He would have been proud to discover that his message - delivered in 1738 - was still bearing fruit.

For inside the church on the eve of the new millennium were almost 200 people, who had gathered to welcome the new dawn with song and a prayer of hope.

The Minister, Paul Wilson, had opened the doors of his church at 11.30pm on New Year's Eve.

"They are open so no one has to be alone tonight," he said shortly before the special Millennium Eve Watch Night Service.

Inside hundreds of happy faces greeted strangers with open arms.

"The night was a momentous occasion and we celebrated as loud as anyone, without any booze," said Mr Wilson.

The Methodist Church was the only place of worship in Knutsford to welcome in the new millennium.

Earlier in the day services had been held at the town's other churches.

At Knutsford Parish Church Sarah Mills-McEwan, 10, read out her self-penned poem for the millennium to a packed congregation.

But the celebrations belonged to the night.

It was, though, one of the quietest Friday nights Knutsford had even seen - with few places open for those who did decide to venture out.

Most restaurants were closed as were many pubs.

In King Street - normally packed with parked cars - hardly a soul was to be seen.

David Manley, who owns Acorn Cars, said: "We thought it was going to be busy, but it wasn't worth our while running a taxi service."

Pub doors were locked, restaurants were dark and only three cars had been left in the King Street car park.

As the clock struck midnight, fireworks could be seen - and heard - from inside the Methodist Church in Princess Street.

Seconds later drivers sounded their horns and shouted Happy New Year to passersby.

Teenager Susan Todhunter, of Queen Street, Knutsford, and her three pals were among the first on the streets to celebrate.

Another group of youngsters danced the conga in Bexton Road as the night sky was lit by fireworks which seemed to be exploding on every street corner.

But for some it was just another night.

"At midnight we'll probably crack open a bottle of milk and shake hands," Knutsford paramedic Ken Parry, who was on call with Steve Limming, told the Knutsford Guardian at 10pm.

Two Knutsford policemen had braced themselves for a busy night with a cup of tea at their station in Toft Road.

At Mobberley Victory Hall, young and old had partied long into the night - although cots were brought in for those who had dozed off before midnight.

"It was going to be difficult to find babysitters so we thought we'd get together and entertain the kids at the same time," said organiser John Storey.

"It's been a fantastic effort by everyone." At Knutsford's M6 Service Station, hitch-hiker Russ Steer smoked a cigarette as he gazed out of the window on to an empty forecourt.

The wine-seller from Somerset was hoping to join his parents at their home in the Lake District for the New Year.

"A new millennium is no big deal on the cosmic scale of things," said Russ, 25.

Just after 9pm Phillip Sharpe was cleaning the toilets at the services before his shift ended two hours later.

"When I get home I'm going straight to bed because I'm back at work at 7am," he said.

Earlier in the night a Knutsford woman's party plans were ruined when she burned her eye with hair curlers. She was taken to Macclesfield Hospital.

Yesterday (Tuesday) emergency services reported a quiet night.

One man was arrested for a public order offence, but vandals smashed three windows at Simon Boyd's fabric shop.

"Most people seemed to enjoy themselves at home," said Sgt Kevin Fryer.

Extra patrols had been drafted in - with only one local Pc given the night off because he was a new dad.

"There were intensive patrols in case the millennium bug struck," said Sgt Fryer. "If the phones started going down there could have been civil problems."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.