Toby Neal looks back at some of the biggest local and national news stories which dominated the 2010 headlines

Oooh Lordy. Gordon Brown reacts as his unguarded comment about Gillian Duffy is played back to him live on air during a guest spot on Radio 2

Will he stay or will he go?

For four days Britain was stuck in constitutional limbo as Gordon Brown kept his feet under his desk at 10 Downing Street after the closest general election since the 1970s left no clear winner.

Meanwhile the Tories, who had won the most seats but not an overall majority, and the Liberal Democrats set about the task of creating an unlikely political pushme-pullyou.

On the face of it, they did not have much in common. But the Tories’ promise to allow a referendum on, er, what was it – oh yes, electoral reform, swayed matters.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson, MP for North Shropshire, and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg

For the first time since the Second World War Britain was to be ruled by a coalition government, with a double act at its head of Prime Minister David Cameron (Conservative), and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg (Lib Dem).

There was something in it for both sides. For the Tories, it meant a return to power. For the Lib Dems, it meant a taste of power.

Of course, there had also been the possibility that the talks would break down, leaving Labour and the Lib Dems to try to cobble a workable coalition together. But the maths did not stack up, and neither was there any will on the side of Labour, which seemed happy to go into Opposition after a result which was clearly a defeat.

On the local scene, it was as if the clock had been turned back.

Shropshire’s Tory MPs of yesteryear (with the exception of The Wrekin) could always bank on a return to the green benches. The result was a number of long-serving Tory MPs, such as Sir John Langford Holt, Sir Jasper More, and John Biffen.

Shrewsbury and Atcham Conservative candidate Daniel Kawczynski, left, in conversation with Labour Candidate Jon Tandy.

And then the 1997 Labour landslide shook up the political map and introduced an anything-can-happen element.

Now there is a new generation of Shropshire Tory MPs who are racking up the years of service. In North Shropshire, Owen Paterson was never going to be at risk, but Philip Dunne was returned to Ludlow for a second term with a greatly increased majority, putting paid to any Lib Dem hopes there.

It was the same story in Shrewsbury, where Labour was beaten into third place for the first time since 1992 and Tory Daniel Kawczynski’s majority leapt to 7,944.

In The Wrekin, to use an expression much-loved by X Factor judges, Mark Pritchard made the constituency “his own”. Since being first elected in 2005 he has turned a marginal seat which has changed hands often over the years into a safe Tory seat.

His majority of 9,450 was the biggest ever in The Wrekin.

Only in urban Telford did Labour cling on, with David Wright retaining the seat – albeit with a greatly reduced majority – in the face of a determined Conservative attempt to oust him.

The biggest shock was reserved for just over the border into Wales, where the voters clearly decided that it was time to give Montgomeryshire Lib Dem MP Lembit Opik the opportunity to spend more time on the telly and in the tabloids.

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It was Gillian Duffy wot won it

'And your opinions are in no way bigoted..." Prime Minister Gordon Brown speaks to Gillian Duffy in Rochdale.

The 65-year-old from Rochdale suddenly found herself propelled to the top of every news bulletin and the main story on every front page.

And all after this lifelong Labour supporter had a little chat with that “very nice” (her words) man Gordon Brown, whom she had bumped into while on a shopping trip.

It had seemed a pleasant enough little encounter with Mr Brown, all played out before the hungry cameras.

Gordon Brown Meets Ordinary Member of the Public!

That’ll play well on the bulletins, his aides, and Mr Brown, obviously thought.

Unfortunately, as he got into his car, Mr Brown forgot that his microphone was still attached.

“That was a disaster – they should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that? It’s just ridiculous . . .” he said.

Somebody asked him what she had said.

“Ugh, everything! She’s just a sort of bigoted woman that said she used to be Labour. I mean it’s just ridiculous. I don’t know why Sue brought her up towards me.”

In the context of an election campaign, it went nuclear.

It was a disaster, showing the gap between the Prime Minister’s public face and private views.

Gordon Brown apologised on radio. He went to Mrs Duffy’s home to apologise in person.

For her part, it was not the “bigoted” comment that really hurt Mrs Duffy. It was being called “that woman”.

And afterwards, Labour resigned itself to the fact that, after 13 years in power, it was time to start packing their bags.

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Estamos bien en el refugio los 33 – “The 33 of us in the shelter are well.”

"Film rights and a book deal?" Miner Mario Sepulveda, front right, hugs an unidentified relative after being rescued from the collapsed San Jose gold and copper mine where he was trapped with 32 other miners for over two months near Copiapo, Chile

That note in bold red lettering from miners trapped deep underground in a Chilean mine was to result in one of the most protracted and spectacular rescues in modern history which was eventually to grip the world as it was played out live on television screens.

Up to one billion people watched the drama which turned some of the miners into instant international celebrities.

A tunnel collapse at the gold and copper mine on August 5 had entombed the men, and hopes that they had survived were beginning to fade.

Then, after 17 days of no news, came the note, attached to a probe drill which had been sent down to seek signs of life.

It caused jubilation. But how to get the men out?

They were over 2,000ft down. Never before had so many men trapped so deep been brought to the surface.

In any event, it was estimated that it would take several months and that they would have to stay down in their deep, dark hole until shortly before Christmas.

Food and supplies were lowered to the men through a borehole while, in a belt and braces exercise, several alternative shafts were drilled towards them.

Things went faster than expected and on October 13 all was ready to bring them out one by one in a special capsule, called Phoenix 2.

There was still anxiety as the operation was fraught with danger.

But after 69 days underground the miners began to emerge to scenes of great emotion and celebration. All went smoothly, and the operation was completed in under 24 hours — half the expected time.

Last of all to leave was Manuel Gonzalez, the first rescuer down the mine. He turned to the camera and bowed before getting into the escape capsule.

Amid a sea of bad-news stories, it was an extraordinary good-news story to warm the heart.

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Shropshire heroes are honoured

Staff Sergeant Kim Hughes of The Royal Logistic Corps is decorated with the George Cross by The Queen at Buckingham Palace in London.

The continuing conflict in Afghanistan produced two true Shropshire heroes during 2010 — Kim Hughes and Ricky Furgusson.

They were awarded respectively the George Cross and the Military Cross for their courage in facing the deadly bombs which have claimed so many lives out there.

Both were in the thick of it, albeit in different roles — Staff Sergeant Hughes as a bomb disposal expert, and Corporal Furgusson as an infantryman.

Corporal Furgusson went to the aid of soldiers who had been severely injured by IEDs — Improvised Explosive Devices.

But he too became a victim, losing both his legs, fingers, and an eye.

His citation stated: “Furgusson’s bravery, personally ignoring the ever-present IED threat when dashing to the aid of wounded men, and his outstanding leadership, time and again rallying his soldiers in the disorientating aftermath of IED strikes, saved men’s lives. For his selfless actions he is to be awarded the MC.”

Furgusson grew up in Stirchley, Telford and went to the Three Oaks Primary School and then The Lord Silkin School, before beginning his career in the Army.

He has no recollection of the explosion on January 13 which changed his life forever, but has learned what happened from his colleagues.

Corporal Ricky Furgusson receives his medal from the Queen

After being stabilised at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, he was transferred to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham where he spent five weeks in intensive care and a further 17 weeks on a recovery ward.

“Before losing your legs you obviously don’t want it to happen, but when I looked down and realised I had no legs on my body I was not freaked out.

“In your mind your body knows but, deep down, you are still confused. It is difficult to explain.

“But I think, deep down, if something like this happens you should not be upset and depressed. You have got to stay positive and think about what to do next,” he said.

Staff Sergeant Hughes, also from Telford and a former student at the Thomas Telford School, was hailed for risking his life in the “single most outstanding act of explosive ordnance disposal ever recorded in Afghanistan”.

In August he defused seven insurgent bombs by hand and without any protective clothing so that five seriously wounded soldiers and the bodies of two dead comrades could be recovered.

Staff Sergeant Hughes said: “When you look back you realise what you have achieved.

“When I was there I was doing a job and you are always thinking about the next step. It’s slightly unnatural — it’s just a task you get on with.

“It is amazing to receive the award. In our trade we don’t get a lot of these awards on the whole.”

The George Cross is the highest civil decoration, and is also awarded to military personnel for acts for which military honours would not normally be granted, such as gallantry not in the presence of the enemy.

Hughes’ citation read: “During his tour in Afghanistan, Hughes disposed of over 80 Victim Operated Improvised Explosive Devices (VOIEDs).

“To deal with seven VOIEDs linked in a single circuit, in a mass casualty scenario, using manual neutralisation techniques once, never mind three times, is the single most outstanding act of explosive ordnance disposal ever recorded in Afghanistan.

“That he did it without the security of specialist protective clothing or powerful EOD Electronic Counter Measures equipment serves even more to demonstrate his outstanding gallantry.

“During a VOIED attack, which had resulted in injured and fallen soldiers, Hughes and his team were called to clear a path and to recover the casualties.

“Hughes discovered a further VOIED within one metre of a casualty that, given their proximity, constituted a grave and immediate threat to the lives of all the casualties.

“Without knowing the location of the power source Hughes calmly carried out a manual neutralisation of the device; any error would have proved instantly fatal.

“This was a ‘Category A’ action. Hughes is unequivocally deserving of the highest level of public recognition.”

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Icelandic volcano makes europe’s skies a no-go

"Right, that's the holiday stuffed then..." The volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air on Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Eyjafjallajoekull. It was a name on everybody’s lips in April.

Perhaps not. But say “Icelandic volcano” and every British tourist and holidaymaker will know what you are talking about.

The volcano sent out a huge plume of volcanic dust which led to the closure of British airspace and the grounding of aircraft throughout much of Europe.

In Britain, nobody could get out. Dream holidays disappeared in a cloud of ash.

For the estimated 150,000 Britons stranded abroad, things were even worse. They had no way of getting back, their accommodation bookings were running out, and so was their money.

Many who thought their insurance companies would help found that they were playing hardball.

The volcanic eruption had initially attracted little attention in Britain. Until April 1 6, that is, when, seemingly out of the blue, UK flights were grounded.

And, with the volcano still erupting, it seemed that the crisis could last months.

Although scientists didn’t rate it as a particularly big eruption, the volcano’s position meant it was peculiarly disruptive, as it sent ash directly into the jetstream, and thereafter into some of the world’s most heavily used airspace.

Sensitive to accusations that it was doing nothing, the Government held an emergency meeting and drew up plans to send coaches to Spain to bring back at least some holidaymakers by road.

Many took matters into their own hands, hiring cars (and getting charged exorbitant prices), booking taxis (ditto), getting the train (if they were lucky) and making the overland trek to ports.

But why had the airspace been closed in the first place?

Volcanic ash can damage, or even stop, jet engines. Allowing airliners to fly, officialdom thought, was simply too dangerous.

Airlines, losing money hand over fist, were furious and felt that the ash tolerances were ridiculously low. There was a rising clamour to allow planes into the air again.

The shifting of prevailing winds, and so of the ash cloud itself, meant it was a dynamic situation which had to be assessed day by day.

Just as the problem had arisen out of the blue, it ended out of the blue with the reopening of British airspace at 10pm on April 20.

The opening of all UK airports came after aircraft and engine manufacturers changed their advice on commercial jets’ ability to withstand contamination from volcanic ash clouds. In other words, the tolerances were relaxed.

The total cost to airlines was estimated to be £780 million.

Even with the flight restrictions lifted, there was a huge backlog of passengers which meant it was days, and in some cases weeks, before British holidaymakers were able to return home from their expensively extended holidays.

And what about Eyjafjallajoekull?

It continued to rumble and grumble for a while, probably wondering what it had to do to get TV presenters to have a go at pronouncing it (almost unanimously they bottled out, simply calling it “the Iceland volcano” or similar).

There was some localised air travel disruption, but the volcano largely faded from the British public’s consciousness.

By June the eruption was effectively over, and by October it was officially over.

But we’ll never forget Eyjafjallajoekull.

***

Blast rocks the heart of Shrewsbury

Firemen dampen down the building at the centre of the explosion

The year began with some bad news which advertised itself immediately all over Shrewsbury.

Residents and those out and about asked themselves: What was that bang?

Walkers as far away as Haughmond Hill saw a plume of smoke rising from the town.

An explosion had rent apart a building on the corner of Bridge Street and Smithfield Road — a shop with a flat above. Within an instant, it had simply ceased to exist.

The force of the blast on that cold morning sent pieces of rubble and debris like shrapnel over a wide area. Even the Theatre Severn, over the other side of the River Severn, suffered damage.

In the immediate aftermath the scenes were reminiscent of the Blitz.

Although the explosion on January 3 had a devastating impact on those caught up in the drama, it did seem something approaching a miracle that nobody had been killed.

The fact that it had happened on a Sunday, when the town was quieter than it would otherwise have been, seemed fortuitous as well.

Nevertheless 12 people were taken to hospital, some of whom had very serious injuries. They included the young people who had been in the flat at the time.

Kiley McDonnell, who was starring in the pantomime Peter Pan at the Theatre Severn, is thought to have been in the car park of the adjoining Shrewsbury Hotel when he was caught in the blast and left with injuries which will mean he will never walk again.

There was a sellout benefit variety show for him at the theatre later in the year.

The disaster brought out the best of Shrewsbury. A charity fund was set up to help the five people most seriously injured — Scott Godbold, Sam Devine-Turner, Annie Davies, Sarah Pearse and Kiley McDonnell.

Sam, Scott and Sarah, who lived in a flat destroyed in the blast, lost all their belongings. Annie had been staying the night.

Throughout the year investigations continued into the cause of the suspected gas explosion.

One rather unexpected consequence of the blast was that phone services were disrupted for thousands of people, and both the Princess Royal Hospital at Telford and the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital were affected.

January 3, 2010, was a terrible day for Shrewsbury and the explosion victims. The only consolation is that it could have been yet worse.

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A new era of protest?

Protesters dig in as part of their battle against open-cast mining near The Wrekin

It’s a bit early to say for certain yet, but history may tell us that 2010 was the beginning of a new era of protest.

However the issues which brought people out on to the streets, or into packed halls of protest meetings, or even to set up protest camps, were largely local issues.

Proposals for open-cast mining in the shadow of The Wrekin had long been controversial, and UK Coal’s victory at a public inquiry in October of 2009 was never going to lay things to rest.

A group of eco-warriors fighting the plans to mine 900,000 tonnes of coal set up a tented camp at the site early in 2010. They even dug tunnels in an attempt to thwart UK Coal. However their action did not prevent work starting.

Bishop’s Castle was up in arms for a different reason — a biomass scheme planned for the town. The plant would be a burner which would create heat and power from renewable fuels.

Residents worried that it could hit health and tourism and be a blot on the landscape.

Hundreds of residents attended meetings both in the town and at the Shirehall, and there was also a 1,400-signature petition. However, Shropshire Council has taken decisions which pave the way for the biomass burner.

In Oswestry it was a year of the store wars. No fewer than four planning applications were put forward for supermarkets in and around the town. All of them ran into opposition including street protests and petitions on the grounds that Oswestry already has enough supermarkets. Although Shropshire Council has given the go-ahead for just one development, on the smithfield livestock market, the issue is in the melting pot as another developer which had its plans for the Central car park turned down is appealing against the decision.

Meanwhile hundreds of workers at MoD Donnington were on the march in September over Government plans to cut jobs, compensation, and pensions.

And so to next year, when the Government cuts in the public sector really begin to bite.

Here’s the big question: What sort of protests are in store for 2011?

***

The Wem Ghost that wasn’t

Wooooooooo! It's the Wem Ghost. Or is it?

The Wem Ghost made another appearance in 2010 as the eerie image caught on camera was put under some serious scrutiny.

It began when eagle-eyed Shropshire Star reader Brian Lear of Shrewsbury noticed a distinct similarity between a little girl in an early 20th Century Wem street scene which we featured in Pictures From The Past, and the Wem Ghost, a haunting image of a little girl standing in a doorway amid the flames as Wem Town Hall burned down in 1995.

That photo had been taken by a local amateur photographer, the late Tony O’Rahilly, who had told how he came across the image when he developed his film. The Wem Ghost made international headlines and attracted much attention to the Shropshire town.

Mr Lear noticed a striking likeness to the girl in the old postcard, which was franked in 1922. She was wearing an identical dress and bonnet. However, he did not go so far as to suggest that the ghost picture was a fake.

Intrigued, a computer programmer, Richard Deeson, resized both images and laid them on top of each other and built a website which allowed people to fade out from one image to show the other beneath.

The result was startling — an exact match.

• Try it for yourself by clicking on this link