Award-winning features writer Adam Wakelin has lifted the lid on life inside the Leicester Mercury newsroom and the reasons behind his departure from the newspaper earlier this year.

Wakelin, who won features writer of the year at the 2011 Regional Newspaper Awards, was one of eleven editorial staff who left the Northcliffe title during its latest round of redundancies in March, which cut the number of journalists by a fifth.

Writing exclusively in the May edition of Press Gazette, Wakelin said the ‘newsroom was running on goodwill, favours and professional pride even before the latest job losses”.