This year has been packed full of news with stories in Hampshire from Covid-19 to crime.
With 2022 just around the corner, we thought we would take a look back at some of our biggest stories of the year.
Whilst we share some of our top stories, we would like to take the opportunity to wish you all a happy new year.
Here are our most popular stories from 2021.
Top 8 most read stories in Hampshire in 2021
8. Leckford robbers ordered to pay back just £1 by judge
TWO men who raided an elderly woman’s home and stole thousands of pounds worth of family heirlooms, including a Military Cross medal, have been ordered to pay just £1 each.
Eriks Valants, 23, and Jed Martin, 27, bound an elderly woman to her stairs and threw a pillowcase over her head while they ransacked her house in Leckford, near Stockbridge.
The gang stole cash and jewellery including a Cartier ring, Omega watch, three-string pearl necklace, and David Morris pearl and diamond necklace with matching earrings.
7. Injured man found at Winchester train station after assault
A MAN has suffered life-changing injuries following a serious assault in Winchester.
Police were called just after 4am on May 8 to reports of a man at the city’s railway station with a serious injury to his head and stomach.
It is believed he was assaulted by a group of three to four men at some point between 10pm and 11pm on Friday, May 7, at an address on Highcliffe Road.
6. New Covid case at Kings' School in Winchester
A WINCHESTER school has recorded at least one case of Covid-19.
The Hampshire County Council website has today said a case was reported at Kings' secondary school on Wednesday, March 10.
Kings' School is one of the largest secondary schools in Hampshire with more than 1,600 pupils taking pupils from a wide area.
5. Boy, 11, killed in Boxing Day crash on M3 near Winchester
A BOY, aged 11, has died in a crash on the M3 near Winchester.
He was a passenger in a car that collided with a barrier on the slip road at junction 11 near Hockley Golf Course at 8.50pm last night (Sunday, December 26).
A family from Fair Oak, Eastleigh, were travelling from the Basingstoke area in a red Nissan Qashqai on the southbound M3. The crash happened in foggy weather last night.
4. Abandoned Labrador puppies - an eighth found
AN eighth Labrador puppy has been found abandoned near the South Downs Way.
Last Thursday the Chronicle revealed how cyclist Rob Carter had found seven puppies near Cheesefoot Head as he cycled home the previous evening.
The seven pups were in good health but very hungry and are being cared for at Three Oaks Boarding Kennels near Bishop's Waltham, the contractor for the city council. The dogs' owner has a week to collect them before the city council seeks to have them rehomed.
3. Travellers block A33 with pony and trap racing near Micheldever
POLICE have been called to unauthorised pony racing by Travellers on the A33 near Micheldever.
A group of around 200 people set up races on the A33 London Road this morning blocking the carriageway and disrupting ordinary traffic.
The southbound carriageway was opened at around 9.30am, but both sides were later closed for safety reasons.
2. National Express halts services to and from Winchester
A NATIONAL coach company has stopped all travel to and from Winchester after determining the coach stop was no longer suitable.
National Express will no longer be using the stop at the King Alfred Statue, in Winchester after determining that the area was too busy and unsuitable as coaches have to do a u-turn on The Broadway to resume their journey.
This has left residents having to make alternative travel arrangements, with the nearest stop currently at the University of Southampton.
1. Robbers tied up Stockbridge homeowner in terrifying ordeal
AN ELDERLY woman was bound to her stairs and had a pillowcase thrown over her head while men ransacked her home, stealing family heirlooms including a Military Cross medal.
The 72-year-old was in bed at around 2.30am on March 23, last year, when she was woken by masked men, shining a torch into her face and asking her for the code for her safe.
They then walked her down the stairs, putting black tape around her hands – tying her to the banister – before putting a pillowcase over her head.
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