IT’S been a busy year on the Guardian newsdesk.

The town has not been short of big news stories throughout 2018, with breaking news, events and announcements being reported around the clock on the guardian’s website.

The year kicked off with a visit to court from The Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown in January. He was banned from driving for six months and fined £660 after being caught speeding at more than 70mph on Hartford’s Chester Road.

Rudheath secondary school UCAN was left devastated by a huge fire in February which gutted the main building. A man was later arrested and charged with arson and is currently standing trial.

The month also had the town buzzing with excitement after the Guardian announced the homecoming of the town’s famous music exports The Charlatans.

In March, the town was in mourning as the Warrington and Weaver Vale College campus in Hartford was revealed to be closing; while the year-long search for popular Northwich man Micky Price came to an end when police found his body at the side of the A556.

A tug-of-war battle between a family of hoarders and Weaver Vale Housing Trust which had rumbled on for two years, reached its unfortunate conclusion in April. The three Appleton brothers had refused to move some of their belongings, which the housing trust was concerned posed serious fire safety risks. They were evicted from their Lostock home of more than 60 years.

The month of May saw two weeks of revelry in the town centre as the Charlatans rolled into town and brought fans from all over the world with them. The North by Northwich Festival featured four sell-out concerts at Memorial Court, while friends of the band including Gary Neville, Paddy Considine and Clint Boon headlined events around town.

Cheshire FA made a huge announcement that a £70 million state-of-the-art complex along with a stadium and hotel, would be built somewhere in the town and become a centre of excellence for women’s football.

The month was rounded off with a terrifying revelation from within a Manchester courtroom. ISIS supporter Rabar Mala was jailed for eight years after police intercepted messages from Mala plotting a terror attack at the ‘Cheshire Show’, describing using machine guns and grenades.

A large fire at TATA Chemicals in June saw firefighters from eight stations across the county race to the Winnington plant to tackle the blaze for almost five hours.

As the heatwave hit its peak in July, the country’s eyes turned to thirsty paramedics who stopped in Kingsmead for a drink of water. A video captured a row between a paramedic and a parking attendant who decided to slap a parking fine on an ambulance parked on yellow lines outside Tesco.

August saw the majority of the town’s residents and business owners up in arms over plans to introduce parking charges on many of the town centre’s car parks.

In September the story of how police searched tirelessly for the much-loved Northwich man Micky Price appeared on the BBC’s Reported Missing TV documentary series; while the popular choice for family day-outs, Stockley Farm, entered administration.

The long wait for a fashion retailer at Barons Quay was finally over in October as H&M opened its doors for the first time. A long queue of excited shoppers were treated to a flash-mob style dance by employees.

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury called for the principal of Warrington and Weaver Vale College to resign in November after it was revealed that the Hartford college campus would be demolished for houses to be built in its place.

The year was capped off with an early Christmas present for the town’s top music venue, The Salty Dog. The pub featured in The Guardian’s list of top 10 small venues in the UK, putting Northwich on the map.