10 YEARS AGO

* Heavy snowfalls across Oxfordshire caused treacherous conditions for drivers – traffic was at a standstill in many places after numerous rush-hour collisions.

* Casualty patients have commended the speed of treatment, the quality of care and the cleanliness of emergency units in Oxfordshire hospitals.

20 YEARS AGO

* Delighted passersby grabbed handfuls of £10 notes which fluttered out of the sky in Oxford Road, Kidlington – it is a mystery where they came from.

* Public services look certain to face deep cuts after Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors edged towards a deal over Oxfordshire County Council’s cash crisis.

30 YEARS AGO

* The experimental closure of side roads to through traffic in East Oxford is likely to be abandoned – city councillors admit its effects have been disastrous.

* John Snell, 23, of Combe, was named Man of the World in a competition in London, winning a £30,000 sports car and a holiday in the Bahamas.

40 YEARS AGO

* Brian Alterio, of Norham Gardens, Oxford, whose car plunged into the Thames, opened a window, climbed on the bonnet and leapt to safety before it disappeared under the water.

* The ability of school leavers to read, speak and write English does not meet the needs of modern society, according to a committee headed by Oxford don Sir Alan Bullock.

50 YEARS AGO

* Oxford Baths Committee is again trying to persuade the city council to back its plan for an indoor swimming bath at the foot of Headington Hill.

* Engineers from the Oxford and Faringdon Water Departments are investigating complaints of “undrinkable” water at Kingston Bagpuize.

60 YEARS AGO

* One of the hazards of Oxford’s one-way traffic system is the number of cyclists who push their machines in the reverse direction to which traffic should go.

* A new village may be built at Field Farm, Dorchester-on-Thames, to house families now living in hutted camps.