THE NEW year started with a bang - literally - for thousands of revellers across the South as they welcomed the long-awaited dawn of the new millennium.

As champagne corks popped and fireworks lit up the night sky, a party mood gripped Hampshire people - and they took to the streets.

In Southampton, a massive firework display drew oohs and aaahs from crowds on the night - but its £135,000 cost provoked uproar.

January also saw the build-up of one of the biggest environmental debates ever to grip Southampton and the Waterside, with battle lines drawn over the proposed development of Dibden Bay. Southampton City Council revealed it had put aside £300,000 to put its case for the major port development.

Health matters hit the headlines, with the most severe outbreak of flu of recent times to hit the South.

Hospitals throughout the county had to cope with a massive influx of cases that forced hospital bosses to appeal to former employees and those on leave to come back to work.

Cheery little Charlotte Payne was an example to us all.

The five-year-old has overcome a catalogue of health problems and managed to keep smiling.

The nightmare for David Jones, now former Saints boss, was starting to unfold. As the number of child abuse charges against him rose to 17, his misery increased when Southampton Football Club announced that Glenn Hoddle had been picked for the manager's job.

For more pictures and stories of the year see tonight's and tomorrow's Daily Echo