100 years ago

One of the assistant teachers at St Woolos School met with an unfortunate accident as he carried out a chemical experiment.

Concentrated sulphuric acid exploded in his face. He was treated with ammonium hydrate and detained at the Royal Gwent Hospital.

A courageous eloper attempted to bolt with a wife and her five children, but they were detained by police at the train station after the wronged husband alerted them to the fact that money had also been stolen.

The jury at the Senghenydd colliery tragedy inquest recorded a verdict of accidental death and made future recommendations regarding the apparent lack of sufficient inspectors of mines as well as recommending actions to be taken regarding the position of lamp stations.

Proposals were made to move the Whitehead Iron and Steel works from Tredegar to Newport.

50 years ago

With Spencer steelworks making its first real impact on Newport Docks, the port recorded one of its busiest years since the pre-war coal boom days.

It had handled over a million tons more traffic than the previous year.

Complaints were made on the delay in the announcement of the proposed route of the new Monmouth to Newport link road.

It was announced that water rates for customers in the South East Breconshire water board would increase in order to pay for essential modernisation schemes.

A whist drive at Pandy parish hall, near Abergavenny, almost ended in tragedy after a number of the 46 people in attendance lost consciousness and were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of fumes from a coke-burning stove.

25 years ago

Building inspectors claimed that Gwent County Council had botched safety precautions at Clytha Primary School after a high wall collapsed in a landslide of mud and rubble.

The head of Gwent CID called for tougher penalties on drink-induced thugs who were being blamed for a sharp climb in violent crimes in the county.

Newport ratepayers were hit by the biggest rise for 15 years with the average bill rising from £350 to £400 per annum, an increase more than twice the rate of inflation.

A series of four accidents took place in thick fog near the Severn Bridge. The pile-ups involved 37 vehicles with one fatality and 18 further people injured.