York Chocolate Festival took over St Sampson’s Square and Parliament Street for five days.

Visitors were treated to chocolate-themed events, workshops and family activities – all laid on by the team behind York Food Festival.

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Stalls showcasing delicious chocolate-inspired desserts and treats from across the world lined the centre, and the event included opportunities for tastings, a Chocolate Taste Trail and free events for kids.

Brownies and Blondies were one of the stall holders (Image: Newsquest)

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

As the dreaded Storm Dave neared, stall organisers said they feared that their marquees, set up overnight, would be damaged by strong winds.

Thankfully this was not the case, said Casa Mia representative.

Butterflies Chocolates from Pocklington (Image: Newsquest)

Stall representative for Butterflies Chocolates – a chocolatier in Pocklington added: “The winds moved our stall and displaced some of our benches.

“Thankfully, we had prepared and were able to ensure we could set up again the next day.”

Confectionary from across the world was served (Image: Newsquest)

Speaking ahead of the festival, Sophie Jewett of York Cocoa Works said the company was looking forward to sharing their chocolate-making process – celebrating the industry the city was once famous for.

She added: “It’s wonderful to welcome so many enthusiastic chocolate learners who are excited and passionate to discover more about how chocolate is made.”

Tasha Ghouri broke down in tears while discussing the online abuse she received

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It was an emotional moment for two celebrities during filming for Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island, which returned for its eighth series tonight.

Comedian Hasan Al-Habib made a poignant revelation about feeling embarrassed by his faith as a child, which Strictly’s Tasha Ghouri broke down in tears over the trolling she received for her disability. Tasha was also overcome with emotion after making a realisation when visiting a mosque.

Accompanying Hasan and Tasha on the programme are former Britain’s Got Talent champion and Dancing on Ice panellist Ashley Banjo, radio producer Ashley Blaker, Cold Feet star Hermione Norris, television and radio broadcaster Jayne Middlemiss, and actress and performer Patsy Kensit.

At one moment, Tasha became visibly emotional as she spoke about the online harassment she endured during her time on Love Island.

Struggling to hold back tears, Tasha said, “I suffered with ableism while I was on a reality TV show. People use your disability as their point to hate somebody. When people go on TikTok, making videos, literally taking the mick at how I spoke, it still gets to me now.”

“I don’t like crying,” she admitted tearfully, before continuing, “It’s literally three years ago, but it still gets to me. I think it’s because I saw the impact it had on my family, my dad and mum had to see so many horrible comments about my disability, my and that’s why now I have a stronger shield within me, really.”

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During another particular moment, Hasan candidly discussed his experience growing up as a Muslim and how he once felt ashamed of his background.

He said, “I was aware of faith from a pretty early age. I was lucky that I was definitely aware of my religion before I was aware that people don’t like it necessarily, or there are some people that are prejudiced against it,” reports the Express.

“I was growing up post 911 during the Iraq War, and that’s why, for a long time, I was kind of ashamed of being Iraqi because I didn’t like being associated with this war.

“I didn’t like being seen as the face of this conflict, so I tried to be as white British as I possibly could, and I realised that if you were funny, people liked you, and that was an invaluable currency for me at the time, because people didn’t like me.”

He continued, “Being Iraqi now, career-wise, it has been a really good thing. It’s definitely something I lean into now, maybe even too much for someone who doesn’t speak Arabic fluently and has only been to Iraq once in their life.”

Discussing his aspirations for taking part in the programme, the comedian added, “I’m really looking forward to the big questions and the searching questions that come as a part of doing this process. If you’re a rational human being, you’ve got to wonder, what happens at the end of all this, or where did we come from?

“People spend their whole lives answering those questions. So to have this opportunity to do it with other people, I think is really, I’m gonna say it’s a blessing.”

Hasan also accompanied Ashley and Tasha to a mosque, which proved a touching yet emotional experience for the trio. Tasha confessed to feeling quite moved, revealing to her fellow participant Hermione Norris that it had been a revelation for her.

“I am never going to forget it, and I felt quite emotional just seeing them two just really embracing their religion and just doing their prayer, but it was when they were doing it together, and that’s what made me go like, ‘Wow’.

“It was just powerful, and it made me realise we need to be more open-minded about religion and just not judge what people believe in, just because they believe in something different from what we may believe in.”

Pilgrimage: The Road to Holy Island is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

The man, aged in his 20s, attended hospital at around 1.30am on Easter Sunday with a severe injury to his arm.

A man has been left with a possible life-changing injury following a reported serious assault in North Belfast in the early hours of Easter Sunday.

The man, aged in his 20s, attended hospital at around 1.30am on April 5, with a severe, and possibly life-changing, injury to his arm.

At this stage, the circumstances surrounding the injury are unclear, but it’s believed that the man was assaulted in the Duncairn Gardens area at around 1am.

READ MORE: Teen charged to court after Belfast football match disorderREAD MORE: Man charged to court after serious Dundonald assault

Detectives are appealing for information and witnesses and a PSNI spokesperson said: “We would appeal to anyone who witnessed this shocking incident to come forward.

“We’re particularly keen to speak to anyone with CCTV/dash-cam or other video footage which could assist with our enquiries.“The number to call is 101, and the relevant reference number is 118 05/04/26.”Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter here.

The call came in at about 10pm on Wednesday (April 1), with Rossendale and Pendle Mountain Rescue Team asked to assist Lancashire Police in locating the group.

Team members were deployed onto the hill and soon found the walkers, one of whom had suffered a minor ankle injury but was able to continue after being assessed and supported by volunteers.

All three were then escorted off the hill and returned to safety.

The rescue team thanked the police officers who attended and urged people to carry proper navigation tools, a torch, and to plan routes carefully before heading out onto the hills.

A shopping trip to a homeware store took an unfortunate turn when somebody decided to answer nature’s call on one of the shelves.

Police are hunting the woman who allegedly defecated on a shelf in a shop before walking out without a care in the world.

The mishap occurred at The Range in Banbury, Oxfordshire at 1.40pm on 25 March.

The suspect fled the scene immediately afterwards, leaving staff with an unwelcome surprise in the aisle.

It is not known what prompted the visit to the home furnishings store, which also sells homeware and garden furniture.

Thames Valley Police have now released CCTV footage of a woman they wish to speak to in connection with the alleged criminal damage.

The footage shows the woman wearing a pink jacket, spotted scarf and red top, and is pulling a small suitcase.

Investigating officer PC Robert Watson said: ‘We’re looking to identify the individual in this CCTV image, as we believe they may have information that could help our investigation.’

A force spokesperson said: ‘Thames Valley Police is releasing a CCTV image of an individual that officers would like to speak to in connection with criminal damage in Banbury.

‘On Wednesday 25 March, at 1.40pm at The Range in Banbury, an offender has defecated on a shelf. They have then left the store.

‘If this person is you, or you recognise who this is, please get in touch with Thames Valley Police, either by making a report online or by calling us on 101, quoting reference 43260146564.’

Anyone with information can also contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

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On a crucial night for women’s boxing, Caroline Dubois signalled her arrival as the boxer to beat in the lightweight division, adding rival Terri Harper’s WBO title to her WBC strap.

The unification fight on Sunday took a while to catch fire before Dubois began to outwork her opponent, taking a wide unanimous decision 98–91, 97-92, 98-91 on the judges’ scorecards.

Following a staccato start to proceedings, Dubois turned the screw, limiting her domestic rival’s effectiveness throughout the contest. Harper showed bravery after suffering a cut above the left eye from an accidental clash of heads, but Dubois’s quality quickly shone through.

The duo had been swapping barbs for months leading up to the contest at the Olympia in London, adding a bit of spice to the affair. Although Dubois stated there was no bad blood following the fight, her words were pointed towards her opponent’s cautious approach. In the ring she claimed: “I started very well, Terri was very negative – we knew she would be. It was a bit tricky to get her.”

Dubois, who improved to 13-0-1 as a pro, went on to state that she had merely been promoting the fight with her comments in recent months. “It was never personal for me,” she said. “It was always personal for Terri. I’m a fighter and an entertainer. I talk the talk to be entertaining, this is why this fight was the most talked about, the most exciting. I know Terri Harper fans will be upset by the decision, but I’m an entertainer and this is what I do.”

After mainly bubbling away on the undercards of Boxxer shows since turning pro in 2022, Dubois was truly stepping into the limelight for the first time: top billing paired with her toughest challenge yet.

It had been 10 months since Harper’s last fight, a headlining homecoming in Doncaster, where the Yorkshirewoman made the first defence of her WBO lightweight title in protracted fashion against an underwhelming Natalie Zimmerman.

Harper entered the ring on Sunday having competed for world titles at four different weights ranging 24lb, from super-featherweight to super-welterweight. In contrast, Dubois had fought as a lightweight since she first reached prominence as an amateur, with all 13 of her professional bouts fought between 134 and 138lb.

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The increased quality level of opponent already posed enough questions for Dubois; the bout was super-charged by the animosity and rivalry that had festered between the two lightweight title holders. Tensions heightened at the weigh-ins, Harper shoving her dance partner as they posed for photos. The three-division champion had felt overlooked by Dubois, who claimed that Harper had not achieved anything in boxing.

Inside the ring, Dubois showed far more respect. Both fighters were standoffish in a cagey opening round, the duo gauging each other’s range and gameplan.

An animated Shane McGuigan dished out advice in the Dubois corner between rounds, leading to his charge throwing more jabs in the second. Harper was by no means a passenger in the opening rounds, gambling on the odd hook here and there, but the older fighter was certainly more cautious than her counterpart in the first three rounds of the contest.

While still selective with their shots, both fighters showed more ambition in the fourth stanza. Dubois adopted a stooping approach with her hooks, finding success by stepping out before flying back in to harass Harper. Into the fifth, Harper maintained constant head movement that negated Dubois’s crosses and hooks, but the 29-year-old threw little of note in terms of return fire.

But Harper could not evade everything Dubois was producing; towards the end of the sixth, “Sweet Caroline” was allowed to land too many straights on Harper’s temple, the WBO champion dropping against the ropes and onto the canvas. Dubois roared in the face of Harper as she returned to her feet, further highlighting the dislike between the pair.

Dubois continued to goad her rival at the start of the seventh, leading to a second talking to from referee Victor Loughlin. By now Dubois knew she had the measure of Harper, throwing away caution as she stalked Harper from one set of the ropes to another. Harper’s face was starting to show wear from Dubois’ work, blood pouring from her brow and down her eyes.

Now knowing she needed a stoppage in the final round, Harper finally opened up. A nice combination started from a body shot before Harper released left hook after left hook, leaving Dubois slightly startled. The slow start was fully consigned to the history books as the final minute descended into a slugfest; Harper looking for a winner, Dubois hunting for a statement stoppage.

Neither could land a finishing blow, sending the contest to the judges’ scorecards. Assisted by the sixth-round knockdown, Dubois claimed both belts with a wide unanimous decision.

Attention now turns to the remaining two belts at 135lb, split between IBF champion Elif Nur Turhan and WBA title holder Stephanie Han.

When asked if she planned to sit down with Most Valuable Promotion’s (MVP) co-founders Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian soon, Dubois replied: “One hundred per cent – that’s the plan. Only big fights from here on out. Women’s boxing has always been on the backburner of boxing, and today, we put it on the forefront, so thank you to everyone who turned up, everyone who fought on the card.”

Dubois’s ascent to headliner status marked MVP’s debut in the UK, with the promoters pledging two shows a year on these shores. MVP applied the same formula at the Olympia they have found works stateside: stacking cards full of woman’s world-title fights.

For example, highly-rated prospect Emma Dolan was handed the opportunity to make the step up from British level to challenge Irma Garcia for the IBF super flyweight strap. But, despite being favourite for the fight, the jump proved too much for the Briton – knocked down twice in the second round and once more in the third, by which point her corner had seen enough, the towel was chucked in.

Chantelle Cameron was another star turn, the former undisputed super-lightweight champion taking a wide unanimous decision over Austrian Michaela Kotaskova for the vacant WBO super welterweight strap.

But the highlight of the undercard might have been Ellie Scotney’s win, as she became Britain’s youngest undisputed champion in the four-belt era following a gruelling performance against Mayelli Flores.

Ultimately Scotney’s precision and shot-selection was valued by the judges over Flores’s consistent volume of punches. Catford-raised Scotney had set the tone inside the Olympia, heightening the atmosphere for the main event.

Kaitlyn Spearman spent a week with a headache that wouldn’t go away, then she woke up with a rash – she shared her story from her hospital bed to warn others how quickly symptoms can come on

Kaitlyn Spearman went to hospital after having a headache for most of a week – then she woke up with a rash

A brave mum has spoken from her hospital bed about her shock meningitis diagnosis.

Kaitlyn Spearman, 27, described how her terrifying ordeal started when she had a headache for a week.

Then, on Thursday night last week, the mum-of-three had a bath and took a nap, when she awoke she found she had suddenly become covered in a purple rash.

Terrified Kaitlyn showed husband Andrew and then rang 999 and was told to get to hospital where doctors told shocked Kaitlyn she had meningitis B, Chronicle Live reports.

Now the Tyneside mum remains in hospital, in a serious condition while she battles the disease – while medics have no idea where she picked up the potentially lethal infection. Kaitlyn’s family – including her children – have all been given preventative antibiotics.

Speaking on Easter Sunday Kaitlyn said her blood test results had improved throughout the day – she also remains in serious ill health. “On Monday last week I had a headache,” the care home worker said.

“I just couldn’t get rid of it. I’d tried all sorts – painkillers, hot towels. To be frank, I thought it was most likely some sort of hormonal headache.

“But it wouldn’t go away. I started to think about what if it was to do with my brain. I remember starting to think that maybe I had a brain bleed. To be 27 and have had a headache for a week – that’s not normal.

“On Thursday I had a bath, then had a nap. When I woke up, I had a purple rash, head to toe. I rang for an ambulance and they said straight away that I needed to be in a hospital. I came in then they did my bloods. Then I was told – ‘you’ve got something called meningitis B’.”

Kaitlyn, who is mum to Noah-James, 7, Hunter-John, 5, and Luke-Alexander, nine months, spoke of how she had heard about the recent outbreak of meningitis in Kent, but not paid too much attention because, with a small baby, she had not done significant travelling for months.

“They said I might have seen there had been an outbreak in Kent. But I have never really been travelling. I have not long had a baby. The only places I have really been are church, school, home.

“They don’t know how I had caught it. The hospital have said that for this, they’re classing me as ‘patient zero’. Now every single one of my family members – including my children and husband – have had to get antibiotics. I have had contact from the Department of Health.”

The mum has previously suffered devastating loss – daughter Holly-Mae died of sepsis a few years ago, she said – and said she wants to ensure people in the Tyneside area are aware of the symptoms of meningitis.

She added: “The main reason I wanted to speak out is to get the story out there. It’s something that can happen in this area. I hadn’t thought much about it [the Kent outbreak]. To be honest I don’t socialise that much. So for me to catch this now, it’s worrying – we can’t work it out.

“Now it depends on how my body will react to the antibiotics, particularly as I also have sepsis. My body could fight it, or it might not. This morning, my blood results were pretty poor still – but in the afternoon it was better.

“It’s something that you need to catch as early as possible. In my case, it’s not ideal that it was only caught when I had the rash. But you just think the headache could be anything – to do with the early mornings for the school run, even. You just push it to one side.”

Kaitlyn is hoping her condition continues to improve – and crucially that the preventative treatment prevents her loved ones also falling ill. The local health protection team, part of the UK Health Security Agency, have been in touch with her, and are involved in managing the case.

She added: “I am fighting for my life to get home to my children.”

While the recent outbreak in Kent made headlines for the number of people involved, Dr Gayle Dolan, a health protection consultant at the UKHSA said there are more than 350 cases a year in the UK, and we should expect them to occur frequently.

“It is also why it is important that everyone remains aware of the signs and symptoms of the infection and seeks rapid medical attention if they are concerned,” she added.

Key signs and symptoms include a high temperature (fever), being sick, a headache, a rash that does not fade when pressed and a stiff neck. These symptoms can begin suddenly – others include fits, an aversion to bright light, confusion or delirium or severe sleepiness.

The UKHSA said: “Call 999 immediately or go to your nearest A&E if you think you or someone in your care could have meningitis, septicaemia or sepsis. Trust your instincts and do not wait for all symptoms or for a rash to develop. People with meningitis, septicaemia or sepsis can become seriously unwell very quickly.”

Before they head to north London, those present in east London will remember this experience for a long time.

Leeds sold out their entire 9,000 allocation, taking up all the space behind one of the goals and contributing to a fantastic atmosphere.

For most of the game, the Whites looked in complete control. Japan’s Ao Tanaka gave them a first-half lead, with England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin doubling their advantage with a 75th-minute penalty that looked to have killed the game off.

But in the 11 minutes of injury time, Mateus Fernandes and Axel Disasi scored to take the tie into extra-time.

Taty Castellanos and Pablo both had goals ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee (VAR) in a breathless extra-time period, where Leeds also had two shots cleared off the line.

There was added drama as Areola suffered a leg injury at the end of injury time, meaning Herrick – who was on loan at fifth-tier Boreham Wood as recently as January – was handed a first Hammers appearance in the 120th minute and just before the shootout.

He saved from Piroe, but Perri ensured he would be the goalkeeping hero with his two saves.

“This is the magic of the cup, anything can happen and today was a crazy and memorable game. Happy that we won the match and we are into the semi-finals now,” said Perri.

“For this fanbase it shows the magic of them, the love they have for this team. It is a pleasure to play for this team.”

The crash involving a grey BMW occurred shortly before 1am.

A young man has died following a one vehicle road traffic collision in Co Antrim on Easter Sunday.

The crash occurred on the Castlecat Road, Dervock, in the early hours of this morning, Sunday, April 5.

Police received a report of a collision involving a grey BMW shortly before 1am.

READ MORE: North Belfast assault leaves young man with possible life-changing injuryREAD MORE: Teen charged to court after Belfast football match disorder

Officers attended alongside emergency partners, and the male driver, who was aged 20 and from the Crossgar area of Co Down, was taken to hospital for treatment for his injuries, where he sadly passed away.The Castlecat Road, which was closed overnight as detectives conducted enquiries, has now reopened to motorists.A PSNI spokesperson said: “Our enquiries are continuing, and we would appeal to anyone who witnessed the collision, or who may have digital footage which could assist with our investigation, to contact the Collision Investigation Unit on 101, quoting reference number 76 of 05/04/26.”

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