From our archives:

85 years ago

Dramatic flood scenes were witnessed in York, owing to the rapid rise of water from the River Foss, quickly invading houses in Navigation Road and forcing the occupants either to leave or retire to their bedrooms.

A woman and her grand-daughter had unfortunately been marooned, but thanks to the quick action of the police, a boat had been chartered from the Ouse and sailed to the house in a dramatic rescue.

A clear majority of the roads within a 50-mile radius of York were impassable, either through floods or snow.

The LNER Company had reported an extensive landslide on the Bog Hall section of the railway, leading from the low level to the high level of Whitby.

To clear the 100 tons of material which had slipped from the bank and blocked the line, a special gang of permanent way men had been sent from York.

50 years ago

Arthur the television cat caught up in a High Court drama over the dispute of ownership, was taken to a cattery in Essex where he would be housed until court action between actor Toneye Manning and Spillers Ltd had been resolved.

The legal dispute over Arthur’s ownership started with Spillers claiming they bought Arthur for £700 and Toneye Manning failing to return the cat.

Vickers Instruments Ltd had confirmed it would concentrate on the production of optical instruments at its York works.

This would entail 150 workers at the Croydon, Surrey, works becoming redundant, although some may transfer to York.

And The Recipe of the Day according to Michael Bateman was Baked Cheese Rolls.

This egg dish was very popular with the children and quite filling.

20 years ago

Children had been drafted in to help plant 250 trees and shrubs on community land at Sherburn.

The former allotment land was being transformed with the help of a grant from the Yorkshire Rural Community Council.

Pupils from Sherburn CE Primary School were also asked to help plant some shrubs.

The Government had been urged to rethink its attitude to the countryside after rural North Yorkshire took its anger to the heart of the capital. Joining in with more than 10,000 protesters Ryedale’s MP John Greenway had taken to the streets of London, in one of the country’s biggest demonstrations for more than a decade.