April started with great news for travel junkies and local businesses. 

Work got underway on a £17 million, 164 metre runway extension project to secure the future of Southampton Airport by allowing it to handle larger planes. 

More than 6,000 runners then took to the streets of the city for a record-breaking ABP Southampton Marathon.

Daily Echo: Southampton Marathon 2023.

Meanwhile, in the courts, killer Richard Shaw was jailed for a minimum of 30 years after stabbing much-loved grandmother Lorraine Mills, 63, in a “frenzied and unprovoked” attack in her home in Millbrook.

The crime continued as residents of a Southampton tower block were in shock after police launched a murder investigation following the death of a woman on Easter Monday. Emergency services were called to International Way in Weston after a woman in her 50s was pronounced dead.

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The arrival of Storm Eunice got readers in a spin - figuratively and literally.

But one woman was seriously injured when scaffolding collapsed on her as 50mph winds battered Hampshire.

In some positive sports news, AFC Totton were crowned Southern League Division One South champions - with games to spare! 

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Meanwhile, plans to build thousands of affordable houses in Southampton took a step forward as companies were invited to apply for a chance to work on the £120m project.

Tributes were also paid to a D-Day veteran who died just months after his 100th birthday. Joe Cattini was described as a giant of the veteran community.

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In other sports news, Saints interim manager Ruben Selles could not hide his pride after a 3-3 draw at Arsenal.

Daily Echo: Southampton manager Ruben Selles on the touchline during the Premier League match at the Emirates

A touching story also pulled on our readers' heartstrings.

Southampton dad Jay Fear described the moment he fulfilled his dying wish to meet Hollywood A-lister Ryan Reynolds. The Lordshill man and his family travelled to Wrexham to see the team owned by the X-Men film star and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney secure promotion to the Football League after a 15-year hiatus.

Daily Echo: Jay Fear and Ryan Reynolds at Wrexham AFC

Over at Southampton City Council, it was revealed that staff cuts could be made at as the authority scrambled to draw up a fresh budget amid a major spending review.

At the courts, a driver sent a pedestrian flying into the air after deliberately mounting the pavement and ramming into him in Totton.

In further court news, three men were sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 19-year-old Dawid Such outside his home in Langhorn Road. 

Finally, Southampton got ready to party ahead of the King's Coronation.