From the killer clown craze to Shropshire's own spaghetti junction and mini 'twisters' - here are our online hits of 2016

With a staggering 51 million pages viewed this year, readers turned to Shropshirestar.com to keep them up with the latest news, from the twists and turns of the Brexit referendum campaign to former Aston Villa star Dalian Atkinson's death after he was shot with a police Taser in Telford.

2016 was also the year that a worker at a Shropshire warehouse had a miraculous escape when he was trapped under tonnes of cheese when shelving collapsed and this year saw the DIY SOS team descend on the county.

Shropshire was also the focus of attention for steam fans when the legendary Flying Scotsman took up residence at the Severn Valley Railway.

Here are our top 20 stories from the year:

1.

The best read story of 2016 came back in May when Ava the dog was taken from her home in Shrewsbury. After a huge Facebook appeal the dog was eventually found tied to a tree in Merthyr Tydfil and returned home.

2.

The A5 really did become a spaghetti junction in September after a lorry shed 20 tonnes of pasta and bolognaise sauce all over the carriageway between Shrewsbury and Oswestry.

3.

This year the DIY SOS team came to Shropshire to help a family have their home completely transformed. Over 100 tradesman and volunteers worked to change to Joe Grafton's shell of a home in Hopesay.

4.

Many of you logged on back in February after a huge blaze at the Tafs timber yard in Telford. Flames and smoke could be seen for miles around. The fire was treated as an accident.

5.

One warehouse worker had a lucky escape back in May when he became buried under tonnes of cheese for nine hours. The man was trapped after the warehouse collapse in Hinstock. He amazingly walked away unharmed.

6.

Shropshire was not immune this year to the 'killer clown craze' which swept the nation in October. There were sightings of the clowns across the county, including this one near a school in Oswestry.

7.

There was chaos as the A41 was forced to close for some time after a lorry crashed into a house. Sadly the house was eventually pulled to the ground.

8.

Shropshirestar.com was inundated with pictures and videos from readers after flash flooding and a 'twister' appeared over the skies back in June.

9.

It may not have been the best weather this year, but thousands of you turned out at V Festival in August and we gave you full reviews, picture galleries and videos from the weekend.

10.

As smoke poured into the skies above Telford's Southwater car park thousands of you logged on to see what had happened. The car park ended up being closed for a number of weeks.

11.

One driver got themselves in a spot of bother in a McDonald's drive-thru in Telford when their Porsche got wedged sideways.

12.

A couple had an unfortunate surprise after enjoying a romantic meal in The Silverton in Shrewsbury – after finding they had been called an offensive name on their restaurant receipt. The establishment has since closed.

13.

In November the EDL came to Telford to protest. Our reporter Sam Morris provided live updates for readers throughout the event.

14.

A Bridgnorth mum was horrified when she discovered a swear word hidden in her child's new toy bought from Sainsbury's.

15.

Back in June was the Brexit referendum. The people of Shropshire voted strongly to leave the European Union in a night of tension and Shropshirestar.com kept you on top of developments nationally and locally.

16.

It became one of the biggest online debates of the year as the Shrewsbury Folk Festival announced it will no longer book morris dancers using full-face black make up.

17.

There was a great deal of excitement as EasyJet owner Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou announced he was moving to Shropshire – with his easyBus.

18.

This summer an irate Telford father paid a £60 fine for taking his son out of school for a holiday in Majorca in one and two pence pieces.

19.

Thousands turned out this year to see the Flying Scotsman as it came through Shropshire sending us their pictures and videos.