It was the day Sussex's daily newspaper was reborn.

A piece of Argus history was made yesterday when the 120-year-old paper was given a new look and name fit for the 21st Century.

Months of planning aimed at producing a sleeker, cleaner and brighter newspaper for the people of Sussex finally paid off as the first copies rolled off the presses.

The front page now bears the name The Argus instead of The Evening Argus and the masthead, unchanged since 1969, has been given a stylish makeover.

The look of the paper has been brought up to date but The Argus will retain its traditional reputation for quality and thought-provoking writing.

Throughout the night the 25 vans which deliver the paper to all corners of the county were given a facelift to fit in with the new image.

A Southern FM team arrived at the Argus offices at 5am to broadcast the breakfast show from a makeshift studio in the middle of the busy newsroom.

As reporters and editorial staff, who start working on the late morning edition at 6am, scurried around, breakfast show presenters Nicky Keig Shevlin and Danny Pike went live on the airwaves.

They gave listeners a sense of what a fast-paced, 24-hour news operation was like and helped celebrate the relaunch.

Nicky, who has to get up at 4am every day to present the breakfast show, was surprised at the number of Argus staff hard at work in the early hours.

She said: "It's good to get out and see other faces at this time of morning! I didn't realise it took so many people to put together a newspaper and the enormous amount of hard work that goes into it.

"We think the new image Argus looks brilliant."

The Argus gave away £2,001 pounds in a competition on the Southern FM show to celebrate a new look for a new year.

Listeners were challenged to come up with songs to accompany yesterday's page three story about Brighton City FC, a larger-than-life, lager-loving football team determined to eat and drink their way to the bottom of the league.

Vindaloo and He Aint Heavy He's My Brother were among the suggestions but the choice was narrowed down to Park Life by Blur, Road To Nowhere by Talking Heads and Chumbawamba's Tubthumping.

Argus staff cast their votes and chose Tubthumping, nominated by Carolyn Southwell, 35, from Bevendean, Brighton.

Ms Southwell, who has read The Argus since she was a teenager, was overjoyed and said she would use the cash to buy new wardrobes for her three young children and the rest for spending money during a holiday in Spain.

She said: "It was a brilliant start to the day. My kids were skipping they were so happy.

"I have The Argus delivered every day. It is just the best for all the local news and finding out what's going on. The pictures are really good as well."

The Argus will be giving away a total of £15,000 until June 30 in a daily competition sponsored by British Gas.

Work starts early in the morning to produce the six daily Morning, Latest, City Final, Mid Sussex, Worthing and Eastbourne editions.

The new look Argus includes restyled supplements, including Business and Evolution on Tuesdays, Jobs on Thursdays, Motoring on Fridays, Weekend on Saturdays and every Monday there will be a four-page women's section.

Editor Simon Bradshaw said: "It is a cleaner, brighter look without being radically different so we don't alienate our established readers.

"The design changes have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary because it was vital the content was right first and, by and large, it is.

"The new look reflects this content, which is consistently high-quality, issue-driven and thought-provoking news and well-written features - all of it local."

Sales and promotions manger Stephen Lowe said: "It is the biggest rebranding exercise in the history of the newspaper and is being underpinned with a £15,000 cash give-away.

"It is an exciting time for The Argus."