Journalists at a local news publisher Bullivant Media have gone on strike in a dispute over pay, new working practices and planned redundancies.

Some editorial staff have said that during the coronavirus crisis they were refused furlough and were not paid in full on time, putting one in “severe financial difficulty” and another struggling to pay the rent.

Bullivant Media publishes the Observer and Standard free weekly series covering Worcestershire, Warwickshire and the West Midlands. It owns 11 newspapers and four magazines in total.