Sunderland's bleak mid-winter of 1995, the year the Wear froze

It was a winter which chilled Wearsiders to the bone.

The post-Christmas period in 1995 was one of the coldest on record for the UK with temperatures plummeting to minus 20 and reaching highs of freezing.

News from SAFC kept us warm

It was so cold that the River Wear froze at Cox Green and the wildlife faced a frosty time in Mowbray Park as this picture shows.

It was stormy at Seaburn and there was plenty of news to talk about other than the weather.

Bob Murray spoke of his hopes to build a 40,000 seat stadium on the ex-Wearmouth pit site.

Sir Bob put in a bid to increase the capacity of the 34,000-seater stadium, for which he had won planning permission from the Tyne and Wear Development Corporation.

Competing at the highest level

He wanted a structure capable of handling 40,040 seats, but he said he would only add the extra seats in 1999, when the city’s Metro link was up and running.

He insisted that the stadium could still be built for his original estimate of £14million.

He said at the time “the capacity increase will hardly come as a surprise to anyone following sporting trends - we want to compete at the highest level.”

A great reception in the East End

The East End of Sunderland gave a warm welcome to the Duke of Kent, despite the wintery weather.

He was in the city to visit a manor housing development in the Garths and officially open Edwin Trisk Systems at Pallion.

Author Mel Kirtley had 1,000 reasons to be happy after his latest book shot to the top of the Wearside best-seller list.

Sales of his nostalgic look at Sunderland in the Sixties shot through the four-figure barrier within three weeks of going on sale in the city.

Sunderland Football Club scored a success off the pitch with its Learning Through Football scheme. Striker David Kelly presented a prize to Jonathan Hume, the 15,000th pupil to use the scheme.

Tell us about your memories of Wearside life in 1995.

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