The UK is considering possible options to help defend shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks, the defence secretary has said.

John Healey also signalled that British forces needed to be ready in coordination with allies to evacuate UK nationals from the Middle East if the US and Israeli war with Iran worsens.

He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the so-called E5 group of European powers, which includes Germany, France, Italy and Poland, on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

On the threat to oil tankers in the Gulf, the senior cabinet minister said the best way to unblock the vital waterway would be an end to the war between the US, Israel and Iran.

Iran war latest: follow live

However, as conflict rages and with tankers ablaze, he said he has asked his military planners to look at what the UK could offer alongside other nations to protect commercial tankers needing to pass through the Strait from attacks by Iranian drones, mines and missiles.

This could include autonomous vessels that can counter mines.

In addition, the British military has personnel based at a headquarters in Bahrain with expertise in commanding maritime security operations.

The UK is already sending HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, with significant air defence capabilities, to bolster its defences in the region. This ship could also potentially be an option if there is a move to protect shipping.

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Read more:
US Navy to escort oil tankers through Strait of Hormuz
What we know about the deadly Iran school strike

“Recognising the huge impact this potentially has on oil prices and the cost of living, there is an international imperative to try and see this resolved,” Mr Healey said, referring to the disruption to the flow of tankers carrying oil and gas through the Strait.

“I have – pre-positioned in the region – some autonomous mine hunting systems,” the defence secretary told reporters, speaking after meeting with commanders at the permanent joint headquarters, PJHQ, in Northwood, in northwest London, which is the main headquarters overseeing British military operations around the world.

“I have been talking to planners today about additional options we can bring to bear alongside allies should it be needed.”

However, Mr Healey stressed that this work was “early days”.

“You should not read into that that we have got some hard options poised to go. But… I am discussing additional options with our planners.”

Mr Healey said he had spoken with E5 defence ministers about greater coordination in the Eastern Mediterranean.

He signalled this could also mean in any future evacuation efforts.

“If this conflict worsens, we have to be ready should evacuations be required,” he told commanders.

The UK has placed RFA Lyme Bay, a vast support ship, on heightened readiness to deploy, in a sign of the kind of assets being readied.

However, the options to assist in defending shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or conducting evacuations are more limited than they have been in the past following defence cuts.

A decade ago, the Royal Navy had at least one major warship operating out of Bahrain and up to four minehunters – each one a large, crewed ship – as well as a huge support vessel.

Today, there are no warships based out of Bahrain, with the last crewed minehunter, HMS Middleton, sent back to the UK for maintenance.

It means the UK could only contribute to an effort to protect shipping in the Gulf alongside allies like the US and France.

WASHINGTON (AP) — An American military refueling plane taking part in the operation against Iran crashed in Iraq and rescue efforts were underway, U.S. Central Command said Thursday.

It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties. A U.S. official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the developing situation, said the KC-135 aircraft that crashed had at least five crew members aboard.

The crash was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire, the military said in a statement, which described the plane as “a loss.”

U.S. Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, said that two aircraft were involved and that one landed safely and the other went down in western Iraq.

A second U.S. official, who similarly spoke on condition of anonymity, said the other plane involved also was a KC-135 tanker.

“More information will be made available as the situation develops,” Central Command said. “We ask for continued patience to gather additional details and provide clarity for the families of service members.”

The tanker is the fourth publicly acknowledged aircraft to crash as part of the U.S. military’s operations against Iran. Last week, three American fighter jets were mistakenly downed by friendly Kuwaiti fire.

All six crew members safely ejected from the F-15E Strike Eagles and were in stable condition after being recovered, the U.S. said.

Seven American troops have been killed in combat during the Iran war so far, while about 140 U.S. service members have been injured, including eight severely, the Pentagon said earlier this week.

Both President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have warned that the Iran war would likely claim more American lives before it ends.

Six of the fallen service members were killed when an Iranian drone struck an operations center at a civilian port in Kuwait. They were in the Army Reserve and worked in logistics, keeping troops supplied with food and equipment.

They died one day after the U.S. and Israel launched the military campaign against Iran on Feb. 28. The Islamic Republic has retaliated with missiles and drones against Israel and several Gulf Arab states that host U.S. armed forces.

The seventh American service member died after being wounded during a March 1 attack on the Prince Sultan Air Base, Saudi Arabia.

Trump joined grieving families for a dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base when the remains of the first six soldiers were returned to the United States. Vice President JD Vance, Hegseth and others saluted the seventh flag-draped transfer case as it arrived this week at Dover.

The KC-135 tanker involved in the latest crash is based on the same design as the Boeing 707 airliner and entered military service more than 60 years ago. Like other long-serving aircraft, the planes have undergone various retrofits and upgrades over the years.

The KC-135 tankers typically have a crew of three. It’s not immediately clear what role the extra crew members were serving aboard the flight.

According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, the Air Force last year had a total of 376 KC-135s, including 151 on active duty, 163 in the Air National Guard and 62 in the Air Force Reserve.

Six years ago, as countries around the world went into COVID lockdowns, the air got cleaner. Factories slowed down, roads emptied and aeroplanes were grounded. As people stayed home, the world burned fewer fossil fuels and so carbon dioxide emissions dropped – by around 7% in 2020.

But something else was also happening in the atmosphere. Levels of methane – an extremely potent greenhouse gas that warms the planet even faster than CO₂ – rose faster in 2020 than at any point since records began in the 1980s. And methane levels kept on rising during 2021 and 2022.

Ever since, scientists have been trying to piece together what caused this sudden mysterious increase in methane. Now, they think they have the answer, and it was partly due to COVID lockdowns.

In this episode of The Conversation Weekly podcast, we speak to Philippe Ciais, a researcher at the Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences at Université Paris-Saclay in France, and one of the authors of a new study in the journal Science about the spike in methane levels, who explains how they solved the mystery.

The atmosphere contains a special type of cleaning agent called hydroxyl radical (OH) which is capable of breaking down methane. Ciais calls it the “pacman of the atmosphere”. The production of these OH particles is facilitated by pollution, including nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide (known collectively as NOx) from combustion processes.

“ In the chain of complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere that leads to the formation of NOx, OH is generated,” says Ciais. “When you have a reduced emission of NOx, as it was the case during the COVID, you have a weakening of OH … less concentration of this cleaning agent, and as a result, methane increasing faster in the atmosphere”.

The study found that around 80% of the spike in methane was caused by a reduction in OH, but increases in methane from wetlands and from agriculture also played a role.

Ciais says understanding where the growth in methane came from doesn’t mean the world should go on polluting. Rather, it’s a wake-up call. “ It’s not by continuing to drive more that we will reduce methane. It’s by reducing [methane] emissions,” he said. “That’s the ultimate way we have to prevent methane from increasing and amplify the warming of the climate.”

Listen to the interview with Philippe Ciais on The Conversation Weekly podcast. This episode was written and produced by Mend Mariwany, Katie Flood and Gemma Ware. Mixing by Eleanor Brezzi and theme music by Neeta Sarl.

Listen to The Conversation Weekly via any of the apps listed above, download it directly via our RSS feed or find out how else to listen here. A transcript of this episode is available via the Apple Podcasts or Spotify apps.

Emergency services were called to the crash this morning (Thursday, March 12)

A man has been arrested after a crash involving a lorry and car. Cambridgeshire Police were called to the incident at around 8.20am today (Thursday, March 12) on Ramsey Road, near Wistow.

Officers arrested the driver of the car, a man, on suspicion of drunk driving. However, the man has been taken to the hospital with injuries believed not to be serious.

The lorry driver was also taken to hospital. A police spokesperson said: “We were called at about 8.20am this morning to Ramsey Road, near Wistow, to reports of a collision between a car and an HGV.

“The car driver, a man, has been arrested on suspicion of drink driving but has also been taken to hospital for injuries which are not believed to be serious.” The East of England Ambulance Service transported two people to hospital.

An ambulance spokesperson said: “We were called shortly before 8.30am with reports of a road traffic collision on the B1040 in Wistow, involving a car and a lorry. Two ambulances and an ambulance officer vehicle were sent to the scene. Two patients were transported to hospital for further care.”

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Ms Long said there were “political tensions” within the four-party coalition

Alliance Party leader Naomi Long has warned that her party’s continued participation in the Stormont powersharing Executive should not be “taken for granted”.

Ms Long said she would have no problem stepping away from the Executive if she believed that it had become too “threadbare” to deliver for people.

The Justice Minister also blasted the “pantomime” politics of the Assembly which she said had become more concerned with “how people dress going into the chamber than how they address each other”.

READ MORE: Failure to agree Stormont budget would be catastrophic, Naomi Long warnsREAD MORE: Pay for Stormont MLAs will rise from £53,000 to £67,200, it has been confirmed

Ms Long spoke to the Press Association ahead of the Alliance Party conference on Saturday.

The cross-community party currently has two ministers in the Executive, Ms Long and Andrew Muir.

But Ms Long said there were “political tensions” within the four-party coalition.

She said whether to remain part of the Executive or to go into opposition was something that she “continually measured”.

She said: “Being in the Executive for us is a matter of balance and choice, and so we weigh up on every occasion could we deliver more as part of the Executive than we could outside, or are we just going in and propping up something that is so dysfunctional we won’t be able to deliver anything?

“We made a decision in 2022 to go in because we felt that with the two ministers we could deliver more, I think that was the right decision.

“But that’s a balance that we don’t just make after elections.

“That’s a balance that we continually measure, because if we get to the point where we feel that our involvement in the Executive is just propping up something that isn’t capable of delivering, that isn’t allowing us to deliver on our priorities, where we are frustrated to the point where we can’t actually do the jobs we’re there to do, then we don’t need to wait for an election to make that change.

“That’s a consideration that we’re constantly weighing in the balance.

“I would just say that nobody should take for granted our continued engagement with the Executive, either before or after the elections.

“We want to be good partners in government.

“We want to behave constructively, we want to deliver for people of Northern Ireland but, if we’re being blocked from doing those things, if we’re not able to deliver on real change for people, then what would be the purpose of staying there?”

She added: “At the moment we are delivering much more than we could just sitting outside the executive critiquing it.”

“But if I ever felt that the executive was so threadbare that we weren’t able to continue making the change I would have no problem stepping away from that.”

The Alliance leader said she believed global politics was currently in a “negative space”.

She said she believed standards of debate at Stormont had “declined rapidly” in the current Assembly mandate.

Ms Long said: “I think there have been standards that were taken as normal in the past that have fallen by the wayside.

“There’s been more focus, frankly, on how people dress going into the chamber than how they address each other, which should be the substantive issue of concern.

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“I’m as robust as the next person. I can give it, I can take it back, but there is a certain standard with which you should have the exchanges.

“And I do think the way some of our colleagues have been spoken to, not just in Alliance, across parties, it’s just not acceptable. It’s not acceptable.”

Ms Long said there had been a “cheapening” of political discourse in the social media age.

She added: “It’s lean-in to the sort of Trump narrative, where you can say anything, you can be abusive, you can be rude, and people will still think that there’s something powerful about that, or dynamic about that.

“I want to live in a society and I want to do politics in an environment where people are respectful, where people come to the debate not just to read a speech or to drop a zinger, but actually to listen to what their opponents think and respond to it and and hear a different perspective that might actually shape their views.

“I can’t imagine anybody would be impressed by watching the Assembly and some of the pantomime antics that go on down there.

“I can’t imagine any member of the public who sees that as hard work or diligent or professional.”

Ms Long said she understood public anger over a recent independent recommendation for a 27% pay rise for Stormont MLAs.

She said: “We were very clear in our submission, MLA pay being raised by 27%, it isn’t sensible, it isn’t sustainable. It isn’t credible.

“Particularly when the Assembly does struggle to deliver and connect with the public, but also it isn’t reflective of what’s happening in the wider public sector, where we have real challenges in terms of our budgets and real challenges in terms of pay.

“We have argued that our pay should be linked to other public sector workers, and I think that that is the way it should be.”

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Amanda Meadowcroft, 53, of Argyle Street, and Bradley Couzins, 34, of Gillibrand Street, appeared before Manchester Crown Court to be sentenced for fraudulent evasion of a prohibition by bringing into or taking out of the UK a controlled drug.

The charges relate to April 22, when Meadowcroft and her friend arrived back in the UK from the Dominican Republic, where they were met by Border Force agents.

Officers asked Meadowcroft if she had packed the two bags herself, which she denied for one bag but admitted for the other.

Within the bags, a total of 14kg of cocaine was discovered.

However, Ben Berkson, prosecuting, said that analysis of the drugs showed that they were mostly cutting agents and had trace levels of cocaine in them.

Christopher Green, an expert witness, said that if the drugs were of a high quality, they were worth up to £294,000.

Judge Hilary Manley said: “The facts are simple, you flew from the Dominican Republic to Manchester with luggage that contained cocaine.

“It was of low purity, and it appeared you had been duped.

“The fact that the cocaine was of low purity is neither here nor there. I will temper [your sentence] to a degree to reflect that purity was low.”

A phone seized from Meadowcroft revealed communication with her son, who had arranged the travel, passports and transport from the airport.

Additionally, within the phone, it showed messages which, Amy Weir, mitigating, argued showed that Couzins had been intimidating and threatening his mother to import the drugs.

However, Mr Berkson argued that it did not match the messages.

He said: “Couzins is the organiser, directing Meadowcroft and her friend to carry out the offence; she was misled about the nature of the packages.

“Whilst he has appeared to direct Meadowcroft, the crown is of the view that they both played a significant role in the enterprise, and the idea that she was engaged through pressure, coercion, does not match with the messages.”

As a result, Couzins was arrested on August 7 after he had assaulted an emergency worker while trying to smash his phone that had fallen from his pocket.

Mr Berkson added that at the time of the offending, Meadowcroft had already been serving a suspended sentence for importing 30kg of cannabis, and she admitted that she had breached her suspended sentence.

Kristian Cavanagh, mitigating for Couzins, said that he had been engaging well since getting into prison, particularly with his work and with a trauma therapist at the prison.

READ MORE: Two charged over drugs offences following police raid

READ MORE: Two arrested for drug offences after police spot ‘suspicious vehicle’

He added that since he had a son of his own, he was looking to lead a law-abiding life.

Ms Weir said Meadowcroft was remorseful for her actions and, having been a drug user herself, expressed genuine remorse that she was now involved in a system that exacerbates issues for users.

She said: “This is a remorseful defendant, she used the word ashamed and ashamed she is involved in this offending for the second time.

“She has had issues with drug dependency and has had a difficult time in relation to drug use.

“She does express genuine shame that she is involved in a system that exacerbates the issues she has as a drug user.

“She has two children and grandchildren, and she is motivated to be a productive member of society, but she knows she is letting them down.”

A tearful Meadowcroft apologised profusely as she was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, while Couzins was sentenced to seven and a half years’ imprisonment.

Charles Lee, NCA Senior Investigation Officer, said: “This criminal family went to great lengths to source and smuggle class A drugs into the UK.

“The duo planned and executed an operation born out of greed, culminating in a violent assault on an NCA officer. Thankfully the officer made a full recovery.

“Alongside key partners such as Border Force and Lancashire Police, the NCA will continue to disrupt supply chains and bring criminals like Meadowcroft and Couzins to justice.”

“Joe was a much-loved son, brother and partner, his unnecessary death has left an immeasurable chasm in our lives.”

The family of a soldier who died of a gunshot to the head while waiting to go on a firing range have paid tribute to a “much-loved son, brother and partner”.

Lance Corporal Joe Spencer, 24, from Hampshire, was killed on November 1 2016 when an L115A3 sniper rifle fired a round while he was sheltering from the rain in an Iso shipping container at the Tain Air Weapons Range in the Scottish Highlands. At the end of a seven-day inquest in Winchester, the jury of five women and six men returned a narrative conclusion which said the exact circumstances of how the gun went off remained a mystery.

The jury concluded on Wednesday that “inconsistent range management and adherence to safety procedures” led up to the incident. Speaking on behalf of the family, L/Cpl Spencer’s father, Graham Spencer, said the inquest was “incredibly difficult” but was “something we needed to do to honour Joe’s memory”.

He added that the family “remain disappointed that not all of those tasked with the safe delivery of the course gave full evidence in court”. Mr Spencer said: “Joe was a much-loved son, brother and partner, his unnecessary death has left an immeasurable chasm in our lives.

“He was our youngest son and we miss him more each day. Joe was kind and compassionate, always smiling, with a quick wit and dry sense of humour.

“Despite being badly injured while serving in Afghanistan, he fought back with incredible determination to continue the career he loved. That was the measure of Joe.

“It’s more than nine years since Joe was taken from us, however the passage of time has done nothing to ease the grief and sense of loss we feel. It has been hard to focus on remembering our Joe and the wonderful memories we have of him, because so much of our energy has gone into trying to establish the events that contributed to his death.

“The length of time this has taken has been incredibly difficult for the whole family. We’re grateful to Joe’s colleagues who attended the inquest and gave evidence in person. It was clear from their accounts that Joe was a highly capable and well‑respected soldier.”

The youngest of three brothers, L/Cpl Spencer joined the British Army in 2011, and became a member of 3rd Battalion The Rifles. He was deployed abroad on a number of occasions, including operations in Afghanistan, where he was seriously wounded in a grenade attack.

After 18 months of care following the Afghanistan incident, L/Cpl Spencer returned to operational duties and was promoted to the rank of lance corporal in May 2015. The following month he bought a home with his partner.

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Whether you are a fan of any of the many football teams he managed or, even, the reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… these days in his south-coast retirement Harry Redknapp is a national treasure. Even impartial observers will be watching to see if his horse, The Jukebox Man, can win the blue riband of jump racing, the Boodles Gold Cup at Cheltenham.

But, to borrow from footballing parlance, it is no tap-in for the Ben Pauling-trained eight-year-old who comes in unbeaten in all four starts over fences culminating in the-King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, his last start.

That day the first four all finished within half a length of each suggesting there is not much between The Jukebox Man, who admirably fought back after losing a length at the last, Gaelic Warrior, who was third that day, and the eye-catching finisher Jango Baie in fourth.

The Jukebox Man will be attempting to do it for Harry, England and St George and Pauling settled his nerves after a difficult week when Meetmebythesea won yesterday.

However, the Willie Mullins stable form – five winners this week so far – means Gaelic Warrior, the trainer’s only representative, will be sent off favourite to give him a fifth win in the race and colourful owner Rich Ricci, who won Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle with Lossiemouth, a first. Patrick Mullins has been saying for a year this is a Gold Cup winner.

Cheltenham Festival day 4 tips and results

1.20: JCB Triumph Hurdle

• Marlborough’s tip: SELMA DE VARY
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: MINELLA STUDY
  Unbeaten in three starts, one of them at Cheltenham, for small northern yard
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: PROACTIF
  Hard to see why Willie Mullins’ favourite should be beaten by any of his other runners – had plenty in hand last time

2.00: William Hill County Handicap Hurdle

• Marlborough’s tip: JUBILEE ALPHA
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: ABSURDE
  Mixes it on the flat and over jumps, winner of this two years ago, third last year, should be there or thereabouts again
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: BOWENSONFIRE
  Tough as anything and very consistent

2.40: Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Steeple Chase

• Marlborough’s tip: PANIC ATTACK
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: PANIC ATTACK
  Has already had a sensational season winning some key races, she can win this on the way to the Grand National
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: DINOBLUE
  She has a fair bit in hand on official ratings

3.20: Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle

• Marlborough’s tip: THEDEVILUNO (Nap)
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: MONDOUI’BOY
  Improving Ascot winner who looks like he will find more improvement for extra half-mile
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: MONDOUI’BOY
  Irish will be hard to beat here, but he was good at Ascot

4.00: Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup

• Marlborough’s tip: THE JUKEBOX MAN
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: JANGO BAIE
  As long as he stays, appears to have a touch of class
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: THE JUKEBOX MAN (Nap)
  Did well to win the King George at Kempton, this stiffer track will suit him

4.40: Princess Royal Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Steeple Chase

• Marlborough’s tip: STATTLER
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: WRAPPEDUPINMAY
  If it has rained all night the ground may have come for him
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: PANDA BOY
  Shrewd trainer, won going away last time

5.20: Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle

• Marlborough’s tip: EAST INDIA EXPRESS
• Marcus Armytage’s tip: AIR OF ENTITLEMENT
  Winner at the meeting last year for Henry de Bromhead, dropping back to handicap gives her a big chance
• Charlie Brooks’ tip: ROC DINO
  Very consistent in an open race

Gold Cup runner-by-runner

Envoi Allen
Eighth consecutive appearance at the Cheltenham Festival for this 12-year-old. First try over this Gold Cup trip and he’d need a career best to outstay some of his younger rivals at this stage.

Firefox
Has had stamina doubts from an early age and whilst he ran respectably in the Irish Gold Cup on his last start, it would take a big effort to improve on that upped even further in trip.

Gaelic Warrior
Has become more consistent with experience. Hugely talented and capable of beating this field, but he will need to settle and jump well to be the strongest finisher over this stiff, three-mile-plus trip.

Gold Tweet
French raider who was fancied to run well at the Festival three years ago. Not become a top-class performer since then and has a lot to find on the Official Ratings here.

Grey Dawning
Comes into this a fresh horse which has always been the plan. Yet to prove he can beat a few of these but expect an improved performance from last time. Will need to be foot perfect over his jumps, which has sometimes let him down late in races.

Haiti Couleurs
Seems to enjoy running from close to the front so will need the race to suit on the stiffer New Course. Acts on any ground but may want rain to come to suit his run style and slow some of his opponents.

Inothewayurthinkin
Had a poor season up to now but recent reports suggest he’s coming back to himself. Trainer capable of readying one off such a campaign. However, this edition of the Gold Cup is stronger than last year and will need to be at his peak to win again.

Jango Baie
Confirmed he stayed three miles on his last start in the King George. Beaten by two of these that day and does need the even longer trip and stiffer track to bring about more improvement to reverse the form – general consensus is he will but he’s a strong traveller and it’s not a foregone conclusion.

L’Homme Presse
Ran with credit behind a couple of Friday’s opponents this year. A regular in this event and best chances to win perhaps come and gone. If the rain doesn’t arrive he’s likely to be tapped for speed at the business end of the race.

Spillane’s Tower
Bounced back at Cheltenham last start which put concerns about the track to rest. Enjoyed the soft ground that day and won’t have enjoyed the recent, settled forecast. A chance if they see rain.

The Jukebox Man
Lightly raced stayer who should be primed for this race. He has a good blend of speed and stamina, seems ground versatile and confirmed his ability when winning the King George last time. He’s a bold jumper from near the front, so his jockey, Ben Jones, won’t want to commit his mount too early, but the horse a typical type for this race.

Big-race trends

Triumph Hurdle
Nine of the last 12 winners were trained in Ireland, and eight of them ran in the Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown – four of those won that race, the other four placed. Being a juvenile race, experience is something to consider here, with 10 of the last 12 winners having at least one win over hurdles. However, last year’s 100/1 winner Poniros went against all trends; he had never run over hurdles before.

Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle
Stay away from the top of the market in this one. None of the last 12 winners returned as favourite, with just two winning after being sent off in the top three in the betting. Indeed, 10 out of the last 12 winners were priced 11/1 or higher. This is another race, much like the Stayers’ Hurdle, in which being tried and tested at the trip is paramount. All but one of the last 12 winners have won at least once over three miles.

Cheltenham Gold Cup
The big one and a race in which it has paid to back favourites on the whole. Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead have trained six of the past seven winners of this race. The starting-price favourite has won four of the previous six Gold Cups, while the favourite has only finished outside the top four once in the last 10 renewals. Each of the last 12 winners has been aged between seven and nine.

Cheltenham Festival day 4 ground and weather

Going Good, good to soft in places.

Weather Light rain showers and a moderate breeze, 9C.

Betting on Cheltenham?

There’s a lot of competition between bookmakers for customers during the festival and they will often run their best promotions of the year, especially earlier in the week. Take a look at these Cheltenham betting offers to find free bets to use throughout the week.

How to watch Cheltenham Festival day 4

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the first five races of the day on ITV1, with coverage beginning at 12.45pm GMT every day until 5pm GMT. The races can also be streamed via ITVX. There is a preview show each morning from 9am GMT to 10am GMT which is shown on ITV4 and ITVX.

The final race of each day will not be shown on ITV but will be live on Racing TV. Subscriptions for the channel, which shows every race from the Festival, are available through Sky and Virgin Media and online through its website and app.

Paramedics were called to a property in March after the parents of a three-month-old baby found him not to be breathing, an inquest opening has heard. Cambridgeshire Police were called by the East of England Ambulance Service to a property on St John’s Chase in March at around 11am on January 3.

Atijus Elertaitis spent five days in hospital in a life-threatening condition before he died on January 8. The inquest into his death was opened by Coroner Elizabeth Gray at Vantage House on Thursday, March 12.

The inquest heard paramedics attended and carried out 90 minutes of resuscitation before transporting Atijus to Peterborough Hospital. Atijus was then transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital where he was found to have “a bleed on the brain” and “no brain activity”.

A woman, 25, and a man, 22, both from March, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. They were both re-arrested on Thursday, January 8, on suspicion of murder.

The pair have been released on bail until April 4. An investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Ms Gray said that the cause of Atijus’ death is “currently pending”. The inquest has been suspended.

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