We look back on the last 12 months as our Costa Blanca south edition celebrates its first birthday

IT is a particularly sweet landmark.

Against the odds, our youngest edition – Costa Blanca south/Murcia – has made it to its first anniversary.

Launched in November last year, we couldn’t have picked a more testing time as our fifth edition creaked its way through a difficult winter into an agonising Spring and traumatic Summer.

But we held it together and over 26 issues we managed to bring the region’s expats a range of investigative stories, features and even the odd campaign.

Highlights included the expat group formed to tackle squatters to the Brit who beat COVID-19 twice, and from a probe into motoring conman Simon Davies to the scandal of charity shops having to pay IVA.

Then there were the floods, the sad case of pensioner Philip Pearce and the capture of Britain’s Most Wanted Louis Robinson in Murcia.

All in all, we would not have been able to do all that without you, our readers. 

Thanks to your commitment, civility and courage in talking to us we can report accurately on what is happening out there every issue.

Launching a paper in the middle of winter, then going on to battle the twin challenges of a global pandemic and Brexit may have been a struggle – but we have enjoyed every minute of it. 

Here’s to the next year and beyond!