As the New Year approaches, we reflect on some of the most tragic and shocking news stories of the year:
13. Blackpool FC supporter dies after mass brawl outside pub
Tony Johnson, 55, was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition after he was wounded outside The Manchester pub on the Promenade at around 7pm on Saturday (March 4). Police said he was fatally injured in a brawl involving around 15 football fans following the Blackpool v Burnley match at Bloomfield Road earlier that day. Officers attended and found Mr Johnson had suffered a “serious head injury”. They administered CPR at the scene before he was taken to hospital for urgent treatment. Mr Johnson sadly later died in hospital from his injuries in the early hours of Monday morning (March 6). Photo: Lancashire Police
14. Boy dies in hospital after being hit by van
Layton Harrison was struck by a black Ford Transit at around 4.20pm on Bilsborough Hey, Penwortham on August 1. He was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital but died a short time later. Paying tribute to him, his birth mother Stacey Bailey described the youngster as "her world". She said: "Layton was a much loved little boy by all who knew him. He was my world and my best friend." Photo: Lancashire Police
15. Young man dies following crash
A Toyota Landcruiser left the carriageway before going down an embankment in Blackpool Road at around 12.02am on September 14. Harrison Bretherton, 21, from St Annes, suffered serious injuries and sadly died at Royal Preston Hospital on September 15. Trafford Bretherton, Harrison's brother, said the family were getting through the painful void in their lives by keeping busy, reading the many lovely tributes people have left and focussing on a 22 mile run which has been organised for next year on what would have been a trip away to Las Vegas for Harrison and his best friend Harry Redman. Photo: Harrison Bretherton
16. Undated handout file photo issued by Lancashire Police of Nicola Bulley. Ms Bulley, 45, vanished after dropping her daughters, aged six and nine, at school, then taking her usual dog walk along the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre, Lancashire, on January 27. Issue date: Tuesday November 21, 2023. PA Photo. Information Commissioner John Edwards said lessons should be learned after a review found the disclosure of personal information about Nicola Bulley's health struggles by police was 'avoidable and unnecessary'. See PA story POLICE Bulley. Photo credit should read: Family handout/PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used in for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Nicola Bulley, 45, was last seen near the River Wyre in St Michael's on Wyre at around 9.20am on January 27. She was understood to have been walking her dog Willow, a springer spaniel, along the river. Her mobile phone and dog were later found by a bench by another dog-walker. Her body was found 23 days after she disappeared in a patch of undergrowth and branches by a river bend. After a two-day inquest in June, Dr. James Adeley, Lancashire’s Senior Coroner, said Nicola had died as a result of drowning. Photo: Family Handout/ PA