Flashers, fires, storms and slurry: The most popular stories of the year (From Falmouth Packet)

Flashers, fires, storms and slurry: The most popular stories of the year

7:00am Monday 31st December 2012 in News By Jonathan Millar

The 'Pasty Tax' war is won. One of the big stories of the year

The New Year is upon us, and here at the Packet we are looking back at the stories that made the headlines online at thepacket.co.uk.

Enjoy this look back at a year packed with drama - and from all of us at Packet Newspapers, a very happy New Year!

By far the most read story of the year was the fire that destroyed the Falmouth Beach Hotel.

More than 54,000 pages views were recorded, as the Packet team covered the story from the first report, right through to the revealing of the plans for a new hotel on the site.

Want to revisit the story? Click the links below:

Guests still to be accounted for in Falmouth Beach Hotel fire

Guests safe at Falmouth Beach Hotel but fire destroying the building

Falmouth Beach Hotel fire latest pictures and video 

Front of Falmouth Beach Hotel collapses

Falmouth Beach Hotel rebuild given thumbs up by town council

Fire-ravaged hotel to reopen gym

New plans for fire ravaged Falmouth hotel submitted

New Falmouth Beach Hotel design revealed

Demolition of remains of Falmouth Beach Hotel starts today

Hotel helps with 'phoenix' wedding after fire guts original venue

Next up was a recurring story dealing with a particularly strange court appearance by a Redruth man. Known world wide as the 'Slurry Pervert', this was one of those articles that developes a life of its own.

Read it here (Warning, not for the squeamish):

Pervert caught pleasuring himself in slurry for third time

Farm pervert is jailed

Slurry man: brother calls for help, not jail

South West farmer finds pervert in his slurry

Pervert got sex kicks in slurry

Next up was the wild weather that hit Cornwall in November. Thousands logged onto thepacket.co.uk for the latest news, pictures, warnings and travel updates as emergency services fought to keep people safe. 

Read the articles here:

Storms batter Cornwall

Cornwall Flooding latest

Contaminated mine water threatened to overflow into Fal

Helston just moments from flood disaster: Full report and gallery

All the wild weather news in one place: Live articles, video and pictures

On a more sombre note, next on the most read list was the tragic death of a young woman on the A394:

Witnesses sought after fatal crash

Helston to Falmouth crash driver named

Finally, coming in at number five was a drunk man from Camborne, who jumped on a wall, flashed some teenagers and shouted YAHOOO!. Well lets face it, you would read that story, wouldn't you?

Click the link to have a look: 

Drunk Camborne flasher leapt on wall and shouted 'yahoo'

A special mention has to go to this chap, spotted by our eagle-eyed chief reporter Emma Ferguson. Who he was and what he was doing, I guess we will never know.

Naked man emerges from bushes during planning meeting

Another honorable mention should go to those who fought against the Pasty Tax plans. Read how the battle was won here:

'Pasty tax' raised in Parliament

Budget's 'pasty tax' slammed

Pasty tax could cost county millions

Protest against pasty tax

Government to make Pasty Tax u-turn

Happy New Year to one and all!