100 years ago

The annual fancy dress ball at Newport Mental Hospital, Caerleon, was planned for New Year’s Eve with music to be provided by the hospital band.

A Newport daughter sued her father for the return of her money after she discovered that wages that she was sending home to be deposited in her Post Office savings account were in fact being spent.

The Newport tram service was interrupted when a wagon loaded with timber lost its load on Newport Bridge after the front axle of the wagon broke in two.

A third child in as many weeks died of scalding, after he accidentally hit a pan of boiling water over himself whilst giving his mother a hug. He was taken to the Royal Gwent Hospital but was unable to survive his injuries.

50 years ago

A narrow ledge saved a 16-year-old Tutshill boy from falling 200 feet to the bottom of Wintour’s Leap after an attempt to climb the rock face failed.

A suggestion was made by the chairman of Magor and St Mellons Rural Council that they consider building houses specifically for sale rather than for rent.

More than 7,000 secondary schoolchildren in Newport were warned against the perils of smoking during a special campaign lasting a fortnight.

Street lights were supposed to have been left on all night in the Pontypool area for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but because of a breakdown in communication, revellers had to make their way home in darkness on both occasions.

25 years ago

Newport Borough Council planned to scrap its housing waiting list and merely offer homes to crisis families as the government prepared to pass a housing bill that would put the responsibility for rented homes on to housing associations.

Violent clashes turned New Year’s day into mayhem in Newport and Tredegar as drunken revellers turned on police who were trying to keep order.

Newport centre saw in the New Year with a concert by Gary Glitter.

Jubilant Cwmcarn residents won their battle against the storage of radioactive waste in the village after BT were refused permission to store tritium light devices at their factory.