The hyper-local site ran 5,000 16-page copies for its first print edition, distributed last Friday at 40 pubs, bars, cafes and stores around northwest London.

The free title was printed by Lincolnshire newspaper printer Mortons and produced by the publishers of kentishtowner.co.uk, London Belongs To Me.

Its content complements the online edition, which has a regular audience of 30,000, and covers local news from the arts, history, music, food, drink and community. Kentishtowner has also drafted in TV presenter Rick Edwards and Esther Walker, broadsheet journalist, as columnists for the newspaper.

The cost was covered by advertising, which Kentishtowner founder and editor Stephen Emms claims sold out within a week to clients including Central Saint Martins College, and Camden’s Roundhouse theatre and Lock Market.

He said: "Last year we had a fantastic 12 months winning funding from innovations charity NESTA and relaunching our site with a GPS-related ‘Nearby’ function to help readers discover the best of the area.

"Our print edition is another way to reach our audience on a different platform, alongside mobile and the website. Our core emphasis will always remain digital though – it’s at the heart of what we do. But with a physical edition, it's a positive example of how digital can support the high street."

His co-editor Tom Kihl added: "We really like the idea of challenging expectations and proving that a title born from the web can still become a physical product by successfully capturing the imagination of an enthusiastic community of readers."

Emms said that the feedback from print readers had already been "pretty good", tweeting images of the newspaper’s front cover and enthusiastic comments about its design. In fact, he even hopes to increase the run length next month, such is the strong reaction to the print edition.