LOOKING back to when the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and popstar Cheryl made separate trips to the region to champion young people and the arts.

THE Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were given an enthusiastic welcome when they arrived in the region on February 20, 2018, to marvel at Sunderland’s new bridge and get a taste of the city’s growing cultural heart.

Prince William also enjoyed a chat with a local midwife, as the Duchess made the most of her last public engagement before having the couple’s third child.

Arriving in Sunderland to officially open the Fire Station, which houses a dance studio, heritage centre and bistro, William was chatting with the crowd when he was directed towards a woman who told him she was a midwife.

“I hope we don’t need you,” he said, laughing. “You are on call are you?”

“I’m hoping we’ve planned it well enough, but you never know. I’ll bear you in mind, just in case.” Kate was due to give birth in April 2018.

The royal couple watched workshops and performances from some of the groups using The Fire Station, where a £3.5m transformation was completed in 2017 with a £2.4m Heritage Lottery Fund grant.

The building stood empty for 22 years before becoming a core part of the Music, Arts and Culture (MAC) Trust’s plans to create a £10m cultural quarter centred on the Fire Station and an adjacent new £8m auditorium, where work was due to start.

Singer Cheryl spoke of her passion for helping children as she celebrated the opening of her new centre on February 21, 2018 – but avoided talking about her private life as rumours swirled about her relationship with Liam Payne.

Asked if it was frustrating there was so much focus on her personal life as she opened The Prince’s Trust Cheryl’s Trust Centre in Newcastle, she said: “It doesn’t bother me at all because my focus is solely on this. I have waited for seven years to finally be here and none of that matters, this is the most important part for me.”

Speaking about the opening, she said: “This is obviously really a heart thing for me because this is where I’m from. I would like to help kids all over the country if I could but I want to start in the heart of Newcastle because that is my home town and where I grew up, and I’ve had struggles myself as a teenager, and if I hadn’t have been fortunate enough to get out I don’t know where my life would be right now.

“About seven years ago I had a really big desire to want to do this and here we are now today with the Prince’s Trust.”

MRI scanners were used for the first time in February 2018 after a £2.5m appeal the equipment was launched for Bishop Auckland Hospital and Darlington Memorial Hospital.

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said they would provide much improved images for medical diagnosis and a better experience for patients as they are wider, quieter and can even display sensory lighting and play music.

Seven-year-old Warren, from Sacriston, was one of the first patients to benefit from the first of the scanners which had been installed at Bishop Auckland.

The youngster was scanned for ongoing tests into why he had passed out and struggled to breath, and without the new scanner medics may have had to anaesthetise him.

Manufacturer Philips agreed to fit the first scanner at Bishop Auckland so medics could start making use of it but, with £640,000 raised at that time, a lot of money was still needed to pay it off and for a second to be installed at Darlington Memorial Hospital.