Check out top top Barry and Penarth stories from 2022

A lot happened in 2022 locally, nationally, and globally, and it’s now a moment of rest and reflection at the start of 2023.

Here we look at some of the most read stories in the Vale of Glamorgan this year…

Camera crews spotted in Barry in January caused quite a stir – the coastal town isn’t a stranger to television with Gavin and Stacey, Doctor Who, Casualty, and more filmed there. Find out what was being filmed here.

Meanwhile, Penarth had a positive start to 2022 with a popular café announcing that is would relocate to a new home at the Cliff Tops. You can read more about that here.

And that wasn’t the only Penarth business to flourish during 2022 – a boutique was rated among the top 20 in the UK while a restaurant was named the third best in Wales and among the best in the UK.

Let’s not forget the Barry baby who was born with crazy hair which sticks out in every direction despite her mother’s attempts to brush it.

You can read that here.

Although these positive pieces were well read there’s also an interest – across all our titles – for stories involving crime or court and the Vale of Glamorgan is no exception to this.

Many of these did well on Barry and District News including one about a cocaine dealer who was given a four-year prison sentence.

Plus a burglar, with 37 previous convictions, also returned to prison with Judge Jeremy Jenkins saying:

“It is about time the good citizens of Barry have a rest from your nocturnal activities and the fact that you keep committing offences as serious as burglary.”

You can read the full story here.

Armed police presence also caused a stir in Barry in July.

You can check out the video and find out what happened here.

Many people read about a Cardiff builder who was fined more than £1,400 for fly-tipping in Wenvoe following an investigation.

And, in March, a body was discovered on Penarth Beach with emergency services at the scene; police confirmed that the death was not being treated as suspicious.