2019 turned out to be a busy year in Redditch.

From flooding to fires and even a visit by chart topper Stormzy our reporting team were there to bring you all of the latest events from around the region.

And we look forward to doing the same in 2020.

Until then here is a look back at the top 10 stories that attracted the most interest among our readers in 2019:

Studley butcher jailed for cheating customers over false 'best British' meat claim

In April Studley butcher Simon Drust, owner of The Meat Shack at Spernal Garden Centre, was jailed for placing fake adverts in local papers and selling mislabelled meat.

Drust was sentenced to 33 months imprisonment for placing adverts in the Redditch Standard, Solihull Observer and on Facebook saying "Buy British-All Beef pork, Lamb and Chicken" when much of it came from abroad.

Appearing at Warwick Crown Court Drust, from Johns Close in Studley, was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120.

Meanwhile Meat Shack Studley Limited was handed a £300,000 fine, a confiscation order of £127,690, and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £54,527.

Redditch residents angry with "ridiculous" Christmas tree

Redditch Advertiser:

Residents in Redditch branded the Christmas tree "ridiculous" and the town centre lights "embarrassing".

The controversial tree divided option among our readers.

One despairing reader said: "Firstly it’s not a tree. The tree has a trunk, this doesn’t have a trunk. It’s technically a light covered cone. With an arch underneath it.

"It looks pretty ridiculous actually, why couldn’t we have had a traditional Christmas tree?"

However, many others jumped in to defend the tree, which featured a walk-through arch.

Woman hit by car and killed in Redditch

In August we reported on the tragic death of a young woman killed in Redditch.

Officers were called at 5.45am to reports that a black Toyota Avensis estate had hit a woman on Auxerre Avenue in Greenlands.

The woman, in her 20s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Unicorn Hill fire: Firefighters at scene of fire at Cash Generator

Firefighters were called after a fire broke out in the early hours at the Cash Generator shop at the top of Unicorn Hill.

Friends pay their respects online after popular Redditch man's death

Redditch Advertiser:

Tributes flooded in following the death of popular Redditch man Luke Barron.

Luke, aged 30, died on July 5 after falling from a height at the Kingfisher Centre. An inquest later attributed his death to suicide.

On Facebook, Jay L Wakey said: "A truly beautiful human being who was loved by so many. The world just became a little less funnier place to be."

New pictures show damage caused by fire on industrial estate

Redditch Advertiser:

A series of dramatic photos showed the full extent of the fire which ripped through a Range Rover workshop in Redditch in July.

Ten fire engines from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service attended the blaze at Twenty-Ten Engineering in Bartleet Road in Redditch.

Twenty-Ten Engineering is family-run independent Range Rover Classic specialist that specialises in all Classic Range Rovers from 1970 - 1996.

14 cars were destroyed, including extremely rare models, along with log books, tools, and inreplaceable parts found over the years. The fire is believed to have been started by offenders breaking into the yard trying to steal parts for scrap.

Thankfully no one was injured.

Stormzy pops into Tesco Redditch

Redditch Advertiser:

The rapper Stormzy apparently popped into Tesco Redditch in June to do a spot of shopping.

Posting on Twitter, Stormzy told fans he had popped into the supermarket to buy some Greek yoghurt.

"Yes that was me in Redditch Tesco the other day. I was buying my Greek yoghurt"

His tweet was immediately met with a huge response, receiving 244 retweets and 1,388 likes in just two hours.

Escaped paedophile prisoner found drinking in Redditch

When a sex offender who abused a child after injecting her with heroin escaped from an open prison he headed to Redditch.

Paedophile Neon Collins walked out of HMP Leyhill, scared he was going to be beaten up again by other prisoners who had called him a ‘grass’.

Collins, previously known as Wayne Anthony Parkes, travelled to Redditch where he got drunk and met up with family but was arrested following a media appeal by police.

The 39-year-old later admitted a single count of escape after absconding from Leyhill, a category D open prison in Gloucestershire.

The judge jailed him for three months but said it was likely that, as a result of the escape, his time in custody would be significantly increased in any event.

Redditch road turns into lake after huge burst water main

An emergency road closure was needed when a huge water main burst on the A4189 Warwick Highway near the Morrisons roundabout.

A video posted on Twitter showed the devastation and power of the burst main, which turned the area into a temporary lake.

Redditch school pupils 'burned' in ash assembly

A NUMBER of children from a Redditch school had to go to A&E after suffering burns while taking part in an Ash Wednesday assembly in March.

Pupils from St Augustine's High School had cold ash smudged onto their foreheads, but some complained about burns to the forehead.

The school later launched an investigation.

The Christian Ash Wednesday ritual involves receiving a mark of ashes on the forehead as a token of penitence and mortality.