AS we prepare to say goodbye to 2023, here is the final part of the review of the year.

Today we’re looking back at the stories that hit the headlines in the Daily Echo between October and December this year.

If you missed our previous reviews published over the past few days, you can catch up on our website at bournemouthecho.co.uk.

October

BCP Council announced it was cancelling Christmas light displays across Bournemouth and Christchurch to save money. Shortly afterwards, Bournemouth Town Centre BID said it would fund several Christmas attractions to attract as many visitors to the town as possible

Hundreds of runners of all ages took part in Run Bournemouth on the seafront under warm October sunshine

Residents were left ‘heartbroken’ after woodland was destroyed near their homes in Corfe Mullen

Castlepoint celebrated its 20th anniversary

A Morebus vehicle got trapped in Christchurch High Street after the driver ‘missed road closure signs’

Poole Park Railway had to suspend its services after it derailed nearly a year after its relaunch

Hugh flashes of bright light lit up the skies across Christchurch, Highcliffe, and Southbourne, caused by a fallen wire

November

Hotel Chocolat and Nike opened their doors at Castlepoint

Storm Ciaran battered Dorset bringing flooding and cancelled ferry services

BCP Council confirmed Bournemouth Air Festival will be the last of its kind if it goes ahead in 2024

Well-known Bournemouth man Gordon Roberts, known as ‘Gordon the Tramp’, passed away at the age of 94

Developers revealed plans to turn Barclays House into a new 362-bedroom apartment building

Dorset saw its first snowfall of the season with flurries spotted across Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole, Ferndown, and beyond

The Northern Lights illuminated the skies over Dorset and the New Forest

A digger got stuck in the sand and incoming tide between Bournemouth and Boscombe during works to renew timber groynes

Organisers of the Great Dorset Steam Fair announced it will not be returning in 2024

December

The roof was torn off a double decker bus after being ripped off by branches in Bournemouth

Wenzel’s the Bakers opened its first ever Dorset shop in Poole

Penn Central reopened as Bank by Nicholas James following a £355,000 refurbishment

Popular waterslides at Littledown leisure centre were removed

Poole Hill Brewery secured a deal to supply almost 5,000 pubs, bars, and venues

A Bournemouth school apologised after a teacher told a class full of children Father Christmas was not real

BCP Council said there are no plans to close Keyhole Bridge to vehicles despite an agreement being made with Cycling UK