March started with Mark Noke being named as the victim in a murder investigation after the 64-year-old was found with a single stab wound to his chest in his flat on Warburton Road.

His family paid tribute to him saying he was a “kind and loving member of our family who also touched the lives of so many others with his warmth, kindness and generosity".

The Echo’s front page on March 3 was the horrific story of 19-year-old Dawid Such, who after being ambushed by three men was stabbed to death.

At the opening of their trial at Winchester Crown Court, the jury was told David had been outside his home in Langhorn Road when he suffered a major wound to his back as well as another injury to his abdomen in the "clearly drugs-related" attack.

As more people saw the effects of the cost of living crisis, a group of seven pensioners feared they would be left on the brink after an 80 per cent increase in housing charges at Walton Court, Southampton.

One woman said she “almost had a heart attack” when she found the increase in her bills which she said will cause an “extreme” stretch to her finances.

Meanwhile, Scott Chilton, the new chief constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, said that trust, confidence, and investigating crime “really well” are the three things he would promise to the people of Southampton.

Crime continued to hit the headlines, as business owners in Bevois Valley were left devastated after eight cars went up in flames in four separate but deliberate incidents.

The vehicles included two Volvos, a Mercedes SLX convertible and an Iveco van.

Back at court, the family of 15-year-old Emily Lewis who was killed in a speedboat crash described the moment her life support system was turned off as the “coward” skipper and company owner avoided being sent to prison.

Michael Lawrence, 55, who was driving the boat, was found not guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence, but guilty of failing to maintain a proper lookout and failing to proceed at a safe speed, while Michael Howley, 52, the owner of the now defunct Seadogz which ran the boat trips, was convicted of not operating the boat safely.

There was a lot of talk about immigration last year, and the Echo spoke to an asylum seeker stuck in a Southampton hotel who is desperately trying to live a normal life in the UK.

Tevin Padilla, who fled Trinidad and Tobago after falling out with his family over his sexuality, said the uncertainty of waiting for the Home Office to process his application has left him “bursting into tears”.

Finally, two neighbours with homes under Redbridge Causeway had described their lives as a “living nightmare” thanks to work on the bridge.

The duo say the noise from the works going on overnight stopped them from being able to sleep.