10 YEARS AGO

COMING HOME: The Vindolanda Tablets were set to come home to Tynedale. The world famous wooden blocks, detailing the minutiae life of Roman Britain, would be housed at Vindolanda, where they were discovered in 1973.

KEPT OUT: A 92-year-old wheelchair user from Hexham, Charles Charlton, was forced to carry out his banking business on Fore Street because the Grade II listed HSBC building had no ramped access for wheelchair users.

BODY FOUND: The body of a young girl was found buried near Bardon Mill - although it was thought witnesses would be hard to come by, as her remains dated back 2,000 years - the body was found at Vindolanda.

FELINE MYSTERY: Cat owners in East Tynedale feared their pets had been targeted by criminals, after seven animals went missing from Stocksfield, Riding Mill, Broomley, and Prudhoe - with owners unable to explain the vanishing acts.

25 YEARS AGO

SCHOOLS SAVED: Parents at Humshaugh and Beaufront celebrated as their village first schools were saved from closure - before hitting out at the way they felt their children's education had been used as a political football.

SITE CONCERNS: Councillors granted permission to buold a new bus station on part of the former Hexham Auction Mart site on Wanless Lane and Maiden's Walk - but there were misgivings over a lack of facilities planned at the new station.

HORROR CRASH: A total of 97 sheep were killed when a livestock trailer crashed into the side of the Blue Back Bridge, between Whitfield and Allendale. The driver was also trapped inside for three hours.

STUDENT HURT: A student from Newcastle University suffered serious leg injuries in one of a series of car crashes on the A696 in the space of a day. The road was closed for four hours while the 22-year-old was cut from her car.

50 YEARS AGO

LINE CLOSED: British Rail gave formal notice of its intention to close the Haltwhistle-Alston branch line and the five stations on it - Featherstone, Coanwood, Lambley, Slaggyford, and Alston.

RECORD ENTRIES: Stocksfield Plants and Gardens Society's fourth annual show, held at the village's community centre, attracted a record number of entries.

PLAYGROUND PLANS: Plans to build a £2,400 "adventure" playground at Bondgate Close, Hexham, were announced.

75 YEARS AGO

SIREN STATISTICS: It was revealed that air-raid sirens were sounded 294 times in the Hexham District during World War II.

WATER WASTED: More than 20 million gallons of water supplied by Ladle Wells at Hexham was wasted annually, it was revealed.

ROAD ROW: Revived plans for a bypass road around Hexham came in for criticism at a Hexham Urban Council meeting, being described as an "engineering monstrosity." These plans, which had been shelved after the outbreak of World War II, also included Haydon Bridge and Corbridge bypasses and would have involved the erection of a viaduct at Loosing Hill in Hexham.

100 YEARS AGO

PRO-PROHIBITION LOBBY: Delegates at the North of England Temperance league's 62nd annual meeting, held at Hexham, reported that prohibition had worked wonders in the USA and called on the Government to consider introducing it over here, too.

125 YEARS AGO

PIKE BONANZA: Five pike, the largest of whuch weighed almost 16lb, were caught at a lake in Capheaton.

FEATHERSTONE FUND-RAISER: A fund-raising bazaar was held at Featherstone School near Haltwhistle.

HUNT DISSOLVED: The Bras of Derwent Hunt was dissolved after the hunt failed to find anyone willing to take it over. Some 27 of the hunts 30 hounds were sold to a London man, while the remaining three older hounds were left behind at the Hunt's Blaydon Burn Kennels to end their days in peace.

150 YEARS AGO

PLATFORM FURY: Plans to install a second platform at Hexham Railway Station would make the station worse in regard to platform accomodation, the Courant was informed. It was feared that the busy arrivals of trains would make two platforms dangerous.

ACCIDENTALLY KILLED: An inquest was held at the Dr Syntax Inn in Prudhoe into the death of a man named William Tate. The 40-year-old was killed by a wagon at Mickley Coke Company, and the coroner recorded a verdict of "accidentally killed."

WATER SUPPLY: A meeting of the Local Board was held to determine whether to discontinue the supply of water to manufacturers and gardeners.