10 YEARS AGO

COURT CLOSURE: Hundreds of years of dispensing justice in Hexham looked set to soon be at an end, with the news that Tynedale Magistrates' Court was facing closure as part of a national efficiency drive.

BOILING OVER: Villagers on the doorstep of Kielder Reservoir were told to boil their tap water, which came from a natural spring managed by the Forestry Commission, because it was unsafe to drink.

SINGLED OUT: Prime Minister David Cameron gave his personal blessing to the planned spectacular Armed Forces Day celebrations in Hexham, in response to a question from Hexham MP Guy Opperman during PMQs.

CHICKS NICKED: Nature lovers in Garrigill were left sickened by a theft in the area, when a pair of peregrine falcons had their entire brood of chicks stolen from their nest.

25 YEARS AGO

CASH WINDFALL: It was announced that Prudhoe High School would become one of the first schools in the country to gain technology college status, meaning £400,000 of extra money would come into the school over the next two years.

WALL WOES: Through traffic was to be banned from the Military Road and pushed on to the A69, as part of a major new plan from English Heritage to protect Hadrian’s Wall.

TURNED UP: 42 years after it disappeared without a trace, the Greenhaugh Challenge Cup would again be competed for at Bellingham Show after it resurfaced in an antique shop in southern Portugal.

WELL WOES: A North Tyne landowner’s bid to move an ancient well house from Acomb and re-erect it at his stately home in Simonburn ran into problems, with Acomb Parish Council resisting the move.

50 YEAS AGO

BUSES RETHINK: A public outcry prompted Tyne Valley Coaches to revise its proposed new timetable and retain some services it had planned to axe.

WINNING DOUBLE: Workers at Haltwhistle Cascelloid factory scooped up the top two places in national beauty contest held by the firm. Joan Gradwell, 25, was named Miss Cascelloid, and Carol Jackson, 21, was named runner-up.

CABINET POST: Hexham’s MP Geoffrey Rippon was appointed Technology Minister.

75 YEARS AGO

TRADER TRIBUTES: Hexham Urban Council chairman praised the town’s traders for coping so well during the war.

HOSPITAL HOMES: Hexham Urban Council drew up plans for converting the town’s former isolation hospital into temporary houses, in a bid to ease the district’s housing shortage problems.

SALE BOOST: A bring-and-buy sale held at Allendale Temperance Hall raised £335 for the village golf club.

100 YEARS AGO

TRAIN DERAILED: A North-Eastern railway engine being moved from one end of Alston railway yard to the other became derailed, smashed through a wall, rolled over and ended up in the River Nent. An engine cleaner aboard it at the time escaped by jumping off.

125 YEARS AGO

SIGN PLEA: Alston Rural District Council called for a sign to be erected at the top of Crook Bank, warning cyclists to be careful when approaching the bridge after a number of near misses on the stretch of road.

DOUBLE DAIRY: Corbridge dairymaid Maria Ord, of Stagshaw Farm, took top prize at a butter making contest held at the Royal Agricultural Show in Darlington. Prudhoe dairymaid Mary Carr, of Durham Riding Farm, was runner-up.

150 YEARS AGO

MISSION WORK: The Rev. HB Tristram delivered a lecture in the large room at the King’s Head in Allendale. The learned doctor gave an interesting account of mission work in South Africa, New Zealand and Arabia.

AMUSING OCCURRENCE: At a sale in Hexham, a couple arrived determined to purchase a particular animal, but got separated in the crowd. They promptly began bidding against each other for the same article, much to the delight of onlookers. The Courant reported: “Spectators here began to look at each other in a dubious manner, while the smile on the face of those who enjoyed the fun got broader and broader.”

CAMP MEETING: The Primitive Methodists held its annual camp meeting on Tyne Green, and the meeting was well-attended. Later, a love feast was held in the chapel.

SAD ACCIDENT: A little boy, six-year-old Thomas Gregg, was playing near the third story window of his home on Cockshaw, when he overbalanced and fell heavily. Thankfully, he was said to be “progressing favourably”.

ANGLING GREAT: Mr George Robinson of Hexham was angling fro trout in the Tyne when he managed to catch a 30.5 inch salmon weighing more than 9lbs.