Just two points separated Dorset Biz News and the winner of the ICNN Community Website of the Year category at the national newsawards 2021.

Island Echo, on the Isle of Wight, scooped the title while we were placed second – and highly commended.

Six finalists were up for the title which was sponsored by Google News Initiative.

Around 350 people from the media sector attended the awards which were held at the five star Royal Lancaster Hotel in London on November 11.

Winners of the 19 awards ranged from national titles such as the Daily Mirror, Financial Times, The Sunday Telegraph and The Sunday Times Magazine to regional publications including the Liverpool Post and Cambridge Independent.

The event was compered by TV personality Mark Durden-Smith who revealed the close result in the ICNN Community Website of the Year category.

Dorset Biz News was launched in October 2019.

We now have 25,000 unique users after publishing more than 2,000 stories online and over 1 million words.

Dorset Biz News, which is family owned with no external shareholders, is solely funded by advertising and has been profitable from day one.

Andrew Diprose, pictured left, Founder and Editor, who attended the final, said: “It was a great evening and an incredibly proud moment to see our name and logo go up on the screen.

“We came so close but the Island Echo is a brilliant website and a very worthy winner.”

Commended in the Community Website of the Year were Cornwall Reports, Hackney Citizen, Lyme Online and Thurrock Nub News.

Full results of the awards can be seen here.