The publisher of two major Gloucestershire newspapers has placed 20 per cent of its workforce on furlough and is reducing pay of all staff by at least 10 per cent.

But Reach plc, who publish the Gloucester Citizen and Gloucestershire Echo, pledged all its "key national and regional titles" will continue to publish.

Three journalists at gloucestershireshirelive.co.uk have been placed on paid leave - head of sport Rob Iles and digital reporters Kim Horton and Zasha Whiteway-Wilkinson.

In an article announcing the moves, senior editor for Gloucestershire Rachael Sugden said: "They will be sorely missed by their contacts and their readers and we will do our best to hold the fort for their patches until they are back at their desks.

"With almost every sector suffering significantly, we are seeing the inevitable knock-on effects on all areas of the Reach plc business.

"So the business has had to make some tough decisions, which we'd never normally want to make, or indeed ever expected to.

"This is about doing what's right; protecting jobs and future-proofing our journalism."

The UK's biggest regional publishing group, which also publishes the Western Daily Press, Daily Mirror, Daily Express and Daily Star, announced the measures in a statement as reaction to the impact of the coronavirus crisis on the industry.

A fifth of all 4,700 Reach employees nationwide will be be furloughed with the government paying up to 80 per cent of wages under the coronavirus job retention scheme. It is not clear from what sectors of the business they will come from.

All members of the company's board, together with some senior editorial and management positions, will take a pay cut of 20 per cent with other staff having their pay reduced by 10 per cent.

All company bonus schemes for 2002 have been suspended with no final dividend for the financial year ending 2019.

Chief executive Jim Mullen said: "These are very challenging times and I would like to thank all of our colleagues at Reach for their support and commitment.

"It remains difficult to predict the duration and long-term impact of the crisis on our sector, so it is key we take proactive measures now on cost to protect jobs and the Reach business for the long term."

A statement from Reach said its action will be "subject to ongoing review in the light of the crisis."

The statement said: "The board believes these measures represent the most appropriate and responsible course of action in the light of the ongoing uncertainty.

"All of our key national and regional publications will continue to operate at this vital time."

The drop in advertising revenues has seen regional publishers JPIMedia, Newsquest - publishers of the Stroud News and Journal, Gazette series and Wilts and Glos Standard - Archant and Iliffe Media make similar announcement over the past two weeks.