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December 2008: Aston comes so close to glory in big X Factor final
The month began in dramatic fashion when we revealed how an ET reader feared for his life when he was caught up in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.
The month began in dramatic fashion when we revealed how an ET reader feared for his life when he was caught up in the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.Sebastien Stevens (42) was forced to huddle for safety in the kitchen of the Taj Mahal hotel in the Indian city as gunmen went on a murderous rampage outside.
There was more bleak news for the city's economy when 600 job losses were announced in a single day on December 6.
The biggest blow came from Peterborough City Council, who are to shed 400 posts, while Perkins Engines announced plans for 150 redundancies among permanent and temporary staff.
December was the month when Peterborough singing sensation Aston Merrygold's long and dramatic X-Factor journey finally ended with a narrow defeat in a pulsating final.
The former Jack Hunt School pupil did the city proud by leading his band, JLS, to the final two of the ITV1 reality show, before missing out to eventual winner Alexandra Burke.
But despite losing out, Aston (20) promised his thousands of fans in Peterborough they would be seeing plenty more of him and the boys in future. He said: "We are all winners. The world is our oyster."
There were extraordinary scenes in one corner of Peterborough when a council cleaning team moved in to clear up a notorious "house of squalor".
Neighbours had been complaining about the stink and mess from the semi-detached home for years, and the mammoth task of clearing tonnes of rubbish piled almost to the ceiling from the rat-infested property is expected to last into the new year.
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2008: in words, photos and video.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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