JANUARY

• SWIMMERS braved the cold to start the New Year with a dip in the sea at the Lyme Regis Lunge.

• DORSET was bombarded by a vicious storm which saw dramatic waves hit the coastline at West Bay and Lyme Regis.

• A CHRONICALLY ill mum defied the odds by performing her debut album live.

Chloe Evans-Lippett suffers from hypermobility syndrome that’s left her wheelchair dependent, in constant pain with hips that dislocate up to 11 times a day, arthritis and short-term memory loss.

FEBRUARY

• BEAMINSTER St Mary’s School became an academy following a year of uncertainty.

• A WEST Dorset mother told of her anguish after her son suffered devastating injuries in a terrifying 12,000-feet skydiving accident.

Ellie Harrison, originally from Lyme Regis, but now living in Bridport, was told her son Ben Cornick plunged into a parked van after his parachute broke during a routine skydive in Fiji.

MARCH

• SPORT Relief 2014 put West Dorset legs through their paces – and raised thousands towards the national total.

The Bridport Mile took place at St Mary’s School, with runners of all ages taking part in the fun event – in sports gear or fancy dress.

• LYME Regis and West Bay coastguards saved the life of a terrified teenage boy left dangling over a 150ft cliff in Charmouth.

The 17-year-old youngster was hanging on by his fingertips after sliding 40ft down the cliff in a bid to rescue his bulldog Rio after it ran over the edge.

• A CASH machine was stolen as a West Dorset post office was ram-raided.

Thieves drove a vehicle into the front of the Orchard Way post office in Mosterton, near Beaminster, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage and making off with an ATM machine containing cash.

APRIL

• THE WATCH House Café at West Bay employed a falconer to deter seagulls harassing customers.

Staff saw one swallow a whole soup spoon and another one who likes to take tea pots off the table and take them into the sea.

• A SECOND World War hand grenade sparked a huge security scare after a beachgoer found it and carried it to a nearby tourist attraction – the Charmouth Heritage Centre.

The device was uncovered on Charmouth Beach and later detonated by explosive experts.

• BUSINESSES were booming in Bridport at Easter as traders and hoteliers tell of record sales following months of severe storms.

Scores of people headed to West Bay harbour over the Easter bank holiday weekend to enjoy the sunshine, with one harbour business reporting a trade increase of 400 per cent compared to March.

MAY

• HUNDREDS turned out to dance around the May Pole on the Millennium Green.

Visitors were treated to youngsters performing the traditional dance around the May Pole and 13-year-old Amy Laurance was crowned May Queen.

• THOUSANDS of people enjoyed this year’s Lyme Regis Fossil Festival.

Events included a discover microfossils workshop, a number of art exhibitions, and a dinosaur runway.

• A WEST Dorset farmer refused to let his TB infected cows go to slaughter in Wales.

Kevin Wallbridge, a fourth generation farmer from Hooke, had 14 cows test positive in his dairy herd – but when he was told the animals he had reared himself would have to travel nearly 200 miles he told the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency he wasn’t prepared to let them travel so far on welfare grounds.

JUNE

• BRIDPORT businesses reported a boom as cameras returned to roll in West Bay for the second series of Broadchurch.

Local businesses saw an improvement in trade as people keen to catch a glimpse of the star-studded cast in action headed down to West Bay.

• A BRIDPORT farmer thanked the emergency services for their quick response in stopping a fire at a thatched building. The blaze destroyed four vehicles and a barn and was started deliberately by arsonists.

• UMBRELLAS of all colours, shapes and sizes decorated the streets of Lyme Regis as part of this year’s popular Jazz Festival.

Jazz band Jelly Jazz took to the stage to begin the festival before DJ Peter Isaac and DJ Griff stepped up to the decks – followed by eight-piece funk band, Freshly Squeezed.

JULY

• TRIBUTES poured in following the death of Sir John Colfox.

Sir John died of natural causes, aged 90, surrounded by his family at the family home.

Members of the local community paid tribute to the man described as ‘one of a kind’, ‘a traditional village elder’ and a ‘great man’.

• BRIDPORT’S Jurassic Fields Festival was hailed a triumph and organisers want to run it again in 2015.

The festival attracted a crowd of more than 1,000 people and was headlined by Dodgy.

• LYME Regis Lifeboat Week was launched in style as hundreds of spectators flocked to the town to catch the popular flagship event.

AUGUST

• BROADCHURCH stars Olivia Colman and James D’Arcy took part in the annual torchlight procession through Bridport and West Bay.

The torchlight procession started outside Bridport Town Hall in Bucky Doo Square, before the procession headed towards West Bay. Once at the beach in West Bay, the torches were thrown on to a bonfire.

• RESIDENTS, tourists and celebrities turned out in force to take part in the Bridport Carnival.

Mayor Maggie Ray hailed it as the ‘best ever’ event, and thousands of pounds were raised from the collection which was donated to carnival charities.

• THOUSANDS of people attended this year’s Buckham Fair near Beaminster and were joined by more dogs than ever before.

The annual event is organised by actor Martin Clunes and his wife, Philippa. It regularly features a pony show and dog show, with owners getting the chance to enter their animals in a number of classes.

SEPTEMBER

• THOUSANDS grabbed their guitars and joined the UK’s biggest band – led by a rock legend Ian Gillan of Deep Purple – for Guitars on the Beach.

More than 3,300 people from all over the country played Smoke on the Water, securing the UK record for the biggest band yet again.

Organiser Geoff Baker said the event in Lyme Regis raised thousands of pounds for charity and they are already planning 2015’s attempt to maintain the record.

• THE streets of Bridport were packed as thousands joined in the fun and frivolity of this year’s hat festival.

Following music from Hank Wangford and the Lost Cowboys, it was standing room only as hundreds gathered in Bucky Doo Square to witness the mayor’s welcome and explore the dozens of stalls and events lining the streets.

• RAM-RAIDERS smashed through the front of the Co-op store in Bridport – the second attack on the shop within three years.

OCTOBER

• WOODROFFE School student Annabel Davies, 12, qualified for the south west regional finals of the Open Mic UK contest.

She then went on to guarantee her place at the coveted national finals in London.

• A TEENAGER whose left foot was severed in a lawnmower accident when he was a toddler is proving a hit in the equestrian world.

Beaminster School pupil Charlie Bailey was given a £2,000 helping hand by The Terry Collin appeal fund – set up to honour the memory of the former sports editor of The Bridport News.

• DAVID Tennant and Olivia Colman enjoyed reading the Bridport News as the cast and Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall thanked locals for their help while filming for series two took place.

• LESLIE Walters put on a cooking school – while top chef Michael Caines wowed the crowds at the Eat Dorset food extravaganza at Parnham House in Beaminster.

NOVEMBER

• AN ELDERLY man had a ‘very lucky’ escape from a fire which left his house uninhabitable.

Firefighters rushed to the property on Star Lane in Morcombelake to extinguish a blaze in the ground floor kitchen, which also affected the roof space.

• A THREE-YEAR-OLD boy with a genetic disorder had his life transformed by a trike.

Louis Norris, from Bridport, was born with 29 genes missing from chromosome 9 – a genetic disorder so rare mum Dinah thinks he is the only person with it in the world.

• A MAN died after collapsing at the wheel of his car and crashing into a Lyme Regis shop.

Two pedestrians were injured during the incident along Broad Street – after the driver sadly died after suffering a medical episode at the wheel.

DECEMBER

• THIS year’s aptly-named Bridport Christmas Cheer proved the best-attended event the committee has ever done.

The extravaganza kick-started the festive season with a wonderful atmosphere of fun and goodwill.

• A WIDOW who has traditionally lit up the streets of Bridport with her husband in a charity Christmas lights display will continue the fundraiser in memory of him.

So many people took pleasure in it they thought they would do some good and fundraise for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

But Bernard Wright passed away suddenly in October and, in a touching tribute, his wife Elizabeth decided to carry on the popular display in his memory.

• THE VOLLY Dollies took the crown in this year’s Lyme Regis Great Christmas Pudding Race.

Fundraisers were hoping to beat last year’s total of £5,000 for Cancer Research UK – bringing the total raised by the group to almost £60,000 since the Lyme Regis branch formed in 2007.