10 Years Ago

Fire Furore: Concerned school governors, parents and councillors expressed their disbelief over the handling of a planning application that proposed a new fire station within metres of Prudhoe West First School. It emerged that the school was not informed in advance about the plans.

Holiday Hub: A developer lodged an appeal against the refusal of planning permission for what was described as a Centre Parcs-style holiday village at Langley. The ambitious scheme proposed holiday units, a swimming pool, shops, sports facilities and a bar.

Free Parking: Hexham residents and visitors were set to be able to park in the town centre for free, under a pioneering disc parking scheme. There was resentment throughout Tynedale that people had to pay in Hexham, while parking was free in other parts of Northumberland.

Generous Donations: A Tynedale aid worker took urgently needed medical supplies to a hospital inundated by patients following the Haiti earthquake. Mercy trucks founder, Roy Dixon, was preparing to travel to the stricken country with vital water purification kits, medical supplies and orthopaedic equipment.

Old Age: Rickety Wark Bridge was set to be inspected by the county council highways department. The North Tyne crossing had begun to look dilapidated and rust-streaked.

25 Years Ago

Mine Protests: Economic and environmental interests clashed at Allendale over a bid to mine for opencast coal at a beauty spot on Stublick Moor and put heavy traffic onto local roads. The three-year operation would see 215,000 tonnes of coal extracted on 163-acre site.

Rising Rates: Anger erupted across Tynedale following the revelation that business rates in the district were likely to rise steeply over the coming year. Business people said they will be cut back by the new rates, with some not able to afford them, leading to more shops and businesses being forced to close.

Witness Misery: A couple who claimed their lives were made a misery as a result of helping the police investigate a Hexham murder case won the latest round in their fight for compensation.

Lottery Luck: A Tynedale woman’s gamble on the national lottery paid off - when she scooped £134,475. The five winning numbers netted the 35-year-old’s Tynedale’s biggest win since the country’s biggest gambling event took off the previous year.

Petty Fine: Allowing his pet Rottweiler out in public without a collar cost a Prudhoe man £15 when he was fined by Tynedale magistrates. An environmental officer followed the dog back to its house, but the owner denied owning the dog, and when asked for his name the man replied: “Humpty Dumpty.”

50 Years Ago

Candidacy Controversy: A Prudhoe man chosen as a prospective district councillor withdrew his candidacy, saying he had known nothing about being chosen until he saw an article on it in the Courant.

MP Accident: Then Hexham MP Geoffrey Rippon was knocked down by a taxi in Paris and sustained a broken wrist.

Tarset Expolsion: A 10-year-old Tarset boy and his mother were taken by sledge to an ambulance three miles away following an explosion at their home.

Enormous Eggs: A hen belonging to Arthur Summersby, of Fourstones, laid five four-ounce eggs.

Bridge Bid: Northumberland County Council announced that it intended buying Ovingham Bridge for £5,500 from its owners and removing the toll.

75 Years Ago

War Trophies: Bellingham parish councillors were divided about the War Office trophies committee’s offer to let the village have enemy machine-guns, rifles, mortars, grenade-throwers, bayonets and helmets. Previous offers such offers had been rejected, but this time around the council was split down the middle.

Fishmonger Fined: A Hexham fishmonger was fined five shillings for leaving three large fish-boxes on the pavement in Priestpopple and thus obstructing pedestrians.

100 Years Ago

Serve Up: At Hexham Petty Session, John Joseph Shield, a former landlord of Haydon Bridge’s general Havelock Inn, was cleared of serving drinks there during prohibited hours on New Year’s Day. Mr Shield told the court that the people he had been supplying with drinks were first-footing friends of his, not customers.

125 Years Ago

Accidental Death: An inquest was held at Chesterwood, near Haydon bridge, upon the body of a nine-year-old girl. While engaged in making a fire, she accidentally set fire to her night dress. She died a few days later.