THE death this week of ice hockey legend Paul Smith has brought back many happy memories of the heyday of one of the region's most successful sporting clubs of recent years.

Durham Wasps were established in 1946 and maintained a degree of popularity up until the 1970s. But it was the period from 1982 to 1992 when they enjoyed their real heyday, dominating British ice hockey during those years, winning the Heineken Championship four times, the British National League six times, and the Norwich Union Cup on three occasions.

We have delved into The Northern Echo archives to find a selection of pictures from those glory years, which we hope many of our readers will remember with great fondness.