As autumn turned to winter the region saw criticisms of the County Council, fears of droughts, a pink barn of protest and a lottery scam.

OCTOBER

A Kendal family got caught up in a terrifying abduction ordeal when a gun-toting masked man snatched their son from the garage of their new home on the Costa del Sol. Grant and Justine Barnes, formerly of Kendal, spoke of their relief after their six-year-old son Ryan was rescued by police after their daughter, Lauren, ten, ran to raise the alarm.

A family day out turned into a scene from a horror film when a swarm of hornets attacked five-year-old Forton girl Niamh Gallagher as she ran through a wooded area alongside Devil's Bridge. After her ordeal Niamh was left shaken with more than 50 stings.

Kendal residents celebrated after a planning inspector backed their call for a green triangle of land between Kendal's Burton and Oxenholme Roads to be spared from development.

Unions accused Cumbria County Council leaders of asset-stripping following revelations that millions of pounds of public property, from snowploughs to vehicle depots, could be sold off as part of a large-scale privatisation and savings programme.

NOVEMBER

United Utilities issued a drought warning after soaring summer temperatures and an arid autumn made for the driest year in the Lake District since 1959.

South Lakeland District Councillor Simon Butterfield came clean about his former cocaine abuse as he championed the need for a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre on the outskirts of Kendal.

Brigsteer mum Grace Nelson unexpectedly delivered in Helme Chase car park when her baby son Thomas made a rapid entrance into the world. Both mother and son were fine - apart from a small amount of grit in the little boy's ears.

A farmer's eye-catching protest against a planning decision caused a stir at Ruskin's View - a beauty spot beloved by generations of artists. Thomas Wharton, of Kirfit Hall, painted stripes on the side of his barn near Kirkby Lonsdale after SLDC turned down a planning application for a barn conversion.

DECEMBER

Builder Barry O'Sullivan issued a timely reminder to festive partygoers after he was banned and fined for drink-driving.

Mr O' Sullivan was breathalysed at Kendal police station and found to be marginally over the limit. A surprised Mr O'Sullivan said he had had only one lunchtime drink that day, but he had been drinking the previous evening, and the cumulative effect had pushed him over the limit.

An 82-year-old widow who lost more than £14,000 when a smooth-talking con man convinced her she had won a huge windfall on the Canadian lottery warned other people not to be taken in. Selina Stock, from Kendal, was told that to free up her 'winnings' she needed to send cash to cover taxes.

The year ended badly for Cumbria County Council when the Audit Commission labelled the authority 'weak' shortly after chief executive Louis Victory opted for early retirement from his £134,000 a year job. Opposition leaders claimed the administration was in disarray, and unions called on the leadership to resign.