In 2024, the national news has brought us ups and downs, sheer craziness from elections in the UK and America - and a banana taped to a wall which sold for millions.

And there was plenty going on just here in Kent. Over the past 12 months, KentOnline posted around 141,000 stories and was visited a staggering 329,424,663 times by a total of 33,288,329 users to read tales about celebrities visiting the county, tragic deaths and plenty of torrid weather.

Here are the stories millions of you clicked on this year.

10) Paul Hollywood and wife tell of abuse they received over plans to turn pub into home

Great British Bake Off star Paul Hollywood has a long history of making it into the news.

The 58-year-old and his wife, Melissa Spalding, live in Smarden near Ashford and in August had their proposals to turn the Grade-II listed The Chequers Inn into a residential property considered.

Councillors voted to approve the plans and were met with cries of “shame on you” from angry villagers who attended the meeting.

Ms Spalding said she and the TV star had put £80,000 of their own money into trying to save the business, but it wasn’t viable.

Speaking at the planning meeting about insults she had received, the 41-year-old said: “The last six months have shown us the worst in people’s behaviour. The personal insults and attacks have been unforgivable.”

9) Woman unable to rehome surprise litter of XL Bully puppies doesn’t want to put them down

All the way back in February, a controversial ban on owning XL Bully dogs was introduced after a spate of nasty attacks around the UK.

It resulted in some people abandoning their dogs, taking them to be put down, or being forced to follow the new, stricter rules, including owning an exemption certificate.

One woman from Canterbury was left with a tough decision to make after she took in XL Bully Brandy unaware she was pregnant.

The 43-year-old refused to put down the pups as the family are “animal lovers” and well-wishers helped raise £5,000 which paid for the dogs’ exemptions and helped towards the £100-a-week food bill.

8) Police investigate after double tragedy on tracks

Sadly, Kent’s busy railway system has been the scene of heartbreaking deaths of people young and old.

But when two people lost their lives on the same day in different parts of Kent, sparking a large emergency response, it struck a chord with readers.

On September 6, police appealed for witnesses after a route between Folkestone and Dover was shut when a body was found in the early hours. Similarly, officers were called just hours later to the line near Canterbury East station where a second person was confirmed dead.

Services around the county were heavily affected after the double tragedy and detectives launched two separate investigations into the circumstances.

7) House of Fraser leaves Bluewater after 25 years

Our readers love hearing the latest news on Kent’s biggest shopping centre and the shock departure of one of its anchor stores was no different.

In September it was revealed House of Fraser – which was one of the Greenhithe site’s three corner anchor stores – would be leaving, sparking a huge discount sale at the retailer.

John Lewis was the first major tenant to sign up to Bluewater when plans for the large shopping centre were first announced in the 1990s, with fellow anchor tenants House of Fraser and Marks and Spencer following suit shortly after.

Fast forward three months from House of Fraser’s departure announcement and it was revealed another retail giant, Next, would be stepping into the void House of Fraser was leaving behind. Plans have been submitted to alter the shop front and are expected to take up to nine months, with work starting in March.

6) Huge cordon in town centre after woman’s “unexplained death”

The shocking and mysterious death of a woman in a town centre caught readers’ attention at the beginning of the year.

Just before midnight on January 18 a large cordon was set up covering nearly all of Ashford High Street after a woman was found unresponsive.

All roads and alleyways leading to the High Street were blocked by police, as emergency services continued to work in the area. Businesses such as the town’s Wetherspoon pub were shut as a result of the incident.

A month later, the woman was named as 30-year-old Chelsea Louise who had been described by her brother as a “funny, lively ray of sunshine” who suffered from some “terrible mental health issues”.

5) Greenhouse and trampoline blow onto tracks as Storm Isha batters Kent

In what was one of several storms to batter the UK, and in particular Kent, Storm Isha came to the county in full force in January.

Strong winds of up to 80mph lashed towns, toppled trees and caused several power cuts.

A number of trains in Kent were cancelled after items were blown onto the tracks, including a greenhouse on the route at Westgate-on-Sea, a trampoline at Rainham and trees at Teynham and Kearsney.

As a result of the violent winds, a rare 12-hour “danger to life” warning was issued by the Met Office.

Some of the county’s main bridges, including the QEII Dartford Crossing and Sheppey Crossing, had to be shut as a result of the strong gusts.

4) Kent’s hardest secondary schools to get into and why

More than 110,000 clicked on our investigation into which schools around the county are the hardest to get into, with the over-subscription of places becoming a massive problem.

KentOnline revealed that most popular secondary schools were denying places to as many as four out of five children which had listed them as their first choice.

Following an “Outstanding” Ofsted report, one school in Kent received almost 1,000 more applications than it had places, leaving its head teacher listening to the “heartbreaking stories” of children denied a spot.

At another, just one in five youngsters listing the school as their first choice were accepted, with close to half of the places offered to pupils from outside the county. You can find out more about them here.

3) Man winched to safety after huge seafront operation

Another January story and another emergency response to a Kent town, this time involving a man being rescued from the water by a helicopter.

The coastguard was called to Herne Bay seafront and joined by paramedics, the fire service and police after a person was seen struggling in the water.

Pictures showed the huge response along the town’s Central Parade at around 7pm.

A coastguard spokesman said: “HM Coastguard sent Herne Bay and Margate coastguard rescue teams, along with Whitstable RNLI lifeboat, an HM Coastguard helicopter, Kent Police and Southeast Coast Ambulance Service. The person was winched to safety by the helicopter and passed into the care of the ambulance service.”

2) Body found in search for missing Leah

One of the most heartbreaking stories of the year came after a body was discovered in the hunt for a missing 24-year-old.

Leah Daley was last seen at The Warren along the coast in Folkestone on May 5. Tragically, after nearly two weeks she was found by two members of the public in undergrowth nearby on May 17.

A huge effort had been launched to find her which included police appeals, a rapidly growing Facebook group called Leah’s Search and the circulation of the hashtag #findleahdaley.

A vigil was held for the young woman the following day, with her family telling KentOnline they would be “forever grateful” for the support they received during that excruciating 12-day period.

1) Arrests after protesters clash in Kent

In August, tensions around the UK boiled over after a mass stabbing at a Taylor Swift dance event in Stockport left three young girls dead and several more children and adults seriously injured.

Around the country, there were violent demonstrations and anti-immigration protests with people angry over the incident and claims the suspected attacker was Muslim and an asylum seeker.

On August 7, there were reports those demonstrations would make their way to Kent and this led to anti-racism protesters also coming out. Riot police were stationed across Canterbury, Chatham and Dover on the night after fears of disorder. However, the disorder was kept to Chatham, at the town’s Innovation Centre.

Some people with Union Flags clashed with rival protesters with signs saying “Stop the Far Right” and “Medway Stand up to Racisim”. In total, three people were arrested and seven were spoken to by police.