THE DAILY ECHO jumps in the DeLorean and fires up the flux capacitor in order to remember Hampshire life in February 1979.

February 1

Grave diggers in Liverpool called off a strike that had delayed dozens of burials. Liverpool council considered informing the public that they could use cemeteries just so long as they made "their own arrangements for gravedigging".

February 2

Former Sex Pistols guitarist Sid Vicious was found dead after suffocating on his own vomit following a heroin overdose. He was on bail for the second degree murder of his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, who was found stabbed to death on October 12, 1978.

February 3

British football's very first £1 million deal was struck when Trevor Francis signed for Nottingham Forest.

February 12

A lorry driver's strike led to the closure of more than 1,000 schools when heating oil failed to reach them.

February 14

A concordat between Trades Union Congress and Government, named The Economy, the Governement, and trade Trade Union Responsibilities, marked an end to the Winter of Discontent.

February 22

Saint Lucia became independent of the United Kingdom. It had been part of the British Empire for more than 170 years.