1985 - The C5 electric car, with a top speed of 15 mph (the fastest allowed in the UK without a driving licence) was demonstrated by its inventor, Sir Clive Sinclair. It retailed for £399 but only 17,000 were ever sold.

2015 - Wing Commander Nikki Thomas became the first woman to command an RAF fast jet squadron, taking charge of the newly reformed No. 12 Squadron at RAF Marham in Norfolk.

2004 - The liner RMS Queen Mary 2, was named by Queen Elizabeth II. At the time of her construction in 2003 she was the longest, widest and tallest passenger ship ever built.

1990 – The iconic Leaning Tower of Pisa leaned “too far,” which resulted in its closure. The tower’s bells were removed to reduce the weight, and it was reopened to the public on December 15, 2001.

1977 - The music publisher EMI ended its contract with the notorious punk rock group, Sex Pistols, after reports the band had vomited and spat their way on to a flight from London's Heathrow Airport bound for the Netherlands.

1993 - The oil tanker ‘Braer’ was wrecked in hurricane force winds off the Shetland Islands, discharging large amounts of crude oil.

2017 - The last ABC cinema closed its doors. The Bournemouth cinema (which opened in June 1937) had only kept its name by a quirk of positioning in the town. It closed with a final screening of ‘Back to the Future’, which was chosen by its audience.

2014 - Along the whole of Wales’ coastline dozens of roads were closed and the rail network was also badly affected as storm surges brought flooding chaos around Wales’ coast.

1982 - Erica Rowe became the first sports ‘streaker’ when she ran across the Twickenham ground at the England v Australia rugby match waving her bra in the air.