Remains discovered beneath a car park in Leicester were confirmed to be those of Yorkist King Richard III – but it was revealed that he would not be returned to York for burial, but would remain in Leicester.

A body found submerged in mud beside the River Ouse at Acaster Malbis was confirmed to be that of York woman Lisette Dugmore, who had gone missing in 2008 aged 36. “We are utterly heartbroken,” her sister Dion Smith said in a written statement.

“We never gave up hope that she would be found safe and well. Even now, it is very difficult to believe that we won’t be able to see or speak to Lisette again.”

An archaeological dig in the Undercroft at York Minster found evidence of a previously unknown settlement dating back more than 1,000 years. The finds included a 9th century silver coin … and a pair of human feet.

York Hospital was placed on ‘red alert’ as a virulent stomach bug affected staff and led to operations being postponed. And members of the Holgate Windmill Preservation Society served hot pancakes in the rain at the restored windmill to mark Pancake Day.

Artist David Hockney received an honorary doctorate from the University of York as it celebrated its 50th birthday. “Many Hockney Returns” ran the headline in The Press.

Two callous conmen, who cheated elderly victims in North Yorkshire out of tens of thousands of pounds, were jailed following a prosecution by North Yorkshire trading standards.

Ryan Richard Lowe, 21, was jailed for three years: his brotherin- law Richard Wood, 30, who was already in prison for similar offences, for four-and-a-half years. Their victims included an 86-year-old widower from Haxby charged at least £72,000 for building and gardening work that was not done.

Whitehall withdrew its £65 million pounds of funding for a proposed £1.4 billion waste incinerator at Allerton Park, leaving the project in disarray. The Department for Food and Rural Affairs said the incinerator was no longer needed.


In national and international news...

…Former energy secretary Chris Huhne admitted making his ex-wife Vicky Pryce accept speeding penalty points on his behalf; MPs voted to back gay marriage in the UK; and oneeyed Dale Cregan, 29, admitted murdering women police constables Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone in Hattersley, Greater Manchester.

Pope Benedict XVI shocked the Roman Catholic Church by announcing his resignation – the first papal resignation in almost 600 years; South African Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius was arrested after the fatal shooting of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at his home; and 19 tourists, including two British nationals, died when a hot air balloon ex-ploded into flames before crashing into sugar cane fields at the valley of Kings in Egypt.

In a blow to hopes of an economic upturn, the UK lost its AAA credit rating for the first time since 1978.


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