These are the most-read Hereford Times stories of 2023

We've had visits from celebs and Royals, a Great British Bake Off star, businesses celebrated, dramatic police incidents, and countless people in court.

But which stories were you most interested in? Here, we have put together our most-read stories from each month.

January: Herefordshire A49 tractor driver handed hefty fine by court

A tractor driver was handed a hefty fine in January after he was caught committing two offences on the busy A49.

The driver admitted one count of driving a mechanically propelled vehicle on a road or public place without due care and attention and one count of using a motor vehicle on a road or public place without third-party insurance when he appeared before magistrates in Hereford.

February: Herefordshire firm Ken's Tipper Hire goes bust owing £1.5 million

Herefordshire road haulage company Ken's Tipper Hire, also known as KTH, went bust owing more than £1.5 million, with liquidators appointed.

The firm passed an extraordinary resolution to wind up the company, with that process underway in February.

Ken's Tipper Hire Limited was a separate company from KTH Civils and Surfacing Limited which is still active and runs the gravel yard in Bromyard.

March: Hereford High Town cordoned off by police

An extraordinary incident topped the chart in March, with armed police called in to Hereford and the city centre cordoned off. 

A crowd gathered at the cordon after armed police were called to Hereford city centre (Image: Hereford Times)

Ambulances, the air ambulance, and several police cars were sent rushing to High Town, while crowds gathered at the cordons after a "serious concern for welfare" was reported.

April: Farmer John Price to be sentenced for river Lugg damage in Kingsland

A court was told in April that it could cost nearly £700,000 to restore the river Lugg and its banks after a farmer bulldozed and reprofiled it.

Natural England and the Environment Agency launched joint legal action in response to what they said was damage in Kingsland, near Leominster, in 2020.

John Pudge Price, of Day House Farm, had indicated guilty pleas to charges relating to flood risk activity, discharging silt into the Lugg, failing to take reasonable steps to stop farming pollution and disturbing spawn or spawning fish.

He was also charged with damaging a Site of Special Scientific Interest and breaching a stop notice by removing material, desilting and re-profiling the river bank and removing bankside vegetation.

May: Tributes as SAS Iranian embassy siege hero dies in Hereford

Tribute was paid to one of the last surviving SAS heroes of the 1980 Iranian embassy siege after his death in Hereford in May. 

Mel Parry was part of the SAS team which stormed the building in 17 minutes six days after six armed men took 26 people hostage within the building.

The hostage-takers were Iranian-Arabs campaigning for the sovereignty of Khuzestan, and demanding the release of prisoners held in Iran, as well as their own safe passage out of the UK.

June: Ex-Top Gear star Richard Hammond’s show axed after just one series

Herefordshire-based TV personality Richard Hammond’s new show was cancelled by Channel 4 after only seven episodes, it was announced in June.

Series one of Crazy Contraptions, which aired last year, challenged teams to build ingenious machines out of everyday objects.

But, Channel 4 told The Sun, despite it being a "bold and creative programme that engaged audiences with exciting science and engineering", the show would not be proceeding to series two. 

July: Herefordshire pub named in Good Food Guide's top 100

A Herefordshire pub was named one of the best in Britain by a prestigious guide in July.

Popular Herefordshire dining destination The Kilpeck Inn in Kilpeck was named as one of The Good Food Guide’s 100 Best Local Restaurants 2023.

This year's list is drawn from 37,000 nominations from the British dining public as well as careful assessment from The Good Food Guide's inspectors and editors travelling the length and breadth of England, Scotland and Wales.

August: Coronation Street's Craig Charles has lunch at Herefordshire pub

An actor who has appeared in Coronation Street arrived in style to have lunch at a Herefordshire pub in August.

Craig Charles, who played Lloyd Mullaney in the ITV1 soap for 10 years from 2005 to 2015, flew in by helicopter to the Oak Inn at Staplow.

However, despite his swish entry, the Liverpudlian, who is also known for playing Dave Lister in sci-fi hit, Red Dwarf, chose to just have sausage, chips and gravy, which is usually sausage and mash on the menu. 

September: Herefordshire bar named in tribute to Monty Python star

A Herefordshire mansion that was a favourite to the stars opened a bar as a tribute to a renowned TV comic, we reported in September. 

Penrhos Court, near Kington, launched Python's Arms as a nod to the late Terry Jones, who was one of the stars of the iconic sketch show, Monty Python. 

Mr Jones ran a brewery in the outbuildings, and co-owner Mark Bentham said he would be inviting the comic's son, Bill to see what it's like. 

October: This is why Herefordshire's Saku won't be on Bake Off tonight

Oh Saku, we loved watching you on Bake Off and we certainly weren't alone, with tens of thousands clicking to find out why we wouldn't be seeing you on screen in October!

 The hit Channel 4 show was bumped from its usual spot to accommodate the England versus Italy football match.

Sri Lankan-born contestant Saku Chandrasekara, who works for Herefordshire Council, has since bowed out of the show, despite several impressive rounds.

November: Herefordshire's Monty Don reveals big change could be coming

Another Herefordshire celebrity claimed the top spot in November.

Herefordshire's own BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Monty Don issued a major update on his future with the hit show.

The presenter, who has hosted the popular show since 2003, first from Berryfields in Stratford-upon-Avon, and then from his own garden at Longmeadow in Herefordshire, said he might bow out of the hit gardening programme in a few years to pursue other projects.