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After the year we have all had, many people will be hoping 2020 will become a distant memory very soon as we look ahead to a (hopefully) brighter 2021.
But before we let go of it completely, we have reviewed the news from the year and taken a look back at all the front pages we produced in 2020 to give you a round-up of all the stories that made the headlines.
January
It was a shocking start to the New Year with reports of two stabbings in High Wycombe just days after Christmas.
A 19-year-old was stabbed in the back on Boxing Day in Priory Road, while another man was stabbed at the Bowerdean Road crossroads on December 28.
January also saw a major CCTV appeal after a man was deliberately ran over and left with a broken leg in Oxford Road, High Wycombe, on December 27.
The family of ‘murdered’ young father Mohammed Shah Subhani from West London also visited the isolated Hedgerley woodland scene where his body was found to urge anyone with information about his killers to come forward.
In happier news, the Shepherd family in Marlow Bottom raised £10,000 from visitors stopping to look at their spectacular house Christmas lights display.
February
The county was battered by Storm Ciara in February, with the sails ripped off the famous Cobstone Windmill in Turville, power lines crashing down and fallen trees blocking dozens of roads as the Chilterns braved 50mph winds.
Meanwhile, 600 tonnes of rubbish was dumped at the former park and ride site in Cressex overnight on January 29. The culprits have still not been caught.
And Wycombe woman Chloe Haines was also jailed for two years for trying to open the door of a passenger plan midway through a flight.
Other editions this month saw news of coronavirus pods being set up at Wycombe and Stoke Mandeville hospitals, a brazen gang tried to steal an ATM from Barclays in Gerrards Cross and Princess Alexandra officially opened the Royal Star and Garter care home.
March
The front pages this month were dominated by the devastation of coronavirus.
High Wycombe’s Chloe Middleton, 21, died of the virus and her family issued a plea for everyone to protect themselves and others to stop it spreading.
A musician who tested positive for the virus after a cruise trip also shared his story with the Bucks Free Press and we detailed how shoppers were stripping the shelves in supermarkets as panic-buying set in.
In other news, a huge sinkhole that opened up in Sappers Field in Wooburn got even bigger and was completely shut off to walkers, and environmentalist and TV star Chris Packham launched a legal challenge against HS2.
April
April saw a fresh appeal to catch the killer of Janet Brown, who was murdered at her home in Radnage 25 years before.
The same month, four district councils and one county council were scrapped and replaced with a unitary authority – after years of debate, Buckinghamshire Council was born.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was struck down with coronavirus, was also recovering at Chequers in the county.
High Wycombe woman Zara Khan also urged those who needed emergency help to go to A&E after her father Meherban refused to get help for his chest pains because he was scared of catching the virus. He tragically passed away.
May
We commemorated the 75th anniversary of VE Day this month as communities gathered in a socially-distanced way for street parties.
Meanwhile, a man who drove into his wife, knocking her over, before stabbing her 12 times was jailed.
Jose Henriques attacked his wife in Marlow and was jailed for 11 years and four months.
Tributes were also paid to two healthcare workers who died after testing positive for coronavirus – ambulance worker Paul Nutt, 60, and Jun Terre, 52, a nurse at Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
And whistleblowers at High Wycombe Royal Mail revealed fears for their safety after a postal worker contracted the virus.
June
This month saw the tragic deaths of two cyclists, Damien Natale and Coles, in Piddington.
The pair were good friends and raised thousands for charity.
There were also socially-distanced climate protests by Extinction Rebellion in towns across Bucks and Black Lives Matter demonstrations in High Wycombe and Marlow.
Also this month was the tragic news that Buckinghamshire social worker Bibaa Henry was apparently murdered alongside her sister at a park in Wembley.
It was also revealed that scrapping five Bucks councils and replacing them with one cost the taxpayer nearly £10 million.
July
All of High Wycombe was backing The Chairboys this month as they were promoted to the Championship – a much-needed boost in a year so full of turmoil.
Elsewhere this month and BA workers from Bucks protested amid threats to their jobs and urged their MPs for support.
The town was left in shock after a man was apparently “kidnapped” in Marlow Hill and taken to an abandoned pub and beaten. Four people were charged.
The five Bucks MPs voted down a legal bid to protect the NHS from any form of control outside the UK post-Brexit – but said the NHS would “not be on the table” in any trade agreements.
August
William Sherriff gave the thumbs up to photographers as he walked free from court after his friend Luca Skivington was killed in a crash in Windsor End in Beaconsfield.
Meanwhile, A-Level and GCSE pupils picked up their much-anticipated results in what had been a very difficult year for all students.
August also saw accusations from Inland Homes that Buckinghamshire Council built their section of the long-awaited Beaconsfield relief road too early in an online spat with residents desperate to see the road finished.
Plans for an £80 million retirement village with restaurant, pool and bar were also unveiled for the former Bible translation centre in Horsleys Green.
And there was horror among the community as it was revealed a teenage girl was reportedly raped in broad daylight at The Rye.
September
This month brought the shocking news of an apparent stabbing attack near High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court.
Meanwhile, the community mourned the loss of legendary High Wycombe figure Dr Frances Alexander, a former councillor and fierce environmental campaigner.
There were also big changes to bin collections this month, as Serco’s contract ended and Veolia took over with a technology overhaul planned.
There were also a string of dawn raids across High Wycombe as part of a major drugs crackdown.
September was also the month the BFP launched its campaign to help raise vital awareness and cash for the Thames Valley Air Ambulance.
October
There was devastation this month after Zoe Powell, from Chinnor, and three of her children were killed in a horror crash near Oxford – leaving behind her husband and their youngest child.
There were other scenes of heartbreak across the area, with a murder investigation launched in Watlington after the body of 62-year-old Carole Wright was found in woodland, two people died in separate crashes and 11 people were injured in an M40 pile-up.
England striker and Manchester United star Marcus Rashford also hit out at Wycombe MP Steve Baker as politicians voted against the campaign for free school meals over the school holidays and there were fears over the future of High Wycombe’s driving test centre as the DVLA revealed plans to close it.
The controversial Chiltern and South Bucks Local Plan was also scrapped, in a move welcomed by Green Belt campaigners.
November
This month saw tributes to three well-known stars – James Bond actor Sean Connery, Geoffrey Palmer, who lived just outside Great Missenden, and ‘ultimate entertainer’ Des O’Connor, who died after a fall at his Gerrards Cross home.
Further details about plans for a McDonald’s drive-thru and another Aldi supermarket at the old Cressex park and ride were also revealed.
Twenty suspects were also arrested as detectives carried out drug busts in towns and villages across the county.
An exciting new ‘parklet’ was also added to Frogmoor in High Wycombe in a bid to brighten up the town centre, along with free WiFi.
December
This month involved big developments, particularly around coronavirus.
The front page on December 18 revealed the entire county would be going into Tier 3 – but little did we know, the very next day the government moved the county and much of the south east into Tier 4, effectively a full lockdown.
Meanwhile, the hosts of an illegal party in Marlow Hill in High Wycombe were fined £10,000 for breaching coronavirus rules.
There was positive news, however – as Brian Horne became the first Buckinghamshire resident to get the Covid-19 vaccine in Chalfont St Peter.
Elsewhere and an investigation was launched after High Wycombe police officers appeared to swear at and kick a man who was filming outside the police station.
