Over the last 12 months we’ve had more than 1.4 million page views on Richmondshire Today which proves one thing.
People sometimes say that the sense of community is dying. We disagree. We only post stories about our local communities and they are generally only of interest to those who live and work in them.
So we think all those page views show that people care very much about their Richmondshire towns and villages.
In 2017 there’s been some sad stories, some joyous stories and some quite frankly rather daft stories.
Here is a list of the top ten most read articles for 2017 in descending order:
10. In November late-night drinkers in Leyburn came out from the town’s pub to find a car had overturned in the market place, after hitting the former HSBC bank and a lingerie shop. Police are still investigating the incident, Richmondshire Today understands.
To read the full story click here.
9. Back in March heavy snow caused problems for drivers across Richmondshire. The A66 was shut leaving drivers stranded, while drifting snow blocked the Newby Head Pass between Hawes and Ingleton.
To read the full story click here.
8. There was sad news in April when former soldier 34-year-old Craig Guy was stabbed to death at The Beacon in Catterick Garrison. Ian Bevan McLaughlin, 52, of Marne Road, Catterick Garrison, was charged with Mr Guy’s murder.
However, McLaughlin’s plea to a lesser charge of manslaughter was later accepted by prosecutors at Teesside Crown Court. The court heard that Mr Guy had dared his friend McLaughlin to stab him.
Click here to read the full story.
7. Perhaps the strangest story of 2017 occurred in January when a young man living in Leyburn went on the run for minor motoring offences. A major search was launched with police dogs and helicopters used. However the fugitive, JJ McMenamin, was not found.
He later taunted police on social media wearing a Where’s Wally costume and declared himself the hide and seek champion. He eventually handed himself in at a police station while filming live on Facebook and with a national newspaper in tow.
The Richmondshire Today version of the story is missing due to technical issues but here’s the Daily Telegreph’s version of our article.
6. At number six on the list is a tragic story from earlier this week when a man sadly died in an accident on Range Road, Catterick Garrison. The collision involved a white Citroen Van and a silver Daihatsu Terios. The driver of the Daihatsu was killed in the collision.
To read story click here.
5. On June 2 the emergency services were called to a poorly child in Colburn. There was obviously huge concern in the community about the child’s health. This story is here. It was great later in the year to be able to report that baby Mia had made a full recovery after suffering a chest infection and being rushed to hospital in an air ambulance. Read this story here.
4. The A1 upgrade from Leeming to Barton was supposed to be finished by now. But in April we heard the work had been delayed, partly because of the extensive archaeological finds discovered along the route
From Roman shoes and keys, to a rare amber figurine and the most northerly example of coin production ever found in Europe, Archaeologists discovered a range of Roman objects during the upgrade work.
Read more here.
3. In May, the horse racing community was saddened to hear of the death of Melsonby trainer Alan Swinbank.
The trainer’s death was announced this on social media and tributes were quickly paid on twitter to the 62-year-old.
Read some of the tributes here.
2. There was further sad news in May with the death of Dani Khan, 19, from Middlesbrough, who died after getting into trouble at Wain Wath falls on the River Swale.
Friends told how Dani jumped into the water despite not being able to swim, possibly not realising how deep it the Swale was at that point.
Read the full story here.
1. And the most read story of 2017 is.. the great Catterick Garrison contaminated water incident. Except it wasn’t contaminated, although concerns that it was prompted panic buying of bottled water for one evening back in May.
CarillionAmey, which manages and maintains housing for the Ministry of Defence, initially advised residents to use only bottled water for drinking amid fears it had been contaminated.
The issue caused widespread concern among residents in Catterick who reported feeling unwell after drinking the water.
Some said the water in their tap has had a funny smell or taste.
Others say their pets have been unwell in recent days or have refused to drink water left out for them.
Residents offered on social media to collect bottled water for those unable to travel to Tesco or allow people to fill up bottles with their Yorkshire Water-supplied water.
However, Severn Trent later said the water had been tested and was fine.
Investigations were launched over who prompted the panic. The outcome of the investigation were never made public although Richmondshire Today understands it may just have been a call centre handler who got a bit carried away!
To read the full story click here.
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Thank you for all these stories and for keeping us up to date. I wish the D and S was as interested in
Richmondshire. We hardly get a mention. Well done Richmondshire Today!