IT has been another tough year for many of us as Covid-19 rumbles on.

Away from coronavirus, there were a lot of things going on in and around Knutsford, and here are some of our most popular stories from 2021.

For example in January, a teenage killer was told he would serve a minimum of 28 years behind bars.

Matthew Mason, 20, of Ash Lane, Ollerton, was found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Alex Rodda by bludgeoning him to death with a wrench in secluded woodland in Ashley on December 12, 2019.

In January, Judge Everett, the Honourary Recorder for Chester, told Mason it was clear he had carefully planned the murder and ruthlessly carried it out.

This was followed by a clip from Handforth Parish Council’s December 2020 planning and environment committee meeting going viral in February.

The 30-second clip, posted on Twitter by Janine Mason, gained more than 2 million views in less than 24 hours.

In March, we reported how Knutsford was named one of the top places to live in the north west in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

When making their selection, the judges described the town as 'posh Cheshire with a sense of fun and a love of the countryside'.

In contrast, April saw residents in Lower Peover concerned about an infestation of rats.

The sight of the unwanted rodents was becoming more and more widespread according to documentary film maker Dave Spencer.

May saw craft beer and artisan gin specialist Dexter and Jones reveal plans to treble its capacity by knocking through to next door.

The Princess Street boutique shop and micro bar, run by showbiz couple Adam and Katy Rickitt, said it was taking over the former Knutsford Hair Spa unit as part of an expansion project.

The former home of Alan Turing – whose work was key to breaking the wartime Enigma codes – went up for sale in Wilmslow in June.

The internationally renowned founder of computer science and celebrated cryptographer cracked the 'Enigma code' during the Second World War, which is said to have helped shorten the war by at least two years and save millions of lives.

In July, the Church Inn in Mobberley won Cheshire's Pub of the Year through the National Pub and Bar Awards 2021 chosen by the Pub and Bar Magazine.

After its closure in 2013, a little shy of a decade later the Church Lane pub triumphed in Cheshire for the third successive year.

A unique farmshop and kitchen showcasing local Cheshire produce announced it was set to become the focal point of new motorway services in August.

Ambitious plans to build Tatton Services at junctions seven and eight on the M56, creating 300 new jobs were unveiled.

It was an 80/20 partnership between the Westmorland family, the UK's first award winning family-owned motorway services business and landowners, the Tatton Estate.

September saw villagers fighting plans to bulldoze a historic pub.

People backed a campaign run by resident and lawyer Jo Beech to save the Swan Hotel at Bucklow Hill after a planning application was submitted by PH Property Holdings to Cheshire East Council to demolish it to make way for 19 houses.

Following this, in October an increase in planes taking off over Knutsford and its surrounding villages was blamed on technical issues with air traffic control aids.

Residents noticed an increase in aircraft traffic from Manchester Airport.

A pair of career criminals were jailed in November for a total of 33 years after stealing more than £14,000 in a terrifying gun-point bank robbery.

Jason Jenyons and Paul Broughton, both of Knutsford, carried out the robbery at the town’s NatWest branch on March 5 this year.

After threatening staff members at the King Street bank, the two men escaped on a motorcycle, zig-zagging through pedestrians in a nearby park.

In December, we reported how police issued more than 30 tickets to drivers following an illegal car meet in Wilmslow and Northwich.

More than 100 vehicles were seen driving dangerously, speeding and creating excess noise.