OUR final look at the stories from Barnsley that caught our eye in 2025 focuses on the last three months of the year...

October

The inspirational Claire Throssell met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the capital in October.

He made a promise to Claire that he would change the law to protect children from abusive parents.

Eleven years on from the heartbreaking deaths of Jack and Paul, Claire was welcomed into 10 Downing Street by the PM.

The Chronicle which has steadfastly reported on Claire’s campaign throughout was invited to join the meeting where Sir Keir outlined how he now plans to change the law.

The Downing Street invite came after the decade-long campaign by Claire to ensure her boys left a legacy that no parent should ever have to endure the ordeal she has.

Jimbob the ferret went missing from his Cudworth home in October and its owners thought that he might be gone for good - that was until he was found in the bonnet of their neighbour’s car almost a week later.

At six years old you’d have thought he’d have done most of his exploring already - but he’s had one hell of a week since his shock disappearance.

Sarah Guest said Jimbob had managed to get out and there was no sign of him - that was until her neighbour Tamsyn Crossland took her car into the garage after it had been playing up all week.

And that’s when he popped up, giving the mechanic quite the fright...

A local golfer’s double stroke of genius secured him quite the feat this month.

Steve Copeland, who lives in Royston, achieved hole-in-ones twice in eight days - having never hit one in 25 years.

Steve got his first hole-in-one on September 23 at Barnsley Golf Club, with the second following on October 2.

Unbelievably, both happened at the same hole.

Steve attributed his achievements to a combination of favourable weather conditions - and pure luck.

November

The annual Proud of Barnsley awards lit up the town once more in November.

The first tears at the Rapid Response Proud of Barnsley night at the Metrodome Arena came from the Mayor of Barnsley, Coun Dave Leech, as he announced he was giving his special award to the staff at Athersley North Primary School.

The 30-strong team from the school had no idea they had been chosen to receive the award and the arena rose to its feet as the Mayor revealed his winners.

There were other emotional awards too all four finalists in the Triumph Over Adversity category received trophies as the judges and the public vote did not yield a clear winner.

Tireless charity fundraiser Judy Holling was the surprise recipient of the Milly Johnson Feelgood Award and there was another big surprise in store for the family of serving soldier Nathan Cox who won the Charity Fundraiser Award.

But as is often the case with Proud of Barnsley, the most emotional award was saved until the end and the Sir Michael Parkinson Special recognition Award went to retiring Barnsley Hospital paediatrician, Dr Diarmuid Kerrin.

A heroic teenager who sprang into action when a machete-wielding robber stole a pensioner’s handbag was hailed a hero by South Yorkshire Police bosses who gave the youngster a rarely-given award for his immense act of bravery in November.

Evan Blythe was on his way for his first day at Netherwood Academy when he got off the bus and saw an 80-year-old woman - who was using crutches - being attacked by a man in broad daylight.

But in the ultimate act of bravery, he jumped in the way and tried to stop the attack from continuing.

Officers involved in the case made the rare decision to honour Evan with a Superintendent Commendation Award, something which is reserved for acts of heroism.

Amateur dancers who performed in front of a sold-out Civic helped raise more than £15,000 for Barnsley Hospital Charity.

The charity’s first Strictly Glitterball event, which took place in November, was a resounding success and saw nine beginners from local firms partnered with professionals.

It was all in aid of the charity’s Breast Care Appeal, which aims to raise £250,000 to modernise the hospital’s outpatient unit.

The event was won by Rapid Response Telecoms’ Connor Crowcroft and his partner, Lily Thomas.

December

Barnsley singer Jake EB had a second chance to impress music mogul Simon Cowell as he appeared on Netflix’s latest boyband show.

Many locals will have seen the 18-year-old performing across the town but his stock is set to rise even higher after being named as one of the top 16 boys to appear on the show ‘Simon Cowell: The Next Act’.

He flew out to Miami to compete and has since been out and about in the town performing gigs at various venues.

Hero firefighters and council officers ensured that Mini - a 14-year-old terrier - was able to spend Christmas at home with her family after she became trapped inside a pipe in Carlton.

Firefighters were already on scene at Carlton Marsh Nature Reserve attempting to free Mini who had managed to get herself stuck inside a one-foot pipe.

The council’s highways department attended and supported the fire service with equipment to help Mini who had been trapped for hours.

The family of a Barnsley woman who died of rabies earlier this year hosted a special Christmas meal for some of the town’s most vulnerable people on Saturday to mark what would have been her 60th birthday.

Her daughter Robyn said that as they were unable to give gifts to her mum, they wanted to support some of the town’s most vulnerable residents.

She said it was something her mum always wanted to do and, with the help of Age UK, almost 60 locals attended the meal at the Courtyard Cafe in the town centre.