Always spell out numbers between one and nine, numeric for 10 and over. So eight, nine, 10, 11… But to avoid awkwardness, use numeric characters when grouping
ie during the operation, 18 firefighters with five trucks attended the sceneThe same rule works for ordinal numbers:
ie eighth, ninth, 10th, 11thIn headlines, try not to start a headline with a number, unless it’s the main part of the story. Try to rewrite:
ie Thorpe Park: Eight-year-old hurt in rollercoaster crashAlso spell out numbers when the copy describes them as approximate and in casual expressions or well-known phrases:
ie About three hundred people attended.Millions and billions are spelt out, except where they are used with currencies or in headlines:
ie Five million peopleAlways use the percent symbol preceded by a number. Repeat the percent symbol with each individual figure:
ie He said 10% to 30% would attendWherever possible, try to use fractions instead of percentages. But, stick with percentages if their are crucial to the story, or many different statistics need to be referenced
ie five in ten people in the UK...Use extreme care when reporting percentages. A good example is the recently announced increase in National Insurance contributions. It will go from 12% to 13.5%. That is a 1.25 percentage point increase, but a 10.4% increase.
We say: 50p (not £0.50); £5; £60; £3m (not £3 million); £500m; £6bn; £20bn; £15tn.
In UK stories, use pounds only. In euros stories, use euros followed in brackets by a pound conversion of a key figure. In world stories, use the local currency and then convert to sterling:
The names of all currencies are written out at first reference, with the exception of the pound sterling (£) and the US dollar ($):
ie The Government says the measure will cost £6bn.Always use Celsius, not centigrade or Fahrenheit. Contrary to our usual style with numbers, we always use digits with temperatures. No need for degree symbol (°).
ie 8C, 10C, 42CUse figures and spell out or abbreviate "inches," "feet," "yards," etc.
ie The car is 17 feet long and 6 feet wideBut always use abbreviations for people's height and weight and offer metric conversions.
ie The man is 6ft 5in (195cm) and weighs 14st 13lb (95kg)Most units of measurement are abbreviated: “a 5cm gap; she drove at 70mph.” But not those units expressing distance:
ie He fell 20 metres; we walked 150 milesLondon telephone numbers should be written in a three-four-four formation. The same arrangement applies to Cardiff, Coventry, Portsmouth, Southampton and Northern Ireland:
ie 020 7735 9339Other British telephone numbers should be written with a space between the area code and the local number
ie 01474 814273