspaper.

To help us celebrate this landmark, we invited former Malvern mayor Whinray Coates to cut our 150th birthday cake.

She is the daughter of Frank Greatwich, former editorial chief of Berrows, the forerunner of the Malvern Gazette & Ledbury Reporter's owners Newsquest, and from 1937 to 1965 the longest serving editor of the world's oldest newspaper, the Berrows Worcester Journal.

Mrs Coates came to Malvern with her family in 1959 and well remembers the then Malvern Gazette editor Joyce King, who regularly came to dinner.

Yesterday (Thursday) she cut a cake made for us by Robin Clarke, of Hanley Swan Bakery, himself a Gazette reader for over 50 years.

As well as the competitions in this week's issue, we are also launching a search for the Gazette & Reporter's most loyal reader.

We would love to hear your stories of what the newspaper has meant to you over the years, with the prize of a year's free subscription for the winner.

Write to Loyal Reader Competition, Broads Bank, Malvern, Worcs, WR14 2HP or email nick.howells@midlands, newsquest.co.uk.