Hokum is a fun, self-aware title for a horror film when that genre can often be so easily dismissed as such. But this movie is ready to convince you otherwise.

You get your first jump scare less than five minutes in. It’s a warning that this movie enjoys employing that device. Is it original? No. But is it effective? Yes.

What is more original about this latest film from Oddity filmmaker Damian McCarthy is its decision to not take itself seriously without indulging in the cheap gags or bad acting that normally dominates comedy-horror blends.

This isn’t a splatter movie. In fact, Hokum manages to retain its supernatural chill throughout, even when you’re smirking over its dry jokes.

But make no mistake, there are some properly frightening moments, including a split-second in one scene that’s so beautifully simple yet traumatising that I doubt I’ll forget it.

Severance star Adam Scott is weirdly delightful as grumpy and troubled author Ohm Bauman who, while struggling with his latest book, decides to take a trip to rural Ireland to spread the ashes of his late parents.

He heads to the last place he knows they were happy, holing up in a faded hotel run by eccentric Irish staff.

The first unsettling – and rather baffling – sight he’s met with is the carcass of a goat that’s been shot dead for trying to climb on a car. ‘Shooing’ and spraying with a hose weren’t options, he’s told.

Ohm is invited to the hotel’s annual Hallowe’en party and, after ‘craic’ is explained to him in no uncertain terms, requests the room furthest away. He also refuses to sign a book. Later he describes someone to their face as an ‘oblivious charisma vacuum completely incapable of reading a room’. As you can tell, he’s a real ray of sunshine.

But things get weird when he meets local vagrant Jerry (a fantastic David Wilmot) in the woods, who offers him moonshine and confirms the goats are all high on a local supply of magic mushrooms. They’re naturally attracted to ‘shiny surfaces’ when clambering all over people’s vehicles.

He’s also been warned that a witch haunts the hotel’s honeymoon suite, which is never rented out, hidden behind a metal-gated lift to the top floor. Perhaps predictably, Ohm calls this ‘hokum’.

When hotel worker Fiona (Florence Ordesh) goes missing though, and Jerry is convinced he can find an answer in the honeymoon suite, Ohm finds himself sucked into a terrifying nightmare.

Cue plenty of creaking doors, jangling bells and glimpsed-at ghouls in the background, while Ohm also battles with being haunted by memories of his late mother, who we learn was shot.

Even here, Hokum retains its humour in an entertaining way, from the knowing faces of the room’s chintzy cherub ornaments to a ghost with no concept of personal space walking directly behind Ohm. As in, mirroring his every move like a shadow that’s glued to him. I left the screening with that image branded on my brain it was so creepy – and yet, I still laughed.

That’s the unique power of Hokum.

However, it runs out of steam with its main character trapped in the room and trying to survive. While it continues to keep you on edge, the threat of the lurking witch is stretched thinly over the rest of the film.

There’s some intriguing human drama that comes into play, including a couple of twists – one I guessed, one I didn’t – but in places it chips away at the twisted atmosphere McCarthy has so far conjured, as well as our suspension of disbelief.

And while the ending is neat enough, it left some of its foundations underexplained, a frustrating characteristic of horror (and a personal pet peeve).

Having said this, more horror films should aspire to be like Hokum: unafraid to showcase smart humour alongside genuinely unnerving elements.

Its cast, which also includes Peter Coonan, Will O’Connell and Michael Patric, are all universally superb as well, helping to elevate the experience Hokum offers above standard fare in the genre.

Hokum is in cinemas from today.

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is introducing statutory sick pay rule changes affecting employees who call in sick, with minister Pat McFadden confirming that up to 1.3 million more workers will be covered and can now access sick pay from their first day of illness.

The Department for Work and Pensions is implementing a rule change that will affect workers who phone in sick. Pat McFadden, the DWP minister, has spoken to the House of Commons about the modifications to sick pay arrangements.

Labour MP Yuan Yang this week asked Mr McFadden “what assessment has he made of the adequacy of rates of statutory sick pay?” prompting a response from the DWP minister, reports Yorkshire Live.

Mr McFadden, who leads the welfare department, said: “For the first time ever, we have removed the lower earnings limit for statutory sick pay, as well as the waiting period so that people can access sick pay as soon as they need it.

“These changes will mean that up to 1.3 million more people will be covered, helping the low paid and those who work for more than one employer in particular.”

Yang said: “I am indeed very proud of this Labour Government’s historic Employment Rights Act 2025, which, from this month, means that workers will get statutory sick pay from the first day they are ill, rather than having to wait till the fourth. Too many people in Reading – even those working in health and care settings – are working through their illnesses; this measure will protect them, their clients and patients and improve the productivity of their workplaces.

“While the ERA is an important step forward, does the Secretary of State accept that the current flat rate of statutory sick pay 0 at four fifths of average earnings – remains a barrier to those on low incomes, and thus remains a barrier to tackling illness in the workplace?”

Mr McFadden continued: “I believe that removing the three-day limit and giving access to statutory sick pay from day one, as well as making it available to those who work for multiple employers, should decrease the pressure on workers to have to work through illness.”

Matthew Oakley, Founder and Director of WPI Economics, remarked: “Sickness absence costs the economy – simple as that – and it impacts affected workers severely in terms of lost earnings.

“Improving sick pay would enable people to take the time off they need to recover and lower the number of people taking extended sick leave, stemming the flow of unwell workers on to out-of-work benefits and boosting productivity.

“As the Government looks for fresh ideas to give the UK a competitive edge, a wider overhaul of sick pay and better incentives for employers to invest in occupational health should be front and centre.”

The northbound carriageway was blocked between junction 2 and junction 3, near the A666 St Peters Way turn-off, after the vehicle caught fire at around 9.45pm on last night (April 29).

Firefighters from Farnworth and Bolton rushed to the scene, with three engines in attendance.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said: “At 9.45pm on Wednesday 29 April, three fire engines from Farnworth and Bolton attended a vehicle fire on the M61 northbound.

“The fire involved one vehicle, and firefighters used one hose reel, one breathing apparatus and lighting to extinguish the fire.

“Crews were in attendance for one hour.”

Video footage shows emergency crews tackling the fire.

Traffic was temporarily held while crews tackled the blaze, with delays of up to 20 minutes and around a mile of congestion reported on the approach.

The car engulfed in flames (Image: Public)

Shortly after 11pm, the burnt-out vehicle was moved onto the hard shoulder and traffic began to flow again, although delays lingered.

Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for comment.

The new programme from Scottish charity Right There will operate from Clydesdale Street.

Plans have been announced for a new supported accommodation service in Hamilton.

Scottish charity Right There, in partnership with the local council, are behind the efforts to prevent homelessness in South Lanarkshire.

The new programme will operate from Clydesdale Street, Hamilton, and is designed to provide short-term, supportive accommodation that meets the needs of individuals, couples and families at risk of homelessness during periods of transition, helping people move on to more settled housing as quickly and safely as possible. The service is currently under development and is expected to be operational soon.

Janet Haugh, CEO of Right There, said: “Right There is proud to have supported people in South Lanarkshire for more than 18 years now, and this programme is about continuing that relationship in a practical way.

“We know that the right support, offered at the right time, can help prevent difficult situations from escalating and give people the stability they need to move forward. We want this to be a place where people are treated with dignity while they work towards something more settled.”

The Right There Supported Accommodation programme will support people who may be experiencing significant life challenges, including poor health, trauma, housing instability or repeat experiences of homelessness. The focus will be on providing a calm, psychologically informed environment alongside practical and emotional support.

The accommodation, otherwise known as ‘Willow Gate’, will comprise 15 self-contained units, including provision suitable for families. Trained staff will be available to provide support around the clock, seven days a week.

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The programme will focus on planned, positive moves to longer-term accommodation. Right There will also offer wider support services, including mentoring, counselling and outreach, to help people sustain progress beyond their stay.

Further information, including referral arrangements, will be shared closer to opening.

As part of preparation for the service going live, the charity is recruiting staff to deliver the programme, ensuring the team is in place early to shape a safe, welcoming and supportive environment. Go to https://careers.rightthere.org/

Right There is a charity that prevents people becoming homeless or separated from the people they love. It supports almost 4000 children, families, and individuals across Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, Highlands, Orkney and South Ayrshire.

*Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.

And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.

READ MORE: Hamilton Park races into centenary season on Sunday, May 3

Among those put behind bars includes a paedophile and man who tried to drown his pregnant girlfriend

A lorry driver that killed a young mother as she was struck by a crane while walking along a path is among the criminals jailed in Cambridgeshire this month. It’s been another busy month for Cambridgeshire courts, with more criminals put behind bars.

Others jailed this month include a man who tried to drown his pregnant girlfriend and a man jailed for manslaughter. Here are five people jailed in April:

Kevin Miller

Kevin Miller, 71, was driving his lorry along a road in Willingham on September 22, 2022, where 30-year-old Rebecca Ableman was walking with her then two-year-old daughter Autumn in her pram.

Miller had a unsecured crane on his lorry. When he drove past Rebecca, the crane struck the mother and left her with “catastrophic brain and head injuries”. Autumn was pushed out the way by Rebecca. The 30-year-old died a few weeks later in hospital.

Miller, formerly of Gayton Road, King’s Lynn, pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving in February. He was sentenced to 13 months in prison at Peterborough Crown Court on April 14.

Linden Chirico

Linden Chirico, 38, touched a girl and got her to touch him inappropriately multiple times between January and July 2022. The offences all happened in East Cambridgeshire.

Chirico, formerly of Close Road, Pavenham, near Bedford, admitted to his offences in police interview. At court, he was found guilty of two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl and one count each of engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl and cause/incite a girl to engage in sexual activity – no penetration.

After appearing at Cambridge Crown Court on April 16, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. He was also handed a ten-year restraining order, an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely.

Luke Davey

Luke Davey attacked his wife on November 16, 2025 at her home in Doddington, near March. The couple were in the process of separating, and an argument broke out.

The victim recorded the argument with her phone, but then Davey grabbed it and then placed his hands around her neck.

On April 21, Davey was sentenced to a year in prison at Huntingdon Magistrates’ Court after previously pleading guilty to intentional strangulation. He was also handed a five-year restraining order against the victim.

Christopher Boulton

Christopher Boulton, 78, forced himself into the home of a woman in her 70s on December 29, 2025. Boulton forced the woman into her room and touched her in a sexual way.

He then threatened to kill her if she called the police. In the days before this incident, Boulton exposed himself to other women near his home.

The 78-year-old pleaded guilty to trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, three counts of exposure, and assaulting an emergency worker. At Peterborough Crown Court on April 24, he was sentenced to six years in prison, and also handed an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Harvey Browne

Harvey Browne, 20, tried to push his pregnant girlfriend into the bath at their home in Godmanchester in August 2025. The victim was also abused in other ways, including being punched in the stomach.

Browne was arrested by police. While on court bail, Browne threatened to kill the woman and said he would “put her in a coffin” before police could help her.

Browne, of Moselle Avenue, Haringey, Greater London, was arrested for sending communication threatening death or serious harm. He pleaded guilty to the offence, and also assault ABH.

At Cambridge Crown Court on April 27, he was sentenced to two years and nine months in a young offender institution, and also handed a restraining order.

Some medieval texts have barely survived. Beowulf, the Old English masterwork, exists today because of a single manuscript – one that narrowly escaped combustion in 1731. For such texts, the single manuscript is all important. The discovery of another copy would transform our understanding.

By contrast, a work like Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People) survives in more than 160 manuscripts. This volume of material has meant that scholars have tended to focus on just a few of the earliest copies, since these are most likely to preserve a text close to what Bede originally wrote. The result is that many later or less well-known manuscripts have received little detailed attention.

Now, however, computational methods that make it possible to analyse millions of words are changing that picture. Instead of relying on a narrow selection of manuscripts, we can begin to take the full breadth of the tradition into account. And that, in turn, has renewed the value of finding and studying additional copies.

Our own work, motivated by the potential of studying many manuscripts but – for now at least – using traditional methods to locate them, has led to some unexpected discoveries, including, in Rome, a previously overlooked early copy of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica. Remarkably, this manuscript also preserves one of the earliest versions of Cædmon’s Hymn, the earliest known poem in English.

Lost and found

The Historia Ecclesiastica was completed in 731 by the Venerable Bede, an English monk often described as the father of English history. It proved to be one of the most influential works of the western Middle Ages. Copies circulated across Europe and the British Isles from the mid-8th to the 16th century.

One of us, Magnanti, was conducting an ongoing hunt for new manuscripts of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica, and discovered in the National Central Library in Rome a copy of the text made at the Abbey of Nonantola in the north of Italy, less than a century after Bede’s death in 735. The manuscript had long been presumed lost and, as a result, had never previously been examined in detail by academics.

We have just published details of this discovery in the journal Early Medieval England and its Neighbours.

Rather than being lost, the manuscript had in fact been moved from Nonantola to the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome by the 1650s. During the upheavals of the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century, it was transferred again to the nearby church of San Bernardo alle Terme, from where it was subsequently stolen, along with other valuable manuscripts.

The book resurfaced in England almost two decades later, when it was acquired by Sir Thomas Phillipps, a 19th-century English book collector and self-described “velomaniac” (manuscript addict). Though Phillips died in 1872, the codex was not sold until 1948, when it entered the collection of the Swiss bibliophile Martin Bodmer. It then disappeared from view once again before being acquired by the National Central Library of Rome via the Austrian-born New York bookseller H.P. Kraus in the 1970s.

Cædmon’s Hymn

The newly rediscovered codex contains perhaps the fifth-oldest surviving complete copy of the Historia Ecclesiastica. As such, it is a hugely important witness to the transmission of Bede’s text to Europe in the century after he completed it.

Even more exciting, the manuscript proved to contain the third-oldest text of Cædmon’s Hymn. Cædmon’s story only survived thanks to Bede. He explains that Cædmon, an agricultural labourer working at Whitby Abbey in north Yorkshire, was at a feast when guests began to recite poems.

Embarrassed that he didn’t know anything suitable, Cædmon left for an early night. A figure then appeared to him in his dreams, telling him to sing about creation, which Cædmon miraculously did, producing his hymn – nine lines of intricately woven praise to God for creating the world.

Cædmon’s Hymn

Translated by Roy M. Liuzza

Now let us praise Heaven-Kingdom’s guardian,

the Maker’s might and his mind’s thoughts,

the work of the glory-father – of every wonder,

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eternal Lord. He established a beginning.

He first shaped for men’s sons

Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator;

then middle-earth mankind’s guardian,

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eternal Lord, afterwards prepared

the earth for men, the Lord almighty.

While admiring the hymn’s “beauty and dignity”, Bede baulked at including the original English in his Latin. Subsequent readers felt the absence, however, and supplied the original text, in the earliest cases adding it at the end of the Historia Ecclesiastica or in the margin. In the manuscript Magnanti discovered, the hymn appears in the actual text: the earliest such positioning by some 300 years.

Closer examination of the Rome Bede also revealed a major blunder: the scribes appear to have become confused and, between Books I and II of the Historia Ecclesiastica, switched to copying an entirely different text — a sermon on Christ’s descent into hell, prescribed for Easter Sunday preaching. This sermon had passed unrecorded in all the existing catalogues in which the manuscript is described, from 1166 to 2011.

Thanks to computational methods for transcription, collation and textual analysis, a fuller reconstruction of the manuscript tradition of Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica may now be within reach. That makes discoveries like many the Rome manuscript has yielded just the tip of the iceberg.

The incident happened at around 5.30am on April 30, on Preston Road and involved a Tesla and a pedestrian.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Man dies after crash on Preston Road in Coppull (Image: PHIL TAYLOR)

A 24-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and remains in custody.

Police at the scene in Coppull (Image: PHIL TAYLOR)

The road remains closed while collision investigation work is underway.

Police at the scene in Coppull (Image: PHIL TAYLOR)

Anyone who witnessed the collision or has relevant dashcam, CCTV, or doorbell footage is asked to contact the police by calling 101 and quoting log 0170 of April 30.

Man dies after crash in Coppull (Image: Phil Taylor)

Alternatively, information can be emailed to Lancashire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit at SCIU@lancashire.police.uk.

Man dies after crash in Coppull (Image: Phil Taylor)

A police spokesperson said: “Lancashire Police are appealing for witnesses and footage after a man very sadly died following a collision in Coppull this morning.

“We were called around 5.30am today (April 30) to Preston Road, Coppull, to a report of a collision.

Man dies after crash in Coppull (Image: Phil Taylor)

“The emergency services attended and found that a Tesla car had been in collision with a pedestrian in the carriageway.

“The pedestrian, a man aged in his 50s, suffered serious injuries and, very sadly, was pronounced deceased at the scene.

“Our thoughts are very much with his family at this distressing time, and they are being supported by specially trained officers.

Man dies after crash in Coppull (Image: Phil Taylor)

“A 24-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and is currently in custody.

“The road remains closed while investigation work is carried out.

“Anyone who witnessed the collision or has dashcam/CCTV/doorbell footage from the area, we ask you to contact police.

“Please contact 101, quoting log 0170 of April 30, or email our Serious Collision Investigation Unit atSCIU@lancashire.police.uk.”

All pictures have been provided by Phil Taylor.

The May Bank holiday is nearly here, but it comes with a spate of disruption, including at one of London’s busiest stations.

One of the year’s sunniest bank holidays is upon us, set to bring a wave of balmy weather for parts of the UK.

However, rail travel over the long weekend could be less like smooth sailingdue to planned works, which will shut Charing Cross station and cause disruption at London Euston.

Elsewhere, the East Coast Main Line, one of the busiest routes in the UK, and Liverpool Lime Street stations are also earmarked for bank holiday works.

Charing Cross, which saw over 19.7 million passengers last year, will shut this weekend because of signalling works in and around Lewisham.

It will also hamper travel through Cannon Street, which will close on Sunday.

You will need to catch a train through London Victoria and Blackfriars instead, Network Rail warned.

Meanwhile at Euston, the station will have a reduced service throughout the weekend.

While the station won’t have to close, the laying of new track near Willesden and Primrose Hill means it will have a reduced service on the bank holiday weekend.

There will be no London Overground Lioness line between Euston and Kilburn High Road until Tuesday.

Other UK rail disruptions on May bank holiday

Other rail disruptions will affect travel in Liverpool, Manchester, and West and North Yorkshire.

Liverpool Lime Street will be closed on Sunday, May 3, and Monday, May 4. for new signalling works.

Between York and Darlington, buses will replace trains between Saturday and Monday for the rebuilding of a junction, while major improvements between Manchester, Huddersfield and Leeds will see trains diverted and changes until May 25.

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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A new literary prize launched to help writers sidestep barriers to getting published has announced its shortlist. 

The Libraro prize reimagines how authors are discovered, giving readers, rather than industry gatekeepers, an active role in championing emerging talent.

Six unpublished novels have now been shortlisted for the award’s inaugural prize – £50,000 and a book deal with Hachette UK. Readers also receive prizes, with £10,000 going to the bookworm who discovered the winning entry.

“People power really works,” said David Roche, chairman of the Libraro literary platform. “We knew we would get an enormous amount of interest … but the quality of entries and the supportive community that has been built is enormously gratifying. We look forward to welcoming more writers and readers, and unearthing more future bestsellers.” 

The shortlist comprises: Ben Daniels’ sci-fi novel, The Last Canary; Natalie Gordon’s WWII love story, Yours, Everlasting; Donna Fisher’s lyrical fable, Sheep’s Clothing; Mary Minnock’s intimate portrayal of a broken family, Love Lost; B Robinson’s tense crime novel, An Oath of Malice; and TJ Windwood’s fantasy about a world in peril, The Lost Zodiac.

The winner will be announced on 13 May. 

Image: Marcos Paulo Prado