Heartwarming stories from 2024 in the North-West

Nineteen-month-old Orla became a babbling viral star

It has been a busy year of news across the North-West of England, so much so that you might have forgotten some of the quirkier and inspiring stories that have happened.

So as a way of marking the end of 2024, here is a look back at some of the heartwarming stories from the region.

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Rugby players to the rescue

Callum Tootle and James Cook from Southport Rugby Club came to help Angela Robinson

In October, a pair of rugby players answered an unusual call from an 86-year-old woman who needed help from some "strong young men".

Angela Robinson, of Southport, asked the town's rugby club after her television remote fell into the mechanics of her armchair.

Players James Cook and Callum Tootle came to Mrs Robinson's rescue, tipping the chair over and retrieving the remote.

She said it only took five minutes for the duo to get it back and she could quickly return to her favourite show, Homes Under the Hammer.

Baby's Scouse babbles

In June, baby Orla's Scouse-accented babbles saw her become an online star, after a video of her was viewed more than 15 million times on TikTok.

The 19-month-old's mum Rhiannon said she was inundated with messages after the clip, which saw Orla fully conversing with her friend Olayka despite being unable to speak any proper words, went viral online.

She said it was "lovely" to hear how the video had "made people's day".

Mince pie memories

Richard Newson says having one of his mum's mince pies is "the start" of his Christmas

In December, Fleetwood's Richard Newson revealed he had been eating his late mother's mince pies every Christmas for the past two decades.

Mr Newson's parents died within days of each other just before Christmas in 2002 and as he was clearing out their home, he found a batch of pies baked by his mum Marlene in the freezer.

He said he ate one at the beginning of December every year and it brought back fond memories of his mother.

Winner fulfils Blackpool dream

Raymond Young celebrated with a glass of bubbly outside Blackpool tower

A lucky lottery winner who bagged a £500,000 prize celebrated with a trip to a beloved holiday destination in May.

Raymond Young, 63, from Edinburgh, won the Thunderball jackpot prize with numbers he had used since the game launched nearly 25 years ago.

He decided the best way to celebrate his win was a trip to Blackpool, which was his regular childhood holiday spot and a "home from home".

Swifties meet at last

L-R, Lauren Stephenson with her daughter, Florence, and Brinda Selvamanoharan at the Taylor Swift gig at Anfield

Two Taylor Swift fans who had been corresponding for years finally met at the singer's concert in Liverpool in June.

Lauren Stephenson, from Manchester, and Brinda Selvamanoharan, from Toronto, Canada, got the chance to hug each other in person after building up a relationship online.

The pair, who described themselves as friendship "soulmates", bonded over their passion for the pop star and got the chance to experience her live together at her Eras tour show at Anfield.

Is that a hedgehog?

Is it a hedgehog? One person thought so

A wildlife rescue took in what they thought was a baby hedgehog in March but got a surprise on closer inspection.

It was brought to the Lower Moss Nature Reserve and Wildlife Hospital by a well-meaning rescuer but on arrival, they discovered the hoglet was in fact a "faux furry friend".

"Our hearts melted," a volunteer at the rescue centre in Knutsford, Cheshire, said.

WW1 mystery solved

Philipp Cross (left) met with the Walsh family to return the postcard

In November, the descendant of a WW1 German officer told of how he tracked down the family of an English soldier who was killed in the trenches to return a postcard his ancestor found on his body.

Philipp Cross, a descendant of Lt Alexander Pfeifer discovered a diary belonging to his great, great grandfather along with a postcard belonging to Pte Percy Walsh, from Blackburn, Lancashire, who died as German forces recaptured a trench on 22 December 1914.

The 28-year-old returned the postcard to the soldier's relatives, who said it had brought the family together and given their ancestor's story an ending.

Hobbit stars eat out

(L-R) Billy Boyd, Elijah Wood, Dominic Monaghan and Orlando Bloom surprised staff when they turned up at the Belzan bistro in Liverpool

In May, there was an unlikely reunion in a Liverpool bistro, when three hobbits and an elf sat down for a meal.

Lord Of The Rings stars Elijah Wood, Orlando Bloom, Billy Boyd and Dominic Monaghan took a table at the Belzan bistro, surprising everyone there.

The actors were in town to appear at the Comic Con event at the exhibition centre and popped into the independent restaurant for a taste of the city.

Rare animal birth

The species has been listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

Chester Zoo celebrated the birth of what it said was one of the rarest animals on Earth in August.

Persian onager Jasper was born to its mother Azita after a year-long pregnancy.

Onagers hail from the semi-desert regions of Iran, and are related to domestic donkeys.

Gift of a kidney

Lesley Harrison is one of just a few hundred people each year in this country who donate one of their own kidneys to save someone else's life

In July, Lesley Harrison gave one of the most precious gifts when she donated one of her kidneys to her son-in-law, Chris.

Supported by her husband, Ken, Lesley made up one of just a few hundred people each year in the country who donated one of their own healthy kidneys to save someone else's life.

When asked why she wanted to do it, she responded: "Because he needs one, and I have one to spare."

Sailor's cure declared a miracle

John Traynor (centre), pictured standing among a crowd during a subsequent pilgrimage to Lourdes

In December, the recovery of a paralysed sailor who returned from Lourdes pushing his own wheelchair in 1923 became the first English case to be declared a miracle.

John "Jack" Traynor, from Liverpool, had travelled to the sacred site in France with a paralysed right hand and unable to walk, but returned six days later fully recovered.

After it was officially declared a miracle, Mr Traynor's great-great grandson Alex Taylor said it had not "really sunk in yet".