Lancashire Constabulary believe that the collision happened at about 10 pm on Saturday, March 22, after an Audi A3 driving northbound lost control close to junction nine and collided with trees down a steep embankment before coming to rest out of view of the carriageway.

The driver and sole occupant, a man in his 30s from Nelson, suffered serious injuries and died at the scene.

Emergency services were contacted this morning after the vehicle was discovered in the early hours.

The motorway was closed for a number of hours before reopening this afternoon.

READ MORE: M61 partially shut after crash in early hours – live updates

READ MORE: Emergency services on scene of serious crash after vehicle careers off motorway lane

Sgt Bex Price, of the Road Policing Unit, said: “This collision has very sadly resulted in a man losing his life and I would appeal to anyone who has any information or footage which may have captured this vehicle prior to the collision to get in touch.”

If you can help, call 101 quoting log 0074 of March 23rd.

You can also email the Serious Collision Investigation Unit at SCIU@lancashire.police.uk

It went further. In 2022, Sollip, a Korean fine dining restaurant in Southwark, won a Michelin star, while Santiago Lastra’s Mexican restaurant Kol teamed up with New York venue Atomix, a near-unbookable two-star joint that became even harder to visit when, in 2025, it was placed at number 12 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

The former footballer and Match of the Day host stopped by at The Scrap Box in Dunnington on Saturday (March 21) after learning that it had been named the best takeaway in Britain.

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Arriving shortly after 12pm that day, Gary enjoyed a traditional cod and chips, along with Scrap Box’s famous tartar sauce.

Gary Lineker praised Scrap Box’s cod and chips after stopping by to try it on Saturday (Image: Supplied)

Co-owner Aman Dhesi said: “He came in at early lunchtime, was polite and spoke with lots of customers – many of whom were football fans.

“We were really busy at the time, so I couldn’t talk to him for too long, but being a huge cricket enthusiast, he was interested to learn about Dunnington’s history with the sport.

“I asked him about his podcast – The Rest Is Sport, and he complimented his fish and chips.

“He was a lovely guy and even re-posted us on his Instagram page after.”

Owners of The Scrap Box Aman and Gavin (Image: / SWNS)

A family member of Gary’s is reported to have told the star about Aman’s business in Hull Road, which he runs with his brother Gavin.

It comes after the pair were celebrated during the National Fish & Chip Awards on Wednesday (February 25) at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London – months after The Scrap Box was crowned one of the happiest places to work in 2025.

The business, which first opened a decade ago, offers several critically acclaimed main dishes featuring fish, pie and buttermilk battered chicken.

Its scrap box sides also include spam and pea fritters – and, for those daring few, a battered Mars Bar.

The Scrap Box in Dunnington was crowned the country’s best takeaway in February (Image: / SWNS)

Speaking about Scrap Box’s surge in popularity, Aman said: “Trade has gone crazy, but ultimately, it’s about keeping our regular customers happy.

“They are the ones who made the awards happen – and we are forever grateful.”

After decades of silence, the Football Association has finally said sorry to the women who refused to let the game exclude them, paying tribute to the Manchester Corinthians and their fight to keep women’s football alive against the odds.

The apology follows a Manchester Evening News campaign calling for recognition of the pioneering team, whose story is now being told by surviving members in the documentary The Corinthians: We Were the Champions.

For Myra Lypnyckyj, aged 90 and the oldest surviving player, the apology is a long-overdue victory.

She said: “This is a brilliant victory for The Corinthians. To get an apology for the ban from The FA after all these years is the best win we have ever had. It’s 70 years since I started playing football and I never thought they would apologise in my lifetime. They never would have done it at all if it hadn’t been for our film. Now it would be great to walk out at Wembley and for the team to get the recognition on the pitch at last.”

Monica Curran, who toured with the team to Italy in 1961, added: “This apology is totally ground-breaking. For an institution like the FA, the dominant force for football to finally say sorry is amazing. They call us the Footballing Suffragettes, and for me, this feels like it must have for them when women finally got the vote. We were a real team getting that story out there with the filmmakers. This is a victory for the whole crew. We made history.”

The FA today said it is sorry for a decades-long ban on women’s football, honouring the Manchester Corinthians for their ‘unwavering spirit and determination’. The team faced years of ignorance and were told they could not be a proper club because the game was ‘unsuitable’ for women.

Hailed as football’s ‘pioneers’ and forming in 1949, the original Lionesses defied the ban and were an inspiration to women and girls who wanted to become involved in the male-dominated game.

The FA apology comes after a Manchester Evening News campaign demanding recognition for the Corinthians, which was backed by its surviving members, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and director of the documentary Helen Tither.

England’s Lionesses have twice lifted major silverware in recent years while women’s football continues to go from strength to strength. But the FA banned women’s football for five decades between 1921 and 1971. In the 55 years since the ban was lifted, the FA had not issued an apology for the injustice. That was until today, March 23, a week after the M.E.N. launched its campaign ahead of the screening of The Corinthians: We Were the Champions at HOME next month, which highlights the scale of injustice faced by its players and is told entirely in the words of the team’s ten surviving members.

The FA had banned women’s football from the grounds of Association-affiliated clubs in 1921. Yet Manchester Corinthians Ladies Football Club were the first women’s team to tour South America in 1960, beat Germany to an unofficial European Cup in 1957, and triumphed over Juventus to win a cup in Europe in 1970. Now, they have secured a significant new victory.

In a statement issued on March 23, the Football Association said: “Manchester Corinthians Ladies FC were pioneers of women’s football. Through their unwavering spirit, talent and determination, they blazed a trail for women’s football around the world.

“We are sorry that a ban on women’s football was introduced in 1921 and not revoked until 1971. We recognise the courage of the teams and individuals who continued to play the game during this period. In more recent times, our ongoing commitment and investment into women’s and girls’ football in England has achieved unprecedented success and growth across all levels of the game and we will ensure it continues to thrive in the future.”

Other members of the Corinthians reflected on the significance of the apology. Anne Grimes, who joined the team in 1956 and toured Germany and South America, said: “I can’t believe it, that is incredible. I never thought they would ever apologise because they never saw the need to do it before. I think it’s down to finally this film shining a light on what happened. Now they can’t ignore the truth. It’s always been a David versus Goliath battle, The Corinthians against The FA. Now, over 70 years since we started we have finally won the battle to be recognised and for an apology. This apology is for all the women who played. I could just cry for them not all being here to hear it. They would have been in absolute awe.”

Marlene Cook, who toured South America with the team in 1960, added: “The Corinthians proved that women don’t need permission or fancy statements to succeed. We did it despite the system, not because of it. We welcome The FA’s apology and now we want to look forward. This moment isn’t only about saying sorry. A real apology looks like equal investment in girls’ and women’s academies. It looks like girls having the same training facilities, the same sponsorship deals, the same media coverage as boys. It looks like clubs committing to women’s development the way they do men’s. That’s the apology that matters. That’s the change that counts.”

The Corinthians: We Were the Champions is directed by former M.E.N. women’s editor Helen Tither for Manchester-based production company Films Not Words. The film is told entirely in the words of the team’s ten surviving players: Myra Lypnyckyj, Anne Grimes, Marlene Cook, Pauline Hulme, Freda Ashton, Monica Curran, Jean Wilson, Margaret Whitworth, Margaret Shepherd, and Jan Lyons.

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‘National injustice’ as FA takes 105 years to apologise

The documentary tells the real-life story of the rebels of women’s football, defying the 50-year ban on women playing and their journey to becoming global champions. The apology from the FA comes 105 years after the ban was first implemented, which Tither described as a ‘national injustice’.

“It has taken 105 years for The FA to apologise for the horrendous ban on women playing football, and the fact that our film has been the catalyst for them to finally say the words ‘we are sorry’ is a historic achievement,” she told the M.E.N.

“We have campaigned for four years with this film to get The Corinthians’ story told, and we are so pleased these original rebel girls of football are vindicated at last. Today feels like a real victory for all the players and the Films Not Words crew who made this happen against the odds. I couldn’t be prouder of the 10 Corinthians who took part in our film. Sadly, it comes too late for the many women who have died without hearing The FA say sorry. We really believe the way these women were treated during the ban is a national injustice and we hope the whole country watches this film and learns how these women fought to play.”

Helen Tither also thanked the Manchester Evening News for supporting the campaign.

“It’s a true victory for Mancunian filmmaking and journalism,” she said.

Susan Aitken, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “It was very clear, even as the catastrophic fire at Union Street was still burning, that this incident was going to have a huge impact on a really wide variety of businesses – including a great number of small and independent businesses – in our city centre.

Rufus Davies sustained fatal head injuries in the collision

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A two‑year‑old boy died after being struck by a family friend who was reversing onto her driveway, an inquest has heard.

Rufus Davies suffered fatal head injuries in the collision, which occurred in May last year while he was visiting friends with his parents. Wiltshire and Swindon Coroner’s Court was told the toddler had been moments from greeting the family friend when the incident unfolded.

The family had parked on the driveway of a property in Tidcombe, near Marlborough, and were waiting for their friend, Tamsin Hayward, to arrive. As Mrs Hayward approached, Rufus’s mother, Olivia Davies, allowed him to get out of the car.

“I told Rufus that Tamsin had arrived, and he was so excited to see her, he wriggled to get out of the car,” Mrs Davies described in a written statement. “I opened the driver’s door and helped him down. He ran round the back of the car.

“I figured Tamsin would park the nose of her car straight in next to mine and that in the time between his feet touching the ground and running behind my car she would have parked. It turns out she wanted to reverse her car in.

“I reached for my phone, water bottle and jumper from the passenger side, and as I got out of the driver’s door, I heard my daughter say to me, ‘Mummy, Rufus has been hit by Tamsin’s car’. I then ran to the back of my car and saw Rufus laying on the floor.”

Realising she had hit the toddler with her vehicle, Mrs Hayward got out of the car and began to perform CPR until paramedics arrived. However, the two-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene shortly afterwards.

In a written statement, Mrs Hayward said she backed her Porsche Macan onto her driveway, which was her standard routine.

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“I always drive very slowly in through the gate and into the drive,” she said. “Olivia and her daughter were standing on the grass outside their car on the driver’s side. I was really happy to see them and waved at them and said ‘hello’ as I drove in and had my driver’s window down.

“I knew that Rufus was also coming that day, but he wasn’t standing with Olivia and her daughter on the driver’s side or anywhere to be seen on the driveway when I drove in. I drove forward into the driveway, moving anti-clockwise around the grass circular island on my driveway.

“Apart from Olivia and her daughter, the driveway was clear and there was no one else to be seen. I drove approximately 180 degrees around the island, drew to a stop to then reverse back into my usual parking space.”

She also claims to have checked her wing mirrors and rear-view mirror before backing up, performing a careful manoeuvre. “In the second, I was looking between my right wing mirror and rear view mirror, about halfway into the parking spot, I felt the car had gone over something on the driveway,” she recalled.

“The bump I felt was on the passenger’s rear side of the car. I exited the car and saw a child lying on the gravel. To my horror, I realised the gravity of the situation and that Rufus must have been running behind me whilst I was reversing. I then saw Olivia running towards the back of the car with a look of horror on her face. I called 999 immediately.”

The car had no faults, and Mrs Hayward had tested negative for drugs and alcohol, according to PC Alexander Way, a collision investigator.

“The case has failed the Crown Prosecution Service threshold for any prosecution under the Road Traffic Act as the location is not deemed a public place or road, and the driving is not deemed under current case law as careless,” the investigator said. “It’s an extremely tragic incident with the most devastating of outcomes.”

Rufus had died from a diffuse traumatic head injury following an impact with a motor vehicle, a post-mortem examination found. Ian Singleton, the area coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon, recorded a conclusion of misadventure.

“Rufus was so excited to see Tamsin that he wanted to get out of the car, so he was helped down and ran around the back of his mother’s car, unwittingly into the path of Tamsin’s car,” he said.

“The police investigation noted that at 1.03 metres tall, Rufus would not have been visible through the rear window unless he was 4.3 metres away and the parking sensors would not extend that far, creating an area in which a child of Rufus’s height would be invisible.”

Mr Singleton added: “That remains me to pass to the family of my very, very sincere condolences on your loss. I cannot imagine.”

​Haven Leisure’s plan for 17 static caravan bases at its Reighton Sands Holiday Village near Filey has been refused after almost 80 objections were made by members of the public.

​North Yorkshire Council officers raised concerns about the character of the coastal area, while current caravan owners objected as they had “paid a premium for sea view pitches and were told nothing would ever be built in front of them”.

​The scheme at the holiday park, which is around five kilometres south of Filey, had proposed siting the caravan bases on land containing a derelict former residential building and garage and would have included decking, as well as associated access, landscaping and infrastructure works.

​Objections were made by 77 members of the public who had “concerns about loss of tranquillity, use of a valued green space and views enjoyed for decades”.

​They also raised concerns that the “development is greed over conservation and contrary to national climate priorities”.

​A new internal access road would have been created for the proposed static caravans.

​Reighton and Speeton Parish Council also objected, citing concerns about increased traffic through the village, particularly along the narrow St Helen’s Lane.

​The parish council also highlighted a “continued expansion of holiday parks along this stretch of coastline leading to cumulative visual impact, and additional pressure on local infrastructure and emergency services during peak seasons”.

​Council planners described the proposal as “an intrusive, skyline-breaking and urbanising form of development which would be readily visible from the beach and immediate coastal hinterland”.

​The authority’s principal landscape officer raised “significant concerns and considers the site highly sensitive due to its location within the coastal hinterland adjacent to open access land, the England Coast Path setting, and the strongly valued wild, open cliff top character”.

​According to a planning report, the site is close to the coastal fringe where the landscape is notably open, elevated and visually exposed, offering extensive long range intervisibility across the wider coastal corridor.

​Despite modifications made by the applicant, including a reduction in the scale of the proposal, officers decided that it “would erode the character and appearance of the undeveloped coastal buffer and would neither be visually unobtrusive nor capable of successful integration within the surrounding landscape given the exposed landform and absence of effective nature containment”.

​The council concluded: “The harm identified could not be acceptably mitigated by planting or minor layout changes given the site’s topography and exposure”

​The application was refused by North Yorkshire Council.

Shaz and Claire Wicker have proudly received the “Two Together” weight-loss accolade.

Two Monklands slimmers are inspiring others across the community after transforming their lives side-by-side, proving that with the right support, anything is possible.

Shaz and Claire Wicker, who attend Stacey McKendrick’s Slimming World group in Whifflet, have proudly received the “Two Together” accolade, recognising their dedication, commitment and the incredible support they’ve given each other throughout their journey.

Attending the Saturday 9.30am group at Calder Parish Church Hall, the hard-working pair made the decision to join after wanting to feel “healthier, happier and more in control of their lives”.

Together, they have already achieved an amazing one-stone seven-and-a-half pounds weight loss – a result of consistency, commitment and supporting each other every step of the way.

Shaz and Claire said: “Life gets busy and it’s so easy to fall into bad habits.

“We both knew something had to change and doing it together made all the difference.”

Their journey began thanks to a trusted family recommendation, when their sister-in-law, a Slimming World consultant in Sleaford, encouraged them to try Stacey’s group.

And that one decision has changed everything.

READ MORE: Airdrie’s John Smith Swimming Pool to reopen to public on April 6 after 13-month closure

From their very first visit, Shaz and Claire found more than just a group, they found a community.

They added: “Walking through the door can feel scary, but straight away we felt welcomed.

“There’s no judgement, just support, understanding and people who genuinely want you to succeed.”

Their success has been built on teamwork, encouragement and celebrating every win big or small.

The pair explained: “We’ve been there for each other through everything.

“We keep each other going, especially on the tough days, and celebrate every achievement along the way.”

READ MORE: Aldi looking for people to join its new Parent Panel

Now celebrating both their weight loss and “Two Together” award, Shaz and Claire hope their story will inspire others who may be thinking about taking that first step to sign up to Slimming World.

They said: “If you’re thinking about joining, just do it.

“That first step is the hardest but it could be the best decision you ever make.”

Slimming World Consultant Stacey McKendrick, who runs the Whifflet group, added: “Shaz and Claire are a true example of the power of support.

“Watching their journey has been incredible.

“They lift each other up, stay focused and even have a good laugh with all the members in class.

“They fully deserve this recognition and I’m so proud of them both.”

People can call Stacey on 07533 764697 for more information about her Slimming World groups.

READ MORE: Coatbridge’s St Patrick’s Primary School receives positive report from HM Inspectors

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Half Man is an upcoming BBC drama that explores “brotherhood, violence, and the intense fragility of male relationships”.

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Half Man will soon be landing on the BBC, featuring recognisable talent from Baby Reindeer and Fantastic Four.

The original six-episode drama, which was filmed in and around Glasgow last year, hails from multi-award winning actor and creator Richard Gadd, who achieved worldwide recognition for his divisive Netflix series Baby Reindeer.

Gadd returns with Half Man, a production that “explores brotherhood, violence, and the intense fragility of male relationships”.

The BBC has announced Half Man will launch on Friday, April 24, via BBC iPlayer from 6am, with instalments released on the platform each week.

It’s also been revealed that BBC One and BBC Scotland will broadcast Half Man “within the week”, though the precise date remains unconfirmed.

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American audiences, however, will access the forthcoming drama slightly earlier on Thursday, April 23, through both HBO and HBO Max.

Previewing what Half Man has in store, the BBC has released its official synopsis: “Niall and Ruben are brothers. Not related in blood but the closest you can get. One, fierce and loyal.

“The other, meek and mild-mannered. Inseparable youth. Brought into each other’s lives through death and circumstance, all they have is each other…

“But when Ruben turns up at Niall’s wedding three decades later, everything seems different. He is on edge. Shifty. Not acting like himself.

“And soon, an explosion of violence takes place which catapults us back through their lives, from the eighties to the present day.”

Half Man will chronicle 30 years in the lives of these “broken men”, with the BBC dramatically stating: “When things fall apart… it is sometimes the closest relationships which break the hardest.”

Gadd assumes the “shifty” character of Ruben, alongside BAFTA-winning actor Jamie Bell, renowned for his roles in Billy Elliot, All of Us Strangers and Rocketman, who plays his “brother”, Niall.

The cast also features Mitchell Robertson from Mayflies, Stuart Campbell from SAS Rogue Heroes, Neve McIntosh from Tin Star, Marianne McIvor from Screw, as well as Charlie De Melo from Rivals and Coronation Street.

Half Man premieres on Friday, April 24, at 6am on BBC iPlayer.

Brussels’ largest railway hub, Midi station, was evacuated on Monday afternoon after police discovered suspicious bags, causing widespread disruption to all train traffic.

The incident occurred just one day after the tenth anniversary of deadly terror attacks in the Belgian capital.

A police spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that the station was closed following the discovery of one suspicious bag inside a train and another on a platform.

Officers, supported by an anti-explosive army squad, were dispatched to investigate the items.

The closure brought significant parts of the Belgian capital’s rail network to a standstill.

Vincent Bayer, a spokesperson for state-owned railway operator SNCB, told Reuters that no trains had arrived at or departed from Midi station, a crucial high-speed connection point for routes to Paris, London, Amsterdam, and Germany, since approximately 5.30pm (1630 GMT). The adjacent Midi metro station was also shut down.

SNCB stated on its website: “The duration of the disruption is still undetermined. We are waiting for additional information from the police forces.”

The incident comes as Brussels remains sensitive to security threats, with commemorations held on Sunday for the victims of the 22 March 2016 coordinated bombings by Islamic State militants at Brussels Airport and Maalbeek metro station.