10 YEARS AGO

FEARS IGNITED: Vandals attacked the crime-hit Tynedale chalet park at Overdene, near Ovington once again, re-igniting fears someone could be killed.

FLOP JOB: There were fears that a £3.6 million showpiece scheme designed to bring up to 800 jobs to Haltwhistle could end up as an expensive flop, with councillors fearing that jobs were being lost following the creation of new entrance to Hadrian Enterprise Park.

WHEELY GOOD: 16-year-old Wylam girl Jo Noble-Smith decided to take on a 140-mile bike ride using a unicycle. The Prudhoe High School Student was raising money for the Great North Air Ambulance.

FARM GUEST: An unexpected guest dropped in at a Bardon Mill Farm, when the pilot of a light aircraft was forced to land in a field due to foggy conditions.

25 YEARS AGO

BUDGET BONANZA: There was fury at the news that Tynedale’s 47 district councillors cost the area’s council tax payers more than £77,000 in attendance allowances and expenses over the previous financial year.

TOP SPOT: Hexham General Hospital was rated as one of the best in the whole country, according to the Government’s first ever hospital performance league.

RABBIT RAZING: The prize-winning gardens at the George Hotel in Chollerford were destroyed by a “hoard of rascally rabbits.” The damage left the hotel’s aptly named gardener, Mr Mark Gardner, on the verge of tears.

PETROL PRIZE: Hexham man Andrew Tait was Shell-shocked by the news that a trip for petrol had won him £25,000 through the Shell Make Money competition at the Dale Garage in Hexham.

50 YEARS AGO

GOING GREEN: Bellingham Youth Club planted trees in commemoration of the Forestry Commission’s jubilee celebrations, on land given to the village by British Rail.

CAT CLUES: Mrs Sarah Forster, of Beech Avenue, Hexham, had four cats which were able to predict the weather. If the day was going to be wet, they would lie on her bed: if fine, they would curl up on the lawn.

75 YEARS AGO

ALLENDALE CALLING: Allendale got its new automatic telephone switchboard which replaced the old, out-dated manual system.

BEATS END: A policeman, G. Wright from the Northumberland Constabulary, retired after 32 years, 12 if which were spent in Haltwhistle. He was given a travel case for his service.

100 YEARS AGO

ALL OUT: Matfen Cricket club were all out for 14 in their match against Newbrough, who had earlier set them a target of 121. The highest score by a Matfen player was 6.

IRON PRICE: A 17-year-old boy from Hexham pleaded guilty to placing a piece of iron on the railway lune near Hexham and was sentenced to six months in prison.

125 YEARS AGO

TEAPOT TARGET: On a glorious summer’s day, the Tynedale Hounds’ annual pigeon shooting event took place at Stagshaw Kennels. Top prize was a silver teapot donated by Mr J.C. Straker, the master of the hunt.

CITY VISIT: The children of the Hexham Union Workhouse were taken to Newcastle to enjoy the temperance festival on the town moor.

SEE LIONS: A travelling menagerie that called at Alston featured docile lions which could wrestle, box, and see-saw.

MP ADVICE: With the job of Parliamentary candidate for Hexham up for grabs, the Courant had plenty of advice for the local Liberal Party. Dismissing a Mr Costelloe as more suited to urban politics, it advised the second contender, Mr Hudspith, to stick to local affairs. In the paper’s view, Mr. W.C.B Beaumont seemed like the best of the bunch.

150 YEARS AGO

QUIET MEETING: A meeting of members from the Hexham Local Board of Health was attended by just the chairman and one other member. After waiting for others for 25 minutes, they decided no business could be transacted and left.

RARE CALF: A calf, bred and fed by Mr Lucas of Kielder Castle, was killed whilst at a weight of 15 stone 7lbs – a “rare weight indeed, age considered.”

BIKE RIDE: Residents in Alston were wowed by two men from Crook, who visited riding a “velocipede” – or a bicycle. The men reportedly “appeared to propel their machines on the steep roads about Alston with comparative ease.” The men also visited Hexham later that week.

DESERTER SURRENDER: A tall, slender built man named Edward Smith surrendered himself at Hexham Police Station as a deserter from the 73rd Regiment of Foot. He had deserted two years earlier and had been working in the collieries since then.

TILL ROBBED: An 18-year-old tramp named Michael Hanlin was charged with robbing a till in Mr Hutchinson’s bar in Hexham.