COUNCIL cuts, unusual baby names, and a historic Boro victory all made our headlines at the beginning of the year.

• A COUNCIL announced cuts which would amount to nearly �9m worth of money being saved over a four-year period.

The North Herts District Council draft budget also included �2.879m cuts to staffing, leaving workers facing an anxious wait to see whether they would still have a job.

Other areas savings were to be made included increasing charges for council-owned facilities, an increase in ashes and burial charges, and residential parking permits doubled, among many others.

HUNNI Princess, Ged Spartacus, De Andre and Angel-J were some of the more unusual names that people called their children in 2010, it emerged.

Alison Gormer named her baby girl Hunni Princess, after her seven-year-old daughter Ellie chose it. Her middle name was also left to fate, after being picked out of a hat. Other middle name possibilities included ‘Pot’ and ‘Bell’.

Alison told The Comet: “Ellie said to use that we had promised to call her Hunni. Then she said that she had to have a middle name but no-one could think of one. So we wrote them on pieces of paper for her to pick.”

STEVENAGE FC played one of their best games ever to record a historical win over Premiership side Newcastle United in the FA Cup.

The then League Two team won 3-1 in the third-round tie at the Lamex Stadium to secure a fourth-round tie against Championship side Reading.

A slight dampener was put on the celebrations, however, as one fan - who was later jailed for the assault - punched Stevenage defender Scott Laird. The incident was captured on video, and soon circulated quickly on YouTube.

A COMMUNITY pub which was just days away from being closed was saved after a campaign by regulars.

The King Pin pub, in Archer Road, was going to be knocked down by Stevenage Borough Council. But a 400-strong petition signed by locals made the council review its licence.

The pub, nearly one year after the campaign, still remains open to this date.

METAL legends Motorhead announced that they were to play at Knebworth’s Sonisphere festival.

The rock heavyweights joined Metallica, Biffy Clyro, Slipknot, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax in the stellar line up, which was scheduled for July.

Rock favourites Mastodon, In Flame and Parkway Drive also joined the line up that month.

A STEVENAGE man was sentenced to life for fatally stabbing his friend, 32-year-old Mark Butler.

Dwayne Parchment, 29, of Bowcock Walk, was handed the sentence and told he would serve a minimum of 14 years, after being convicted at Luton Crown Court in July. He had pleaded not guilty.

Parchment’s partner, Zoe McGonnell, was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, after pleading guilty to acts tending to pervert the course of justice. The prosecution claimed she had sent police on “a wild goose chase”.