Death on the shifting sands, and the Kelly affair that won't go away

January

The first month of the year is dominated by high profile departures as Lord Hutton publishes his long-awaited report into the death of weapons expert Dr David Kelly and those BBC sexing- up allegations. The report is highly critical of the BBC.

Reporter Andrew Gilligan, the man whose broadcast prompted the inquiry, steps down, claiming his innocence of wrongdoing. His boss, BBC chairman Gavyn Davies, follows and the row also costs director general Greg Dyke his job.

Amid protests that the report is a whitewash, the Government is exonerated and Prime Minister Tony Blair escapes serious censure. However, the BBC undergoes a major reassessment of its news-gathering operation following Lord Hutton's criticism that there had not been enough editorial controls in place to ensure impartial and accurate reporting.

Survival is the theme of the month for Mr Blair, who also comes through a serious rebellion from his back-benchers, Labour sneaking through by five in a vote on university tuition fees. The overall effect of the month - and the year - is of a Prime Minister battling to reassert himself over an increasingly restless party.

Another high-profile departure is television presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk, who quits his popular daytime programme after making anti-Arab comments in a newspaper column. The presenter is to resurface later in the year as a key figure in the revival of UKIP - before walking away from that as well.

Serial killer Dr Harold Shipman, pictured, who claimed the lives of 215 elderly patients, hangs himself in his Wakefield Prison cell.

Throughout the remainder of the year, concerns persist about how he was allowed to kill so many people, culminating in an independent report that sharply criticises the General Medical Council for erring too much on the side of doctors and not enough on the side of patients.

In the North-East, there is bad industrial news as Samsung closes its Wynyard plant on Teesside, with the loss of 420 jobs and hundreds more in support companies.

In India, respected Darlington naturalist and wildlife artist David Green, 53, is shot dead during one of his regular visits to the country. Later in the year, three Indians are convicted of murder and robbery after the incident, which happened when Mr Green was sketching in a forest.

British tennis star Greg Rusedski admits testing positive for banned steroid nandrolone, but is subsequently cleared of deliberate wrongdoing.

Pop star Michael Jackson, pictured, is charged with child abuse in a US court.

And finally... the US scientists who land a rover vehicle on Mars come up with a startling discovery. After the vehicle detects mud they announce that the find raises the possibility that life may have existed on the Red Planet.

February

Nineteen Chinese cocklepickers are drowned while working illegally on the notorious shifting sands of Morecambe Bay. Their death, lifts the lid on a huge illicit industry run by shadowy gangmasters preying on illegal immigrants prepared to work for low wages.

With the political controversy over conditions at Guantanamo Bay growing, many people express increasing concern that terror suspects are being held by the US in poor conditions and without trial. As the pressure grows, five Britons are released following lobbying by relatives.

Darlington police officer Anna Jakubowiak is fined £200 at York magistrates for possession of cocaine. The court hears from her lawyer that she had been working undercover in the drugs world and should have been given more support to help her cope with the pressures.

I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here continues to grab the public's attention, with millions watching Kerry McFadden win the ITV reality show. Later in the year, squeaky-voiced comic Joe Pasquale wins the next series.

Irate BBC staff protest at the Hutton Report and the way it drove out popular director general Greg Dyke. Suspicions about Government motives in sending troops to war continue to dog Mr Blair, throughout a year punctuated by regular terrorist outrages committed by insurgents in Iraq.

And finally... Staffordshire terrier Bud, pictured with his owner, grows bored with life in Darlington and decides he wants to travel, he hops over his 7ft garden fence and jumps on to the first train to London. Getting off at York, he is eventually reunited with relieved owners Martin and Mandy Carrick.

March

Serial rapist Antoni Imiela, who comes from County Durham but was living in southern England, is given seven life sentences for a campaign of rapes in the South-East. His youngest victim was only ten.

Three Leicester City football players find themselves accused of rape on a club trip to Spain. They are eventually cleared.

On the pitch, this is the month when one of the longest waits in North-East sporting history finally comes to an end as Middlesbrough win their first major trophy in 128 years. Having secured the Carling Cup, by beating Bolton Wanderers, the jubilant team parade it through the streets of the town before thousands of adoring - if slightly disbelieving - supporters.

March is also the month when the world says goodbye to two of its most enduring entertainers. Sir Peter Ustinov, an actor, writer and raconteur, chancellor of Durham University, dies at the age of 82, and Alistair "Letter from America" Cooke dies at the age of 95.

The Royal Mail finds itself under pressure for failing to deliver - literally. Large numbers of customers, particularly in Darlington, complain at the new system that removed the second post. Supposed to make the service more efficient, instead it leads to deliveries as late as mid-afternoon. In the face of the protests, the Royal Mail has to bring in extra workers to ensure that post arrives in decent time.

And finally... Hartlepool motorist Derek Scott finds out exactly how generous traffic wardens can be when he stops to ask for directions in London. While one of the wardens tries to answer his query, Mr Scott notices that the other one is scribbling something down. It turns out to be a £50 fine for stopping in a no-waiting area.

April

The April fool is former football manager Ron Atkinson, who brings about an ignominious end to his ITV punditry career. In an unguarded moment, when he thinks the microphone is off, the pundit lets slip an offensive racist phrase about a coloured player. Unfortunately for him, it is broadcast.

Atkinson steps down but says he is not a racist, pointing out that he was the one who pioneered the cause of black players when boss at West Bromwich Albion, when he brought in Cyrille Regis, Lawrie Cunningham and Brendan Batson, whom he nicknamed The Three Degrees. So that's all right then...

The future of Darlington Football Club hangs in the balance as the tempestuous reign of chairman George Reynolds approaches its end. With the club deep in financial trouble, protracted negotiations are under way between Mr Reynolds and potential new owners the Sterling consortium. As the month comes to an end, supporters are still unsure about whether they will have a club to follow.

There is a shock for hundreds of workers in York when Kraft Foods announces the closure of the Terry's chocolate factory in the city. More than 300 people lose their full-time jobs, with a further 150 seasonal posts going as well.

Good news for railway enthusiasts as an appeal launched by the National Railway Museum, in York, raises the £2.59m needed to save the most famous locomotive of them all, the Flying Scotsman. Thanks to donations by organisations and individuals, the museum is able to bring the loco to York, where she later runs trips for excited visitors during the summer.

And finally... it's the kind of mystery that would exercise the police officers of hit television series Heartbeat, filmed at Goathland and surrounding areas of the North York Moors. One of the stars of the show is the BSA 650 motorbike, ridden most famously by Nick Berry. However, it is stolen from its owner near York. The good news is it is later recovered near Leeds. Police deny that a man called Greengrass has been questioned.

May

The month brings the news Darlington football fans have been waiting for with the announcement that the town's embattled club has been saved.

Chairman George Reynolds leaves the scene as the Sterling consortium takes over the running of the club and begins planning for a future without the flamboyant tycoon.

However, it is not until later in the year that the Quakers' finances are secure enough for the club to come out of administration. By the end of the year, fans are even talking about the possibilities of promotion. Funny old game...

In a year of high-profile departures, Mirror editor Piers Morgan loses his job as the result of publishing shocking pictures purporting to show British soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners. The images, taken secretly, cause a massive political storm with the Government and the Army disputing their validity and the besieged editor standing by his story. However, as the evidence builds up to prove that they are fake, Mr Morgan stands down.

In Middlesbrough, Feston Konzani, an African asylum seeker, is jailed for ten years for deliberately having sex with women when he knew he was infected with HIV. Teesside Crown Court hears that his actions have had a devastating effect on the women with whom he slept.

Also jailed in a separate case is popular children's author William Mayne. The 76-year-old writer, of Thornton Rust, near Leyburn, North Yorkshire, is imprisoned for two and a half years for carrying out sex attacks on young girls. He admits 11 indecent assaults between 1960-1975.

In Scarborough, wildlife experts are devastated when someone breaks into the Sea Life Centre and Marine Sanctuary to steal a penguin called Piglet. Amid headlines about p...p...picking up a penguin, Piglet is recovered from a garden in the town.

And finally.... some have all the luck. Musician Louis Spence, 55, of Teesside, wins £25,000 on the BBC's National Lottery quiz programme. The decisive question asks him to name the creator of cartoon character Andy Capp. When Mr Spence reveals that he lives just nine miles from the town where Reg Smythe devised the character, the money is his.

June

A sad month for Darlington as British American Tobacco formally closes the Rothmans factory, which has a long history in the town.

Not a particularly happy month for Labour either as the local elections deliver Tony Blair a bloody nose. On a night in which the Tories and Liberal Democrats can derive much satisfaction, Labour suffers a series of setbacks. The biggest change in the North-East is the loss of Newcastle, after 30 years, to the LibDems.

Poignant scenes as war veterans, including many from the North-East, travel to the Normandy beaches to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings. The vets rub shoulders with dignitaries from around the world.

Former US president Ronald Reagan dies at 93, after fighting Alzheimer's disease for ten years.

Channel 4 reality show Big Brother hits the headlines when police are called to the house in Hertfordshire as a drunken late-night brawl breaks out among the residents. As tempers fray, and obscenities float across the airwaves into viewers' homes, the company issues a warning to Big Brother participants that they need to calm down.

And finally... motorist Frank Benson does what many people must feel like doing and sticks two sets of two fingers up at a traffic camera in Kendal, Cumbria. However, the gesture lands the 71-year-old, from Selside, also Cumbria, in court - even though he was not speeding. He is charged with not having control of his car and fined £100 by South Lakeland magistrates

July

Two double-killings in North Yorkshire lead to a massive manhunt. The deaths occur in Selby and Strensall, near York, after which police announce they are looking for 34-year-old Mark Hobson, also from Selby. After a week, he is arrested and later faces murder charges.

England football coach Sven Goran Eriksson, pictured - never far from controversy - finds himself embroiled in another scandal which grabs the front page headlines. This time, it relates to his affair with Football Association employee Faria Alam who, it emerges, has also had a dalliance with FA chief executive Mark Palios. The England coach survives in his post, but Mr Palios steps down as the media pressure mounts.

There's bad news on the pitch for Sven, though, as a somewhat myopic referee disallows an England goal and the team crash out of Euro 2004 to hosts Portugal. But things don't get any better for Portugal, beaten in the final by underdogs Greece.

Moving on to pastures new is Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson, who is appointed as an European Union commissioner in Brussels, sparking a by-election in the town, which is retained by Labour.

Emerging for the first time in six months is former Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein, who is discovered in an underground hideaway by US troops. Having been questioned at a secret Iraqi location, Saddam faces court - and announces that he is still the president of the country. It seems his supporters agree with him as the violent attacks on US troops and Iraqi security forces continue unrelented.

Movie legend Marlon Brando dies at the age of 80.

And finally... Going for a song... following in the wake of The Full Monty, a group of Teesside steelmen show that they are also in touch with their artistic side by performing opera. The men from Corus appear in Blaze!, a show at Darlington Railway Museum and Centre, having rehearsed with Middlesbrough's international operatic star Suzannah Clarke.

August

One of the biggest North-East stories of the month is the sacking of veteran Newcastle United football manager Sir Bobby Robson, fired after a disappointing start to the season. Sir Bobby, the latest manager to pay the price for failing to win a trophy for the Toon Army, announces that he can go back to being a fan of the club instead. His successor is named as Graeme Souness.

With the Olympics in full swing, there is good and bad news for the UK team. Among the golds are two by Kelly Holmes, who wins the 800m and 1500m finals in stunning style, a remarkable achievement which earns her the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award at the end of the year.

Not such good news for red-hot favourite Paula Radcliffe, however, as illness means she crashes out of the marathon, the pictures of her sobbing on an Athens roadside one of the enduring images of the Games. Five days later, she tries for the 10,000 metres but is again forced to drop out.

Mark Thatcher, son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, finds himself accused of playing a role in the conspiracy to overthrow the government of oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. He denies the accusations.

Rapist Iorworth Hoare, of Leeds, on weekend release to a bail hostel in South Bank, on Teesside, hits the headlines when he wins £7m on the National Lottery. The news leads to calls for Lottery rules to be tightened up to prevent convicted criminals scooping so much cash again.

On the beach at Redcar, meanwhile, 48 young people defy wind and rain to set a new Guinness record, building 16 sandcastles in an hour.

And finally... One of entertainment's fiercest debates seems to have be en settled thanks to a Reader's Digest poll. Readers are asked to nominate their favourite funnyman of all time and come up with bumbling magician Tommy Cooper. Stand-up comedian Peter Kay, the creator of Phoenix Nights, comes second and risque North-East comic Roy "Chubby" Brown comes in seventh, foul language, blue jokes and all.

September

Good news for thousands of North-East workers as Nissan's Wearside plant wins the go-ahead to make its fifth model. The decision safeguards 1,000 jobs at the factory and many more in supply companies.

Locomotion: The National Railway Museum opens in Shildon, County Durham, the North-East's first national museum.

Football legend Brian Clough dies at the age of 69 after a colourful and remarkably successful career. The man who played his football in the North-East for Sunderland and Middlesbrough before his career was cut short by injury, and who went on to manage successful Derby County and Nottingham Forest sides, was widely regarded as the best manager England never had.

Teesside wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson wins her tenth Paralymic gold medal, taking the 100m in Athens, and Europe's golfers win the Ryder Cup in the US, Colin Montgomerie sinking the decisive putt to beat the hosts at Oakland Hills.

Darlington MP Alan Milburn, who stepped down as Health Secretary to spend more time with his family, returns to the Cabinet, saying he cannot resist the Prime Minister's request to head up the General Election campaign. Ruffled feathers in the Gordon Brown camp.

The official report into the Richard Neale case criticises management at the Friarage Hospital, in Northallerton, and the General Medical Council, for allowing the surgeon, already struck off in Canada, to continue working despite grave misgivings about his competence.

More than 200 people, mostly children, die as a school siege in Beslan, 1,000 miles from Moscow comes to a bloody end.

Taken hostage by Chechen rebels, the children suffer starvation and dehydration and when security forces finally storm the building to prevent a massacre, the situation turns into a bloodbath. Many children are rescued but many more bodies are found inside the building.

And finally... For many years, the Milky Way has been a popular chocolate bar but US scientists discover that the real Milky Way may not be far off either. Their research indicates that at its heart is a large cloud of frozen sugar... but not the type you could eat between meals. And in this month entrepreneur Richard Branson announces holiday flights to space so people can have a look for themselves.

October

Nine people die and many more are badly injured when a tour bus containing a party of York worshippers crashes in Jordan.

One of the region's most famous companies, with a history stretching back more than 100 years, is saved. Hugh Mackay Carpets, of Meadowfield, near Durham City, slips into administration, threatening the future of a business which counts among its clients the Queen, the Houses of Parliament, Liberty's Caesar's Palace casino in Las Vegas and rock stars. A management buy-out rescues the 130 jobs.

Prince Harry hits the headlines, becoming involved in a punch-up with a paparazzi photographer outside a London nightclub.

Prime Minister Tony Blair undergoes a minor heart operation but is soon back at work. However, the issue of Iraq will not go away and the pressure mounts on him when British hostage Ken Bigley is beheaded by Iraqi rebels, one of many to be executed during the year.

Florence Cox, of South Bank, Teesside, the North-East's oldest person, celebrates her 109th birthday.

Christopher "Superman" Reeve, crippled in a riding accident, dies at the age of 52 but not before inspiring the world with his determination to live a normal life.

Radio presenter John Peel dies at the age of 65. Britain's oldest royal, Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, dies aged 102.

And finally... Turning the clocks usually catches a few people out each year but this time it causes widespread confusion as they go back a whole week early. The switch is caused because respected clockmaker Smith of Derby uses automatic timekeeping devices which are linked to Continental time. When the European Union orders Continental clocks to go back a week early, that happens in the UK as well even though it is the wrong weekend. Among timepieces affected are Darlington's town clock, pictured.

November

After an exceptionally close and bitterly personal election campaign, George W Bush retains the US presidency, beating off the challenge of Democrat John Kerry.

Iraq was one of the key issues in the election and events in the country continue to hit the headlines throughout the month. Following months of violent attacks by insurgents in Iraq, the US launches a massive, and successful, assault on rebels in Fallujah and the Black Watch are moved into a dangerous area to cover for the US troops. When five Black Watch die, the pressures on Blair and Bush increase. But, for once, home by Christmas proves true as the Prime Minister is as good as his word and the regiment is withdrawn by mid-December.

The North-East is having its own seemingly hotly-contested vote but this time everyone is surprised when it turns out to be so one-sided. With the yes and no campaigns fighting hard to win the elected regional assembly referendum, 78 per cent of the voters reject the idea. It also means no reorganisation of local government in County Durham and Northumberland.

After a protracted and bitter campaign, MPs finally vote to ban hunting with dogs, although hunters pledge to continue fighting for their right to carry out the pastime amid concerns that the law will be impossible to enforce.

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat dies at the age of 75.

Six people die when a train collides with a car parked across the line at Ufton Nervet, in Berkshire. Rock star Ozzy Osbourne reveals how he fought off a burglar in his Buckinghamshire home. Former Darlington football chairman George Reynolds is one of three people who face court charged with money laundering, an accusation which he strongly denies.

England's cricketers go ahead with their tour of Zimbabwe. However, after much speculation abut the political fall-out, one of those who does not go is Durham fast bowler Steve Harmison. The tour itself almost does not go ahead as the cricketers refuse to board the plane unless banning orders on British journalists are rescinded. Under pressure, the Zimbabwean government relents.

High street store Dixons heralds the end of an era, announcing that it will no longer sell video recorders.

Tyneside witnesses a glitzy film premiere as School for Seduction is launched at the Gate Cinema, in Newcastle. It stars glamorous actress Kelly Brook, who attends the premier in a fittingly revealing dress.

And finally... thieves who force their way into a mail van in Middlesbrough find themselves in for a nasty surprise. Among the mail bags are concealed police officers operating a sting operation and the gang are duly arrested.

December

Another high-profile departure when Home Secretary David Blunkett finally succumbs to growing calls for his resignation as details of his affair with Kimberly Quinn emerge.

Amid claims about the politician's paternity of her child and allegations that he fast-tracked visa applications for her nanny, the Home Secretary initially comes out fighting, arguing that he has done nothing wrong.

However, claims that he bad-mouthed Cabinet colleagues in a biography lead Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott to label the Home Secretary arrogant. Then the independent inquiry in the affair reveals e-mails seeming to suggest Home Office involvement in the visa applications and Mr Blunkett resigns.

Human rights lawyer Nicholas Blake is appointed to investigate events at the Deepcut Army base in Surrey, where four soldiers have died, including Private Geoff Gray, of County Durham. The Army says they were suicide, the families suspect foul play.

Cleveland Police officer PC Ivor Jones appears in court charged with the murder of his 36-year-old wife, Maria, at their home in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside.

Ukraine is plunged into an uncertain future as many thousands of people take to the streets to protest that the election which returned president Viktor Yanukovych. Eventually, it is decided to re-run the poll after Christmas. There are claims that challenger Viktor Yuschenko - who becomes the winner of the second poll - has not only been defrauded of his rightful victory but also been poisoned by his rivals.

Most communities seeking someone to switch on their Christmas lights go for a local personality or perhaps a visiting B-list pantomime performer who once walked across the background of Coronation Street, but not the good burghers of Middleton-in-Teesdale, in County Durham. Making use of a visit by Prince Charles, they ask the prince to do the honours and he duly illuminates the village.

The Government announces the merger of some of the Army's oldest regiments. It means that the Richmond-based Green Howards will be part of a new Yorkshire Regiment and the Black Watch, just back from Iraq, will also merge.

Corus announces that it has secured the jobs of more than 6,000 people through an agreement for its Teesside plant to supply a consortium of overseas companies.

A week before Christmas, one of the year's strangest stories comes to an end. Councillor Stephen Gregory was elected to represent Bishop Auckland on Wear Valley District, but for most of 2004 had been living 5,000 miles away on a Caribbean island. He had been claiming £89-a-week expenses while living in the Dominican Republic for six months.

He returned and tendered his resignation before the council meeting that was due to discuss his position.

Weardale Railway bosses secure enough funds to pay staff in time for Christmas - but the depth of the crisis at the County Durham railway means all 36 staff are made redundant before the year is over.

An earthquake under the Indian Ocean creates massive waves (tsunami), which claim the lives of more than 100,000 people in countries including Sri Lanka and Thailand.

And finally... A North-East girl is hailed a "little hero" by survivors of the tsunami disaster. Cherise Watson, ten, of Darlington, who was on holiday in Thailand with her grandparents, is helping with relief efforts in Phuket. Her mother, Trudy Watson, 29, describes how Cherise helped carry bandages and water to the injured.