AS 2021 draws to a close, here are some of biggest headlines from the first three months of the year.
Once again, 2021 quickly snowballed into a year where nearly every facet of our lives have changed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
But the good people of Wiltshire have managed to overcome many hurdles and turn negatives in positives – or at least as many as are humanly possible.
The year kicked off with a warning from Melksham town councillor Jon Hubbard for residents to stick to the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown regulations while the coronavirus mass vaccination programme continued.
Mr Hubbard said: “There is a light at the end of the tunnel. The vaccination programme has started and the amazing people in the NHS are working around the clock to help deliver a safe future for all of us. The best way we can help them achieve this is to stay at home.”
Teachers throughout the country called for ‘priority’ treatment in the Covid-19 mass vaccination programme as the number of positive cases in Wiltshire continued to soar.
In Westbury, residents rallied round to help the family of father of three Lee Tilley, who was put into an induced coma at the RUH in Bath after contracting the deadly virus. They raised more than £6,500 within a few days.
There was also anger at the quality of school free meals provided to children at home during the Covid-19 lockdown, with some parents branding them as a ‘disgrace’.
On a positive note, Wiltshire Digital Drive received more than 500 device pledges to help low-income families to bridge the digital divide while school children were working from home.
But there was a shocking (if not unsurprising) increase in flytipping because of lockdown restrictions at the county’s recycling centres. Data showed there were 3,195 cases in 2020 compared with 2,787 in 2019.
Meanwhile, Wiltshire Council announced it could balance its annual budget for 2021/22 despite Covid-19 pandemic pressures.
There was a major step forward in plans to build a new railway station to serve Devizes, while festival organisers looked foward to once again being able to stage mass events.
The candidates for the Police and Crime Commissioner election in May began to set out their stalls for why they should be voted in, while health and social care heroes were being lauded for their dedication during the Covid crisis.
Former Wiltshire High Sheriff Sir David Hempleman-Adams hit the headlines in January when he and Dr Ros Smith, chairman of Addenbrook'e Charitable Trust in Cambridgeshire, were both recognised for their life-saving skills.
They were each awarded a silver Life Saving Medal by the Order of St John, in recognition of their bravery at personal risk to themselves after helping to rescue save the lives of two mountaineers on Monc Blanc in July 2020.
After climbing the mountain during Dr Smith's first ascent, they began their descent and found a young Polish couple sheltering in an emergency refuge. The man was suffering from altitude sickness and the woman from hypothermia.
The pair helped the couple, using Dr Smith's medical skills, and then agreed to accompany them back down the mountain to safety using Sir David's expertise and knowledge of the mountain, with visibility dropping to zero during the descent.
More to follow.
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