Readers helped paralysed Rachel Coxon buy a specially-adapted wheelchair after the Journal publicised her cause. DA4199P1Jill Harding looks at the role played by today's Journal

BIRTHDAYS should always be special occasions and as the Salisbury Journal enters its 275th year we are getting ready for some serious celebrations.

All year we will be running a host of competitions, features and special items highlighting key moments in our long and prestigious past.

Your Journal is Britain's third oldest weekly newspaper and we are proud that in over 14,300 issues we have brought you all the news from Salisbury and the surrounding area.

But producing a local paper is not just about reporting news and events.

We are here to campaign for local causes, support community initiatives and give our readers a voice as well.

Current campaigns include supporting the Ace of Hearts Appeal, which has raised hundreds of thousands of pounds to help build a cardiac unit at Salisbury District Hospital, our Christmas collection that provides hundreds of gifts to those who are less fortunate, and fundraising for Rachel Coxon's chin-controlled wheelchair, where your generosity has given a paralysed woman hope for a brighter future.

The Journal team endeavours to reflect the diverse community we live in with specialist pages dedicated to rural affairs, business news, the armed forces, women's issues and church matters.

More than 3,500 of our younger readers are members of the Journal Gang, and our Grapevine page and arts sections cover the wide range of entertainment and cultural activities on offer in Salisbury's many venues.

The Salisbury district has seen many changes over the centuries and not a year goes by without new employment opportunities, housing developments and leisure activities opening up.

But for the last 275 years the Salisbury Journal has been on hand to keep you up to date with all the important news and events - and that is something we intend to do for many years to come.