The travel agent who went the extra mile to save a New Zealand trip

This one certainly did and we found it in the Sunderland Echo archives.

The hero who saved a flight to New Zealand

A Sunderland travel agent was dubbed a knight in shining armour in December 1986 after rescuing an woman’s travel plans.

Anne Crompton arranged to fly to New Zealand to visit her daughter.

But a week before she was due to fly, she found that her passport had expired and went to the travel agent, Gordon Stewart, for help.

Mr Stewart helped Mrs Crompton fill in the forms and also drove the Cromptons to Merseyside to the Passport Office to get things sorted out.

Well done to Gordon but he wasn’t the only 1986 headline hitter.

Midge Ure’s Farringdon connection

Midge Ure got plenty of attention when he met a load of children from the Farringdon area.

Tell us if you were among the children who met him.

Ant and Dec would be proud of Judy Prowse who broke the world record for sitting with snakes.

Four pythons and a boa constrictor

She was penned in with four pythons and a boa constrictor at Lambton Park Garden Centre for 51 hours.

She broke the previous record by an hour.

Lots of people will remember the fire which spread through the Batleys building.

More than 100 firefighters fought a huge blaze at Batley's cash and carry centre near Chester le Street.

It had begun at 6am and the smoke was soon visible for miles.

Share your own memories of life on Wearside in 1986 by emailing [email protected]