Lancashire nostalgia in 1995: Floods, TV fame and PNE sign David Beckham

Manchester United teenage sensation David Beckham signs for Preston North End

Here's a look at some of the stories that were making the headlines back in 1995:

The night the rains fell down on Lancs

The North West was mopping up after torrential floods brought misery for thousands of people.

The deluge throughout the north of England forced families out of their homes and created travel misery for road users.

Lancashire’s fire service battled with one of its busiest nights on record with almost 250 emergency calls in four hours.

Police closed roads as the rivers Ribble, Lune, Hodder and Dunsop burst their banks and hundreds of families were evacuated to safety as flood waters threatened their homes. Some stretches of the Ribble had risen up to 15ft more than normal.

Landlords were also faced with clearing waist-deep water from their beer cellars after more than four inches of rain drenched Lancashire.

Some of the worst problems were: More than 20 homes in Kings Croft and Church Brow, Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, were evacuated just after 3am when the River Ribble overflowed and threatened to flood their homes; and people were warned to keep clear of Avenham and Miller parks in Preston as flood waters reached up to 8ft.

Look back at a selection of pictures from 1995 here

Ellwood family go positively potty in the name of TV fame

What do you get if you throw out an ironing board, three plates and two drawers full of knickers through your bedroom window?

A brush with telly fame and £1,000, if you’re the Ellwood family, of Preston.

Nurse Carol Ellwood was amazed when a live picture of her house flashed up on the screen as her and a family group watched the Saturday night gameshow Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush.

Anarchic host Chris Evans announced that a live broadcast unit was outside the semi-detached house in Deborah Avenue, Fulwood, and that the family inside had just two minutes to take part in one of the show’s wacky games.

Neighbours watched through their windows in amazement.

As the clock counted down, the family had to throw a bizarre list of household items through either of the upstairs windows, the living room window or the front door, according to instructions rattled off by the ginger-haired presenter.

Out went the duvet from the bedroom, the Yellow Pages from the living room, three plates that crashed onto the drive, a toaster, the bathroom scales, and a potted plant.

And the Channel Four show got more than it bargained for when two drawers full of knickers were hauled out of the upstairs window, due to an over-enthused family.

Man United star signs for PNE

Manchester United wonder boy David Beckham joined Preston North End in a loan deal that will rock soccer.

The £3m-rated teenager - one of the famous Fergie Fledglings at Old Trafford - became the latest transfer coup in manager Gary Peters’ bold push for promotion.

Beckham, scorer of one of the goals when United thrashed Galatasaray 4-0 in the European Cup in December, put pen to paper on a deal which could keep him at Deepdale until after the play-off final in late May.

PNE boss Gary Peters said of his amazing signing: “Everyone in football will think this is a wind-up.

“I’m so thrilled that we managed to keep David’s loan quiet. If other clubs had heard he was available for loan then I’m sure we could have lost out.”