EVEN though news reports of the First World War were dominating headlines 100 years ago, day-to-day news still found its way to print.

A Brighton Argus cutting from August 18, 1914, detailed mysterious events on a Brighton to London Victoria train the day prior.

Curiously the train, which was said to be “travelling at speed of 50 miles an hour between Burgess Hill and Hassocks”, was delayed by two hours after wheels on its engine “left the metals”.

Elsewhere a more downbeat report revealed the “story of the sad Hastings accident”, where an eight-year-old boy was run over by a bus.

The boy’s father, who was ironically a bus conductor himself, told an inquest his son Reginald was “well able” to look after himself in traffic but his eyes were “weak and he wore glasses”.

War updates were the order of the day, however, as readers were told that British forces had landed in France. Feel-good headlines told the Sussex faithful that General French’s boys were given a “joyous reception” in what was a “triumph of organization”.

Readers were also told they must order their copy of Sussex Daily News to find the facts from all war fighting centres on land and sea.

In language probably considered on the borderline of abrupt in today’s modern age, the report tells readers they must order Sussex Daily News “at once”.

Another report in the paper would no doubt be much welcomed should it have found its way into The Argus 100 years later – falling food prices.

It read: “English wheat was nominally 5s, and foreign wheat 3s to 4s, lower on the week while flour was one to two shillings down.

“At Mincing Lane, sugar fell 2s and at Islington cattle market prices were also down”.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed.