A MISSION to solve the mystery of a missing fossilised hippopotamus tooth that was first discovered 60 years ago was launched in May 2018.

In 1958, the historic tooth was found around 30 feet down in gravel four miles north-west of Stockton.

The discovery was identified as a molar tooth belonging to a Hippopotamus amphibious, which is the very same species of hippo that lives in Africa today.

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The exact location of the discovery or who discovered it is unknown, but records show that it was brought to the attention of Stockton’s librarian and curator, G.F. Leighton, who promptly sent it to the Natural History Museum in London.

Susan Symmonds, who worked in the council’s revenues and benefits service, was inspired to search for the missing tooth after hearing about it on BBC Radio 4 whilst driving on the M1 last year.

The 53-year-old said: “I thought we must know about this, but it seems it’s been lost in the mists of time. Nobody really knows about it, so I had to find out more.

“Nobody knows for sure where the tooth is, but in my opinion it’s in a dusty box somewhere in the bowels of the Natural History Museum,” she said.

Ms Symmonds made it her goal to find the tooth and visited the Natural History Museum in London, but was told their archives are so vast that it could take years to find it.

Two reception-aged children escaped their school grounds without staff noticing and walked to their grandmother’s house a mile away, in May 2018.

The boys, from Thirsk Community Primary School’s reception class, which teaches children aged four and five, scaled a 6ft metal fence at the far corner of the school field at the end of lunchtime.

The pair then walked about a mile to their grandmother’s house on the Norby Estate.

It was not known which route they took, but in order to reach the estate they would have had to navigate the busy A61 and the B1448 Northallerton Road by themselves.

North Yorkshire County Council launched an immediate investigation following the incident on Friday and the school said in a statement that it takes pupil safety “very seriously”.

Staff first became aware the boys were missing when they were not in line at the end of playtime and a spokesman said: “As classes lined up to go back into the school the two boys were not accounted for.

“An immediate search of the school and grounds was made and then the parents were called. The two boys were quickly located."

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Thousands of people packed into the Market Place in Richmond on May 5, 2018, as the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire came to town.

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An estimated 650,000 people lined streets across North Yorkshire for stage three of the cycle race, with the fourth and final day also seeing thrilling action through the county.

The turnout was boosted by the weekend’s hot, sunny weather with towns and villages, decked out in race colours of blue and yellow, hosting parties and music events along the route.