LOOKING back to the week of July 31 to August 6, five years ago...

TWO medical students from Darlington feared they were going to die after being caught on top of a volcano during an earthquake which killed at least 16 people in Indonesia, in July 2018.

Former Hurworth School pupils Kathryn Coulson and Anna Stevens, then 21, were on an organised trek and had reached the summit of a mountain when their tour guides shouted “run!”

Read more: New museum exploring faith in our lives to open in County Durham

The ground began to shake more and more violently, and the “absolutely terrified” pair took shelter behind a rock as boulders flew past them.

The friends were in a group of 30 tourists who were stuck on the mountain overnight as the trails and bridges had been destroyed.

Miss Coulson’s aunt Victoria Toas said: “They actually believed the volcano was erupting until they spoke to us and we told them it was an earthquake.”

The quake struck on the Indonesian island of Lombok, killing at least 16 people and injuring more than 160.

Hundreds of tourists – including the Darlington students – made their their way off 12,224ft Mount Rinjani after the 6.4-magnitude tremor on the morning of Sunday, July 29, 2018.

The Foreign office confirmed that six Britons who registered to climb the mountain had made their way safely to its base.

Children’s entertainer Paul Chuckle said he “lost his very best friend” after his brother and comedy partner Barry died at the age of 73, on August 5, 2018.

The comedy duo’s manager confirmed the TV and theatre star, whose real name was Barry Elliott, had become unwell while filming a new TV series and his health later deteriorated.

The pair were best known for their BBC show ChuckleVision which ran for 21 series from 1987 to 2009.

The show spawned many catchphrases including “To me, to you” and “Oh dear, oh dear”.

They had recently made a TV comeback on Channel 5 clip show Chuckle Time, which saw them perform comedy sketches and introduce humorous online videos from members of the public.

During a spell in panto at Darlington's Hippodrome in 2013, the pair guest edited the Christmas Eve edition of The Northern Echo, and chose to celebrate the success of the Darlington Salvation Army Toy Appeal, which collected Christmas gifts for 400 children and teenagers, on the front page.

News conference started with a cake for Barry, who celebrated his 70th birthday the day after.

A new addition to a remote forest park’s growing osprey colony delighted wildlife rangers in August 2018.

The tenth year of its Osprey Partnership project brought a late season surprise for the Forestry Commission after staff discovered a fifth nest in Kielder Forest, Northumberland, with the inhabiting pair raising a healthy chick.

Read next:

For more quality journalism direct to your inbox, subscribe to The Northern Echo here

The nest location made it difficult to approach, but one of the parents was believed to be from Moffat, in Scotland.

Forestry Commission ecologist Tom Dearnley said: “The discovery of this nest is brilliant news for Kielder.

"They're still a very rare species in England."