THE day of the deluge will be remembered in the North-East for many years to come. Millions of people were affected last week – stuck in villages turned into islands, evacuated from their homes, going nowhere on roads turned into waterways.

Even the A1 became a river and had to be closed for a 40-mile stretch from Dishforth, in North Yorkshire, to Bradbury, near Durham.

The Northern Echo devoted its front page and nine inside pages to the devastation. But what did the national papers make of it all?

THE SUN: Not a mention on Page 1. Page 15 lead. Verdict: Damp squib.

THE GUARDIAN: Nothing on Page 1. Page 4 lead. Verdict: Wishy-washy.

DAILY STAR: Nothing on Page 1 – led instead on Simon Cowell calling in a faith healer to free him of evil female spirits. The North’s floods made a lead on Page 4. Verdict: Limp as a wet lettuce.

DAILY EXPRESS: A floods panel on Page 1 – hurrah! – and a spread on Page 5. Mind you, the Express leads on weather stories nearly every day, even when there isn’t a real story, so why not this time? Verdict: Not gushing with praise, but a bit better than the others.

DAILY MIRROR: Nothing on Page 1. Page 15 lead. Verdict: H2Oh dear.

DAILY MAIL: Nothing on Page 1. Page 11 lead.

Verdict: What a shower.

THE TIMES: A paragraph on Page 1. Page 11 lead. Verdict: Water disappointment.

DAILY TELEGRAPH: Nothing on Page 1. Page 4 picture story – not even the lead. Verdict: Wet, wet, wet.

THE INDEPENDENT: Page 1 picture! Full Page 4 spread. Verdict: Floody hell – some newssense at last.

Imagine the national coverage if Kent or Surrey had been under water. Maybe then it would have been the front page splash.

It’s why local papers matter.

FURTHER evidence of why local papers matter… One of our journalists Phil Storey has had a joiner round to mend his roof. I realise, in isolation, that’s not newsworthy, but bear with me.

The joiner, James Murphy, asked Phil what he did for a living and was interested to discover that he worked at The Northern Echo.

James said that, at one time, he only bought the Echo occasionally but now gets it daily, adding: “I’m a big fan.”

He explained that he’d had his van broken into and three drills stolen. He didn’t bother reporting it to the police but a small piece in the Echo caught his eye. It was a report of a man arrested late at night in Darlington. He was carrying electric equipment which the police suspected had been stolen.

James called the police and, as a result of reading his local daily paper, got his drills back.

Not only do we give North-East floods appropriate coverage, we also reunite crime victims with their property.

Shout it from the rooftops.

THE flooding crisis was a very serious issue, but I couldn’t help smiling when I read that evacuated residents in Stockton had been given shelter… in the Splash leisure centre.

IWAS sad last week to hear of the death of singer Andy Williams. He was one of my mum’s favourites and I was brought up listenting to his beautiful voice.

His passing reminded me of my first week as editor of the Hartlepool Mail. News broke in the morning that Frank Sinatra had died and I wanted it on page one.

They looked at me as if I was mad: “You do know he’s not from Hartlepool?” said the news editor.

“I appreciate that, but one or two people in Hartlepool might have his records,” I replied.

FUNNILY enough, former Hartlepool MP Peter Mandelson once confided in me that he’s a big Andy Williams fan.

“Really?” I replied.

“Oh, does that make me a bad person?” he asked with a worried expression.

FINALLY, a belated happy birthday to former Mayor of Darlington Joe Anderson, who was 84 on the day I bumped into him in the town centre last week.

I mention this for no other reason than I don’t think I’ve met a gentler, more decent man in all my time on the paper.