Summer headlines includes a proposed off-road ban in the Lake District, an influx of cocklers to Morecambe Bay and a heatwave across the country.

JULY

Bomb disposal experts had to be called to detonate unexploded WWII flares found on Windermere's lake bed.

Cockle-beds along the Furness coastline were mobbed by gangs of cocklers, prompting fears that over-exploitation could ruin the resource.

Alisha, a Sumatran tiger, arrived at the Dalton Zoo to take part in a breeding programme designed to restore the species to health after the world population fell to just 350.

AUGUST

The long, hot summer reached a peak in August with temperatures reaching record levels for the area. Visitors and locals alike headed for the cool waters of Windermere and other lakes but the heatwave caused problems on the railways and warnings of drought.

August also brought a bumper crop of A-level and GCSE results for students.

Off-roaders saw red when the Lake District National Park Authority included plans for a blanket ban on the sport in its management plan.

Revellers at a vintage vehicle day at Holker Hall stepped back in time to relive the 1970s to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the event.

SEPTEMBER

Show season culminated in a successful Westmorland County Show with a record number of visitors.

A religious group caused a furore in the village of Mealbank near Kendal with plans for a re-habilitation centre for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics. South Lakeland District Council denied planning permission for the scheme - the Cenacolo group may yet appeal the council's decision.

Generous Gazette readers put their hands in their pockets to help buy a new quad bike for six-year-old Tom Anderson. Tom needed a quad bike to get around while he recovers from Pethes disease. Heartless thieves had stolen his first quad bike.