LOOKING back to the week that was December 2 to December 8, fifteen years ago...

UP to 4,000 people across the Tees Valley were set to lose their jobs as a result of Corus' decision to close its Redcar plant, The Northern Echo revealed in December 2009.

The devastating ripple effect of the announcement was disclosed in figures released to the Echo that showed the mothballing of Teesside Cast Products (TCP) would suck up to £200m out of the local economy in the following year of 2010.

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The Redcar Blast Furnace, Lackenby steelworks and South Bank Coke Ovens would cease operating at the end of January 2010, putting 1,700 people out of work immediately.

A union leader said workers were heartbroken. Redcar MP Vera Baird said it was a gut wrenching disappointment, while the Corus chief executive condemned the appalling and unethical behaviour of former business partners for driving the plant to the wall.

Youngsters had a taste of Hollywood-style stardom after a movie they made proved a hit with competition judges, in December 2009.

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Their three-minute animated film about First World War soldiers took two top awards at the Encounters Short Film Festival.

Kell Bank CE Primary School, in Fearby, near Masham, North Yorkshire, was a winner in the Fresh Flix category – taking both the 12 years and under award and the audience award.

Their production, The Leeds Pals, was about the Great War soldiers who had a training camp in Colsterdale, just a few miles from the school.

It was entered into the festival by David Bunting, an animator who has worked with the award-winning Nick Park on projects such as Shaun the Sheep.

All 26 pupils at the school worked on the film, drawing and cutting out hundreds of soldiers, a train and countryside. They also sang a song that featured in the film.

A pupil who picked up litter after school every day rewarded for his efforts by a Darlington mayor.

Brandon Holloway, a pupil at Mount Pleasant School, conducted his clean-up round the school grounds in his own time, to help keep the area looking tidy.

Brandon was given a ride on a road sweeper, swimming vouchers for the Dolphin Centre and some litter-picking equipment.