As we approach the end of 2021, it's time to take a look at all the highlights of the previous year as we leave it behind us.
From a sisters' parking war, a 15-year-old boy with OCD working for Gary Neville to a baby octopus sale at Morrisons.
This year has been packed full of strange, eye-catching and downright bizarre stories.
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Here are our top stories for the year which our readers simply couldn't keep their eyes away from.
Sisters find note 'stuck to Range Rover windscreen with silicone' after parking on street
Two sisters who drive matching Range Rover Velars claim they had notes stuck to their windscreens with glue and silicone after parking on a residential street.
Ellie Newman, 36, who lives in Whitefield, and sister Jordana Timeyin, 39, of Prestwich, park their vehicles on a street close to where they work.
Ellie claimed she discovered a note stuck with silicone to the windscreen of her black Range Rover after she finished work.
But Ellie said she and sister Jordana are perfectly within their rights to park there, as they both pay tax.
She said: "It was costing me to get my car repaired so I won't park here anymore.
"I think it is jealousy."
Meet the 15-year-old with OCD who works for Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Molly-Mae Hague and Tommy Fury
Zykiah Ditchett, from Worsley, turned his love of cleaning into washing cars for celebrities - attracting bug names customers such as Molly-Mae Hague and Gary Neville.
He was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder at 13 after concerns were raised over his “constant” cleaning at home.
In a bid to get him outside more, his family purchased him a car valeting set for Christmas.
The youngster would use his kit to clean relative’s cars, being paid £5 each time.
His mum, Jo Ditchett, put a post in a local Facebook group explaining Zykiah’s love of cleaning cars.
Two years on, Zykiah, now aged 15, runs his own social media accounts and website.
The youngster now cleans for the likes of huge stars including Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville, Molly-Mae Hague, Tommy Fury and Scott Mctominay.
Stockport boy's foot 'melted like wax' after stepping on hot sand at Formby beach
A young boy's foot "melted like wax" after he stepped on hot sand where a disposable barbecue had been at Formby Beach.
Nine-year-old Will Tyler was also left temporarily unable to walk and in need of a skin graft after the horrific incident.
Will visited the beach with his parents Toby and Claire, and his sister Lily.
The family, along with their friends the Morley family, were visiting from Stockport, and had purposely hiked right across the sand dunes to avoid crowds.
Will's dad Toby said: "Everyone I’ve told this story to just cannot believe how sand can stay that hot.
"We’d used one of those disposable barbecues where the coals are in a foil tray. The bottom of the tray was on the sand, which I now know meant the heat was being sent down into the sand and the foil surface was trapping it there.
“When we moved the barbecue, the top of the sand cooled, but underneath it was still roasting hot as the heat had just been trapped there. We learned later it can stay dangerously hot for hours and hours."
Mum's 89p hack stopped her having to buy new school shoes
A mum's 89p hack for saving her daughter's school shoes went viral.
When five-year-old Brooke's school shoes were scuffed at the front after just three weeks in school, mum Veronique McDermott was understandably reluctant to buy a new pair.
So after trying to cover the scuff marks with nail polish and Sharpie pen, she decided to try some electric tape - and has never looked back.
Hundreds of parents have been reacting to Veronique's post, raving about her 'incredible idea'.
"Game changer," said one mum, while another added: "I’m on my third now at school and this is actual genius lol!! So simple and I’ve never thought to do this! Thank you lol! X"
'My daughter has been out of school for three YEARS because the council 'can't find her a suitable space'
The mother of a 10-year-old girl claimed her daughter had been out of school for nearly three years - because the council couldn't find her a spot.
Lisa Riley, from Bury, says her child had been without regular education since she was expelled from a school in Rochdale in year three.
Layla Fielding, who has special education needs, would run out of the school when she felt overwhelmed.
And the lack of classroom time has had a 'devastating' effect on her and her family.
It has been three years since Layla has had any regular classroom time - although Bury Council told the MEN she has been enrolled at a school during that time.
Layla did attend St.Joseph & St.Bede's for a few weeks in the January after she was excluded from a school in Rochdale.
But her mother says her 'flight or fight response' was triggered - and she once again managed to escape the school grounds.
Residents leave 'vicious' note on work vans left outside their homes
A defiant removal firm boss slammed 'busybody' residents over a poison pen letter that told his drivers not to leave vans outside their homes at night.
Michael Whitworth was shocked to spot warnings on the two branded vehicles he leaves overnight on an 'adjacent road' to his house in Stockport on Monday morning.
'Annoyed' firm owner Ryan Marriott, whose face was mocked in the note, posted the angry note to Facebook and joked 'the animated man is a very good looking chap', while slamming the unknown author or authors as 'busybodies'.
The 33-year-old's post has since earned more than 400 interactions with many branding whoever wrote the note as 'ridiculous', while Ryan admits he thought he wanted to 'get it online' as soon as he saw it.
Michael, from Burnage, said: "I got a WhatsApp saying that I've got a note on my van then I came out to see the same quite vicious note on my windscreen. I was like 'oh my god'.
'Baby' octopus on sale at Morrisons for 36p sparks emotional debate
A supermarket shopper in Salford had a “painful” experience in store after spotting an unwanted “baby” octopus being sold for just 36p.
Justin Webb, 46, a charity worker and vegan from the region, was in the Eccles branch of Morrisons on Tuesday evening when he spotted what he believed to be four baby octopuses in the reduced to clear section of the store 20 minutes before closing time.
Mr Webb was left heartbroken by the sight, and snapped a picture of one of the creatures, posting it to Twitter along with the caption: “36 pence for a dead baby octopus, one of the most amazing creatures to ever swim the seas. I swear we do not deserve this world.”
He added: "We should be angry. The poor thing was priced at £1.41 to start with, which is offensive in the extreme for a living wild creature, to then see it marked down adds insult to injury.
“It shows the human disregard for life.
'Panic and screaming' on Ibiza to Manchester flight delayed for over two hours
'Panic' over a smell coming from a plane saw a flight from Ibiza to Manchester delayed.
The Jet2 flight left the airport in the south of the Spanish party island over two hours after it was due to take-off.
Its departure had already been delayed, with passengers left sat on the runway, due to a 'technical fault' which engineers were examining.
However, the Manchester Evening News was told that as it was taxiing some passengers towards the back of the plane reported that they smelt a funny smell and could feel the heat through the aircraft walls.
This is said to have caused distress with one woman suffering a panic attack and one passenger saying they wanted to get off the plane.
Shoppers who queued through the night for '£2,000 gift bag' from new Range store left fuming
Frustrated shoppers hit out at The Range after disappointment over gifts they received at the grand opening of the new store at the Rock in Bury.
Avid bargain-hunters were seen queuing up with camping chairs and blankets from 11pm last night, ahead of the shop opening its doors at 9am this morning (Friday, November 19).
In its advertising for the grand opening, The Range promised the first 200 customers in line would receive 'a gift bag with prizes worth over £2,000 to celebrate the 200th store'.
However, this offer seems to have created some confusion, with shoppers who queued to get their gifts saying some were worth no more than £10.
The Range explained that the 'total value of prizes and gift cards given away to the first 200 customers was £2,000'.
One shopper, Emma Louise, who queued from 5am for the opening, said: "We were promised a £2,000 grand prize I got there at 5:00am with good faith that I was going to win.
"Waited four hours, spent so much money on hot drinks to stay warm."
