Accessing news on websites or apps is now as popular as reading newpapers, a study by Ofcom has found.

Some 41% of people say they consume news on websites and apps, up significantly from 32% last year.

The figure has just overtaken the 40% of those who say they read newpapers to follow the news, which is unchanged year on year, according to the regulator's News Consumption in the UK report.

Using websites or apps has overtaken the radio (36%) to catch up on the news.

Those aged 16 to 24 are driving the surge in consuming news on the internet or apps, with 60% doing so this year, up from 44% last year.

Some 45% of 16 to 24-year-olds said that websites or apps were their most important sources for news, up by half over the year.

However television remains the most popular way to consume news, although the 75% who tuned in this year is slightly down on the 78% who did so last year.

There has also been a fall in people saying a TV channel is their most important source for news, from 62% last year to 54% in 2014.

The over-55s watch an average of 196 hours of TV news each year compared with 27 hours for 16 to 24-year-olds, while the average UK adult watches 115 hours.

Ofcom found the rise in digital news is driven by increased mobile and tablet use among younger people, who are 10 times more likely than those aged 55 and over to access news on a mobile (40% versus 4%) and twice as likely on a tablet (15% versus 7%).

The regulator said this could explain why more 16 to 24-year-olds said they caught up on news to pass the time (17% versus 9% for over 55s), as mobiles and tablets allowed them to surf the web and apps on the move.

But despite younger people having easier access to news on apps and the web, one in 10 said they do not follow the news compared with 5% across all adults and just 3% for the over 55s.