10 YEARS AGO

PARTY POOPERS: Prudhoe Town Council announced plans to deal with dozens of teenagers flocking to the town's Highfield Skate Park for drink and drug fuelled parties, organised via Facebook groups with names like "Session on Friday Night at Highfield."

TIME CALLED: The Hexham branch of the Nationwide Building Society was to close at the end of the year, after the company decided the branch, at the foot of Battle Hill, was no longer sustainable.

NO MORE: Hexham didn't need any more hotels, it was claimed - with the notion that the town had a booming tourist trade that would be catered for by the sale of council buildings described as a "fallacy" by one hotel owner.

BIG PLANS: The Duke of Northumberland's plans for the redevelopment of Prudhoe town centre - including a Sainsburys, a multi-storey car park and more than 150 new homes - were to go on public display for the second time.

25 YEARS AGO

NO CRIME: Police told a businessman on Low Prudhoe Industrial Estate that a £600 theft from his yard would not be logged as a crime, because he managed to recover some of the stolen items himself.

NEW ROLE: It was suggested that Hexham War Memorial Hospital could be converted into an innovative care centre, unique to the North-East, if a satisfactory price for the hospital could be agreed with the Northern and Yorkshire Health Authority.

DARK TALES: Mrs Beryl Charlton of the Northumberland National Park gave a talk to the members of the Hexham Local History Society about the history of Catcleugh Reservoir, where 67 workers died during its construction.

FISH FURY: A fish and chips shop was given permission to open within a few feet of Hexham Abbey by Tynedale Council, despite strong protests from the Abbey authorities.

50 YEARS AGO

LIBRARY FEARS: Fears were voiced that local library committee plans might lead to the closure of Hexham's 10,000 book Brough Library in the town's Moot Hall.

ABATTOIR'S END: Haltwhistle's last slaughterhouse closed down.

ROAD PLANS: Northumberland County Council drew up plans for a new road between Featherstone Park, near Haltwhistle, and Lambley.

MEDIEVAL EVENT: A Saxon-type pageant was held in Hexham by local Scouts, Guides, and Brownies. More than 500 youngsters took part.

DIG THAT: Plans were drawn up for an extensive archaeological excavation at Vindolanda, near Bardon Mill. The dig, the Courant reported, would be one of the largest ever undertaken in the UK.

75 YEARS AGO

EARTH SHATTERING: The big guns were out in the North Tyne - and it was a shattering experience. The windows of council houses in Bellingham, Otterburn, and West Woodburn were left shattered by vibrations caused by guns being fired on the nearby training range. One house had 10 windows cracked.

HOTEL SOLD: Bellingham's Railway Hotel was sold at auction for £3,340.

TREAT BOOST: Workers at Prudhoe's West Wylam Colliery agreed to contribute a penny a week each from their wages to that year's Prudhoe Aged People's Treat.

FEW FIREWORKS: Supplies of fireworks in Hexham for use on Guy Fawkes Night were reported to be at an all-time low, due to pre-war supplies having been all but used up for the recent VE and VJ Day celebrations.

100 YEARS AGO

FUND-RAISING BAZAAR: A bazaar held at Hexham Presbyterian Church raised £450 for the upkeep of the church.

SHOW REVIVAL: Falstone Border Shepherd's Show was revived after seven years in abeyance.

125 YEARS AGO

CHARITY EVENT: A concert was held at Ovington to raise money for a villager who had been ill for some time. The proceeds of the event came to almost £10.

150 YEARS AGO

CLOCK STOPPED: The Abbey Clock had been "standing" for the past week. A Courant correspondent wrote: "It really is 'time' that something was done either one way or the other to ensure for the inhabitants of this town, some correct means of putting their clocks right" and accused the :Local Board of talking "nonsense" rather than dealing with important issues.

DOG TALES: Two men were out shooting near Hexham, when they noticed their retriever had what appeared to be a folded up umbrella in his mouth. On closer inspection, they realised the faithful creature had picked up and carried, for some distance, a pair of gun barrels which had come away from their stocks.

BIG SPUD: A very large potato was unearthed at a farm near Allendale, weighing in at two-and-a-half pounds.