It was another pandemic year dominated by statistics, press conferences and lockdowns.

But there were plenty more headlines in Kent ranging from the tragic to frankly bizarre.

KentOnline articles covering that spectrum were read by more than 30 million visitors more than 290 million times in 2021.

Here are the 15 most read:

15. 'Sickening' demolition of huge family homes a 'tragedy' – 179,397

Rich developers snapping up character-packed properties for well above market prices and bulldozing them to make way for lucrative new homes.

It's a tale as old as time but was brought to life in New Dover Road, Canterbury, in August.

Neighbours said the sight of mechanical claws ripping through the walls of big detached houses left them "physically sickened".

It was certainly a stark demonstration of the changing face of Kent and one which many thousands of you were seemingly equally appalled by.

In place of the houses – some of which were brought for £1 million over the asking price – will be retirement flats.

14. Seven injured and house destroyed in explosion – 189,336

In May a street in Willesborough, Ashford, was rocked by a devastating explosion, which ripped through a house and injured seven.

A ball of flame punched through the red brick walls of the terrace home in Mill View at 8am.

Two other properties were damaged in the blast, since blamed on a leaking portable gas heater.

Pictures showed people fleeing as debris rained down and pyjama-clad bystanders watched on in horror.

Drone shots illustrated the scale of the destruction.

13. Watch moment woman ejected from Sainsbury's for refusing to wear mask – 195,042

With the public adjusting to changes to their daily lives it was little surprise debate raged over measures brought in to curb the spread of coronavirus.

Most if not all of the divisions still exist, some more so now than before.

In January a fiery row erupted in Sainsbury's, Dartford, after a woman refused to wear a face mask, claiming to be exempt due to a disability.

Police were called and asked to see proof but she said she was not legally required to carry any and by demanding such evidence they were breaking the law. She told them she'd sue before leaving.

In the end, both sides were correct. While it is not the law to carry evidence of an exemption, businesses are allowed to refuse entry to those not carrying any and the police can enforce that.

12. Life on an abandoned luxury housing estate – 195,124

The Hamiltons was intended to be a luxury hilltop enclave of 16 town houses surveying Chatham and Rochester.

But the dream ended in 2019 when the developer went under, leaving the gated estate unfinished with only a few residents.

Our in-depth look beyond the broken gates fascinated tens of thousands of you.

11. The £6.2m farm eyed up by budding Jeremy Clarksons – 201,035

Jeremy Clarkson's foray into farming documented in the Amazon Prime series Clarkson's Farm proved to be one of the retail giant's stand-out success stories.

A vivid picture of the challenging world of British agriculture was painted by the former Top Gear host and an eclectic cast of rural workers.

Many an armchair tractor driver was born. So it is little surprise news of a 500-acre Kent farm being up for grabs for £6.2 million piqued the interests of so many.

10. Countess of Wessex reveals Duke's moving final moments – 204,110

The nation mourned the passing of Prince Philip Duke of Edinburgh in April.

The final moments of the 99-year-old's life touchingly recounted to crowds outside Windsor Castle struck a chord with many of you.

"It was as if someone took him by the hand and off he went," explained Sophie, Countess of Wessex.

Prince Edward's wife Sophie lived in Brenchley, near Tunbridge Wells, and attended Kent College in Pembury and West Kent College in Tonbridge.

She is known to be very close to her mother-in-law The Queen.

9. Boxer's tribute after four die in horror crash – 206,403

A crash in October claimed the lives of four men and sent shock waves through a community.

Johnboy Cash, 19, his father Johnny, 44, Miles 'Smiler' Cash, 25, and Jacko Cosgrove, 18, died when the Toyota Hilux they were travelling in crashed into a tree near Headcorn.

Jerry Cash, 15, was left fighting for his life.

They were on their way to watch Tyson Fury's trilogy world championship bout with Deontay Wilder at the time.

The Gypsy King paid tribute after his victory, as did Johnboy's close friend, up-and-coming professional Dennis McCann.

The unbeaten bantamweight, who lived alongside the Cash family, went on to dedicate his 11th win to Johnboy.

8. 250 ants discovered in unopened box after eight months – 218,308

Readers understandably want to know more about important and often tragic incidents.

But many are also enthralled by the weird and wonderful.

And so it was the discovery of 250 individually test-tubed ants, some miraculously still alive, which became the eighth most read story of the year.

They were found in an unopened box lost in transit for eight months. The survivors were rehomed.

7. Did you see mystery police convoy? – 221,325

In the end the explanation was innocent enough.

But for a while speculation was rife as to why a huge police convoy was spotted escorting a large covered object along the M25.

Nuclear warheads, £65 million of gold and a UFO were all perfectly feasible suggestions.

The actual cargo was, perhaps, less interesting – equipment for use in the ongoing HS2 rail project.

6. Human remains found as PC held on suspicion of murder – 221,596

A tragic end and horrifying development in the search for missing Sarah Everard shocked Kent.

The 33-year-old marketing executive's body was found dumped in woodland near Great Chart in Ashford in early March.

At the same time now-jailed Wayne Couzens, an armed diplomatic protection officer with the Met police, was being questioned by murder detectives having been arrested a day earlier at his Deal home.

Sarah's story brought into sharp focus the dangers women face on a daily basis and put sustained and ongoing pressure on the Met to examine its culture.

Couzens will never be released from prison after admitting kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah.

He had arrested her in the street after using his warrant card to stop her before quoting coronavirus legislation.

5. 'I promise they do not care for you' – 232,433

There were job shortages throughout the retail sector as the country returned to something resembling normality.

But it was one 17-year-old's experience working at JD Sports in Bluewater that outraged many of you.

Jasmine Dinnie's account of her time at the sports retailer was met with almost universal sympathy.

4. Wildlife park confirms closure – 251,234

Businesses in January 2022 may well feel a sense of déjà vu.

With spiralling Omicron cases footfall has crashed at a time of year when they'd be hoping to fill the tills.

Last year the situation was very similar. As lockdown was lifted but cases remained high, visitor numbers at some of the county's biggest attractions dropped off a cliff.

Against that backdrop much-loved animal park Port Lympne was forced to close for January and sister site Howletts drastically reduced its hours.

The parks cost £300,000 a week to operate and welcoming hugely limited numbers was proving unsustainable.

While normal service would eventually resume the fact 251,234 people were eager to learn of any developments was an indication of the uncertainty at the time.

3. '27 people drowned and I laughed' – 273,469

It was the tragedy many had predicted.

On a cold November night around 30 people were packed into a flimsy dinghy and sent across the world's busiest shipping lane on a hopeful voyage to a better life.

But they would never reach their destination. The boat began taking on water, they desperately phoned for help and before the sun rose only two were still alive.

The news was met with horror by the vast majority and sparked renewed calls for action but for 96 people the deaths of men, women and children was something to be celebrated.

We contacted those who laughed as the reports came in to try to find out what was fuelling their hatred.

2. Sarah Everard: Second post-mortem carried out after first inconclusive – 360,806

Readers were horrified with the chilling developments after the body of Sarah Everard was found in Kent.

Wayne Couzens was charged and as the scale of the investigation became clear so did harrowing details of Sarah's final moments.

What happened to her and, more importantly, how it was able to were questions which needed answering.

1. Mum shocked to find 45kg dog in her living room – 507,066

Weighing the same as a baby hippo Simba was... worryingly underweight.

But the Tibetan Mastiff still gave one woman quite a fright when she found him in her living room one February morning.

Her daughter had adopted him for free after seeing an online advert.

Simba's previous owners hadn't been able to cope with his hulking frame – which should have tipped the scales at 65kg, the same as a welterweight boxer.

Simba's story captured the imagination of 507,066 of you, making his tale by far the year's most read.