The figure comes up against just 70 launches.
New research from Press Gazette has found that at least 242 local newspaper closed between 2005 and the end of 2011.
This compares with just 70 launches. The research was conducted for a feature in the April edition of Press Gazette which identified news gaps – parts of the UK which are no longer covered by professional journalists.
These news gaps include Port Talbot, a 50,000-strong community in South Wales which has been without a local newspaper since 2009 when the Port Tablot and Neath Guardians were both closed by Trinity Mirror.