Top 10 biggest stories on the ITV Anglia website in 2013

The sea crashing into Cromer seafront in Norfolk during the storm surge of December 2013 Credit: Peter Cheney

The ITV News Anglia website has been clicked on and surfed millions of times during 2013 and these are the top ten most popular stories during the year.

1. The St Jude's Day Storm

On Monday 28 October the St Jude's Day Storm battered the East of England causing widespread disruption to travel and power cuts. Hundreds of trees were blown down and half a million households across the country lost power.

The wind gusted up to 80mph at Andrewsfield in Essex.

A double decker bus was blown over in Suffolk during the St Jude's Day storm Credit: ITV News Anglia

2. The East Coast storm surge

The storm surge in December saw homes fall from cliffs at Hemsby in Norfolk Credit: ITV News Anglia

On 5/6 December the biggest storm surge since 1953 hit the East Coast testing sea defences to the limit.

The waves broke through in several locations particularly in Norfolk. Holiday homes tumbled off cliffs in Hemsby in Norfolk and Cromer pier and seafront were battered.

There was flooding in Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft and hundreds of people were forced to leave their homes and spent the night in evacuations centres.

3. The driver who knocked down a cyclist and tweeted about it

Emma Way, who tweeted about knocking over a cyclist in her car. Credit: ITV News Anglia

In May a young driver was at the centre of a media and Internet storm after she boasted on Twitter about colliding with a cyclist on a Norfolk road.

Emma Way's infamous tweet, with the hashtag "bloody cyclists", followed a minor collision in Snetterton with cyclist Toby Hockley who was taking part in a100-mile cycling event.

Emma Way lost her job and was later found her guilty of failing to stop after an accident and failing to report it, but was cleared of driving without due care and attention.

4. The appeal for Tic Toc the missing pony

Tic Toc the pony, belonging to five-year-old Joshua Carnegie, went missing in December Credit: Carnegie family

In December, the parents of a five-year-old boy from Cambridgeshire made an emotional appeal for the return of his pet pony after it was stolen from a paddock behind their home.

Catriona Carnegie and her husband Andrew who live at Ramsay St Mary near Huntingdon delayed telling their son Joshua that 24-year-old Tic-Toc was missing.

The appeal was taken up on social media and several celebrities joined in the hunt.

5. The County Council elections

The number of councillors won and lost in the Anglia region in the County Council elections. Credit: ITV News Anglia

The county council elections saw widespread changes in political control across the Anglia region. The Conservatives lost power in Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and saw their majorities slashed in most of the other counties.

UKIP were the big winners going from 3 county councillors in the Anglia region at the last election to 48.

6. Sports car crashes into a house

A sports car embedded in a house near Lowestoft in March Credit: ITV News Anglia

In March, the driver of an Audi was seriously injured after the sports car he was driving left the ground and ended up embedded in the wall of a house.

The accident happened in Carlton Colville near Lowestoft.

Lewis Richardson, from Pakefield, Suffolk was later banned from driving for two years.

7. A body in a pub car park for four months

The body of a man lay inside his van parked at a pub in Cambridgeshire for four months. Credit: ITV News Anglia

In April, ITV News Anglia reported that the body of a man lay inside his van parked at a pub in Cambridgeshire for four months.

The landlady of the Lazy Otter at Stretham near Ely said police ignored her attempts to tell them the van was there.

The death of Paul O'Brien from Cambridge was not suspicious but the police said they would reviewing their response.

8. A bomb scare in Cambridge

In October, an abandoned rucksack sparked a bomb scare in Cambridge Credit: ITV News Anglia

In October, part of Cambridge city centre was cordoned off and buildings evacuated after an abandoned rucksack sparked a bomb scare.

Police were called by a member of the public who spotted the bag close to the Grand Arcade shopping centre.

A bomb disposal squad was called to investigate and a controlled explosion was carried out.

9. The sweetest resignation letter

A resignation letter written in icing on a cake by an official at Stansted Airport. Credit: ITV News Anglia

In April, a Border Force official quit his job at Stansted Airport with a resignation letter which was written in icing on a cake.

Chris Holmes from Sawston in Cambridgeshire wrote his sugary resignation note telling bosses that he was giving up his job to devote more of his time to his family and his cake decorating business.

10. Stars filming new drama in Southwold

New drama, A Mother's Son being filmed in Southwold in 2012 Credit: ITV News Anglia

And the tenth most popular story on the Anglia website in 2013 was actually posted in 2012.

It was a location report about an ITV drama.

A production crew was filming the drama in the Suffolk village of Walberswick. A Mother's Son starred Martin Clunes, Hermione Norris and Paul McGann.