Northern Rock gallery

On September 14 2007, tens of thousands of savers besieged Northern Rock branches across the UK, in the first run on a British bank in almost 150 years. They had heard that their bank had turned to the Bank of England for emergency funding, and feared that their savings were at risk Photograph: Cate Gillon/Getty

The news that Northern Rock had been crippled by the credit crunch was first broken late on the evening of Thursday, September 13, by BBC business editor Robert Peston. In the early hours the first queues started to form. Britain's banking industry hadn't seen such panic in almost 150 years, but the fears were well-founded - if the Rock went bust then account holders' life savings were at risk Photograph: Graeme Robertson/Guardian

The crowds were still in force on Monday, September 17, with Northern Rock incapable of handling the numbers demanding their money. In London, John Bateman arrived at 7.45am and joined the back of a long queue. One of his sons, a financial analyst, had advised him to empty his account. Bateman said that Northern Rock’s management, led by chief executive Adam Applegarth, had been 'a bit ambitious'. 'He has been a high flier. In fact he’s been a bit of a cavalier.' Photograph: guardian.co.uk

Chancellor Alistair Darling faced accusations of dithering as the crisis intensified. As the political pressure mounted, he announced late on the Monday that the government would guarantee all deposits. This helped to calm the immediate panic, but left the bank's future in doubt Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Northern Rock's demise was sparked by the credit crunch, when banks suddenly stopped lending to each other because of fears over the US subprime mortgage market. Applegarth was heavily criticised for making the Rock - now dubbed the Crock - so reliant on wholesale funding. He was eventually forced to resign, with a payment worth £760,000 Photograph: PA

Another board-level casualty was chairman Matt Ridley. He quit three days after MPs gave him a fierce grilling over the crisis, blaming him for not keeping Applegarth under closer control Photograph: PA

Bank of England governor Mervyn King was also hauled over the coals by MPs for not acting sooner. He defended his actions and said existing rules for takeovers and protection for savers made the crisis hard to handle. The Financial Services Authority ended up carrying most of the blame Photograph: PA

As new management were parachuted in, the Rock became a major political headache for Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling. Their guarantee meant that the taxpayer was exposed to billions of pounds of potential losses, so they tried to find a buyer Photograph: Martin Rowson

The crisis meant Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat's treasury spokesman, was rarely off the TV screens and the business pages. He repeatedly insisted that the Rock could only be saved by being put into public ownership Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

But could one of Britain's most prominent entrepreneurs be the Rock's saviour? For weeks Virgin competed with Olivant, the private equity firm, to take over the troubled bank Photograph: Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP

Investors in Northern Rock endured a grim few months as its shares tumbled. In January they got their chance to lambast the company, at a heated EGM in Newcastle. Two hedge funds won the right to challenge any fire sale of the company Photograph: Scott Heppell/AP

Most shareholders took a pragmatic view on the bank's collapse. Peter Grundy hoped the bank could survive as a private company run by competent management, not 'an opportunist with £200m'. 'I don't want it dubbed Virgin Rock, or Northern Virgin, or some vulgar name like that,' he said Photograph: Graeme Wearden/guardian.co.uk

Employees also showed up at the EGM, fearful that they might lose their jobs. But despite the lobbying, one-in-three positions was later axed by replacement chairman Ron Sandler Photograph: Graeme Wearden/guardian.co.uk

Eventually, in February 2008, Alistair Darling bowed to the inevitable and nationalised Northern Rock. Although it is still trading today, the bank is a byword for the chaos caused by the credit crunch and the mistakes made by both bankers and politicians Photograph: Getty