LOOKING back to October 1 to October 8, five years ago...

When four-year-old Danika Brandon went missing from school at home time, in October 2018, her parents feared the worst.

Little did they know that their daughter had gone on a half-a-mile adventure which would see her play in a park before taking on the task of food shopping at the nearby supermarket.

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The Etherley Lane Primary School pupil was found 45 minutes after she went missing from the school where her father, Patrick Brandon, had gone to collect her and her twin sister, Alexis.

A frantic search took place and the youngster was later found filling her trolley with bread buns, fruit and vegetables at the Morrisons store, in Bishop Auckland.

Danika’s mother, Vikki Martin, said she was shocked her little girl had walked that far without being challenged and was thankful nothing had happened to her.

Miss Martin, who was ill at the time of the incident, said she shot out of bed to search for her daughter when contacted by her partner.

“Patrick phoned and said Danika has gone missing and I immediately jumped out of bed – I have never moved so fast in my life.”

Miss Martin said Mr Brandon searched the school himself before staff began a wider search.

Once Danika was found she was quickly reunited with her family, and her parents said they have been teaching her not to wander off again.

The Bishop Auckland youngster is now back in school with her sister, where tighter measures have been introduced at home time.

A school announced plans to close its sixth form after just 14 students signed up for the new term, in October 2018.

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Polam Hall School, on Grange Road in Darlington, considered plans to close its sixth form once its cohort of students finished their studies.

In a letter sent to parents, the school’s principal Kate Reid said they had to consider whether having a sixth form was still “financially viable”.

Darlington MP Jenny Chapman said the decision was “very good news” and the “right decision for the young people in Darlington”.

The school had recently begun a four-week consultation period with stakeholders, including parents, pupils, Darlington Borough Council, and other schools in the borough.

Earlier in 2018, Ofsted inspectors concluded that the school required improvement following a period of “significant turbulence” but acknowledged that leaders were now “improving provision at a rapid rate.”

Shocking CCTV footage released by a council in October 2018 revealed the level of violence and verbal abuse faced by bin crews going about their everyday work.

Incidents across County Durham in the 12 months included drivers and householders grabbing and pushing refuse workers, and motorists mounting kerbs at speed and driving along pavements to get round bin wagons.

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As Durham County Council teamed up with police and trade unions to launch a campaign calling on the public to show more respect to workers, bosses revealed crews face abuse on an almost weekly basis.

In 2017, 24 incidents were considered “serious”. Oliver Sherratt, head of direct services at the council, said: “People might get frustrated if they feel a bin wagon is holding them up, or a bin cannot be emptied because it is contaminated.

“But at the end of the day, refuse teams are out working hard, in all weathers, and doing their best."