Lucy Barnard struck a pothole on the way home – but the impact damaged her car exhaust.

A pregnant mum was nearly killed by a pothole after it damaged her car exhaust – and filled the vehicle with deadly gases.

Lucy Barnard, 26, was driving home on Walney Island, Cumbria, when her black Ford Fiesta hit a pothole and she heard a rattling sound.

Lucy had a carbon monoxide (CO) detector fitted in her car after her brother died from the colourless and odourless gas in 2023 and noticed the number on the screen begin to rise.

After getting home with partner Callum Legge, 25, and their two children, she decided to test to see if the exhaust was leaking, by opening and closing her windows to allow and restrict oxygen in the car.

To their terror, carbon monoxide levels inside the car were as high as 180 parts per million, which can be deadly to humans.

The mum is super aware of carbon monoxide dangers after an inquest ruled her brother Michael Barnard, 36, unwittingly died after his car filled up with the deadly colourless gas in August 17, 2023.

She is now campaigning for a legal requirement for cars to be fitted with carbon monoxide detectors.

Lucy said: “It’s given me a bit of PTSD in a way. It is heartbreaking to have experienced how my brother died. I feel so lucky that we had the detector and that I followed my own advice of not travelling in a car unless it has one in it.

“If we didn’t know it could have killed us. It is all a strange coincidence that it happened to my family. I knew exactly what was happening when we were doing the test, and it really was scary.

“You see this kind of thing happening and think it’ll never happen to you – but then it does, and it puts it all into perspective. This just proves it can happen to anyone at any time in any car model.”

An inquest at Cockermouth Coroners’ Court in February 2024 heard Michael’s carboxyhemoglobin levels were at 63 per cent, which was consistent with death.

The average level for a non-smoker is between 1 to 2 per cent, and in smokers it is 5 to 10 percent, according to the NHS.

It was revealed the toxic gas had entered into his white Volkswagen Scirocco through his faulty heating system when he was parked in his favourite spot on Walney Beach in North Scale, Cumbria.

He was later found by a dog walker, who had raised the alarm after she saw Michael slumped in the driver’s seat at around 6:35 am the next morning, August 18.

Lucy has said that after they suspected their car was leaking carbon monoxide, the first test they did was opening their car windows to see if it will lower, which it did.

Then they decided to pull the windows up and turn the heating system on full, which caused it to spike 180 particles per million (ppm). Around 200 ppm or greater will cause physical symptoms and is fatal in hours, according to co2metre.com

Lucy is currently six months pregnant and during pregnancy, exposure to high levels of carbon monoxide can reduce the amount of oxygen reaching the baby in the womb, potentially affecting its growth and development, according to the NHS.

Lucy revealed her dad, Terry, 63, looked at the car and said the exhaust was badly damaged from the pothole.

Lucy said: “We shot out of the car and haven’t used it since. We plan to scrap it, to fix it will cost almost as much as we bought it for so there was no point.

“We also don’t feel comfortable if we did get it fixed, getting inside or somehow having it just in case it was to leak again.”

The mum is now calling for greater awareness of carbon monoxide risks in vehicles, warning that the “silent killer” could be affecting more people than realised.

Cars are not legally required to carry carbon monoxide detectors but she wants to change that. Last year, she started a petition.

She needs 100,000 signatures for the UK Parliament’s Petition Committee to consider whether the issue should be debated.

Lucy said: “This could be happening to so many. It’s absolutely crazy. I think there will be more deaths if this isn’t addressed.”

She is urging people to invest in carbon monoxide detectors. Reflecting on the incident, she believes the presence of the detector ultimately saved her family.

“It was me, my partner and my children in the car,” she said. It could have taken all of our lives. This is definitely not spoken about enough.”

A link to Lucy’s petition can be found here.

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The Men of Gwent were beaten 24-15 by Edinburgh in Newport

The Dragons couldn’t hand Aaron Wainwright the perfect Rodney Parade farewell after they were beaten 24-15 by Edinburgh in Newport.

Wales No. 8 Wainwright was making his final home appearance for the Dragons ahead of a move to Leicester Tigers. However, it wasn’t to be his night as Scotland international Duhan van Merwe scored twice in the second-half to seal victory for the visitors.

The Dragons had lost prop Rodrigo Martinez to a head injury early on, but they were able to open the scoring thanks to an Angus O’Brien penalty.

Edinburgh forged ahead, with hooker Ewan Ashman scoring from close range.

Wales prop Dillon Lewis moved the Dragons back in front from a driving maul.

The Dragons then thought they had moved further ahead just before half-time, after Rio Dyer picked up a loose ball to race 80 metres to the tryline.

However, the TMO intervened to chalk the try off for a knock-on.

That proved crucial as Edinburgh went on to score shortly after, with Tom Currie powering over following some concerted pressure.

The second-half started with the Dragons producing a fine score.

Thomas Young set the platform with a powerful run from deep, before Dyer latched onto Tinus de Beer’s grubber.

The Wales wing then combined with Rhodri Williams, who then gave the scoring pass to flanker Keddie to score.

However, Edinburgh would hit back – with Lions winger van der Merwe crossing from a neat blind-side move.

The Dragons kept pushing, with Edinburgh losing both Dylan Richardson and Boan Venter to the sin-bin.

The home side once again had a try chalked off by the TMO, with Elliot Dee’s score ruled out for an earlier knock-on.

While still down to 14 with Venter’s yellow card, Edinburgh sealed victory as van der Merwe shook off a handful of tackles to grab his second.

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The long-running crime drama, now in its 25th season, has been a hit with viewers

An “addictive” long-running TV series has apparently secured its return.

Law and Order – which launched in 1990 and is currently in its 25th season – is set to be commissioned for a 26th run, according to Deadline. While final negotiations are said to be still being finalised, an official announcement regarding the police procedural’s continuation is anticipated shortly.

The news is certain to delight fans of the show, which has garnered an enormous following amongst viewers. Shot and set in New York, the programme follows detectives from the New York City Police Department’s fictional 27th precinct as they tackle criminal investigations.

Over the years, the series has attracted considerable star power, with Sam Waterston, Jerry Orbach and Mariska Hargitay all featuring, alongside notable guest appearances from Viola Davis, Bradley Cooper and Ellen Pompeo. The current line-up includes Maura Tierney, previously known for her role as Abby Lockhart in medical drama ER, and Tony Goldwyn, of Scandal fame.

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Law and Order originally ran from 1990 to 2010, before being revived in 2021 following an 11-year hiatus, reports the Mirror.

The show has also spawned numerous spin-offs over the years, amongst them Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Law and Order: Criminal Intent and Law and Order: Trial by Jury.

It has been a hit with viewers, who have called it “unmissable” and “captivating”. One reviewer wrote on Rotten Tomatoes: “The best ever, realistic, true to life portraits seen in any movie or TV series.”

“Excellent,” wrote another, describing the programme as “completely addictive”.

“It’s like watching two shows, a police investigation series for the first half hour, and a legal series for the next half an hour,” another fan remarked.

“Great performances, lots of mystery and drama, very realistic,” they continued.

Someone else praised the show’s “pitch perfect pacing”.

Another person on the site said: “Law and Order is one of my go-to shows to watch while sitting on the couch and vegging out. I’ve seen every episode multiple times, but I find the show comforting. That’s what Law and Order is – comfort food.”

Law & Order airs on NBC in the US.

Authorities in Argentina‘s Tierra del Fuego province are vehemently disputing claims that a deadly hantavirus outbreak, linked to an Atlantic cruise ship, originated within their borders.

Instead, they are urging investigations into other Argentine provinces visited by passengers.

Local officials in the southernmost South American archipelago reject the assertion by national health authorities that a rubbish dump in Ushuaia was the probable source where two Dutch tourists contracted the virus while bird-watching.

“I believe we are facing a smear campaign against this destination” Juan Facundo Petrina, the province’s director of epidemiology, told reporters Friday in a press conference from Ushuaia.

He highlighted that federal officials reportedly failed to contact local authorities directly, instead learning of the alleged Ushuaia link through media reports.

Petrina further stressed that Tierra del Fuego has no history of hantavirus cases, particularly not the Andes variant implicated in the cruise ship outbreak, unlike provinces further north in Argentina.

The director also noted that the deceased Dutch couple spent only two days in Tierra del Fuego during their four-month journey across Argentina and Chile, a factor he believes “dramatically reduces the likelihood that the infection happened here”.

As the main gateway to Antarctica, the remote town of Ushuaia drew over 157,000 cruise passengers last year — almost double its local population.

Deep-pocketed cruisers have increasingly grown vital to Tierra del Fuego’s economy as its core electronic manufacturing sector reels from libertarian President Javier Milei‘s slashing of trade barriers and subsidies.

“Now the whole world is associating Ushuaia, and cruise travel, with a lethal virus, and if this continues, reservations for next season are honestly going to plummet because nobody will want to be exposed” said Rubén Rafael, the former health minister of Tierra del Fuego.

“Ushuaia’s reputation as a tourist destination is suffering badly”.

Argentine investigators have yet to arrive

When asked on Friday whether the Argentine Health Ministry still favored the outbreak origin theory of the Ushuaia landfill, a ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to talk about the investigation, said that nothing had changed and that Ushuaia was the only place where the ministry was sending investigators, adding that it remained possible the virus originated elsewhere in Argentina.

The Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that it would dispatch experts from the state-backed Malbran Institute to trap rats at the Ushuaia trash heap and nearby areas and test them for the Andes strain of the hantavirus.

Over two days later, the investigators have yet to arrive. The official dismissed the delay as normal for Argentina’s slow-moving bureaucracy.

In Tierra del Fuego, Petrina said he hoped national investigators would clear Ushuaia’s name. He said it was taking a while “to determine all the exact locations where trapping and analysis will take place”.

Others in the left-leaning province complained that the government’s delay and lack of transparency came as part of a wider pattern ever since Milei took his chain saw to the country’s health system, withdrawing his country from the World Health Organisation weeks after US President Donald Trump did the same and defunding national programs responsible for tracking infectious diseases.

“The health system in Argentina is going through a serious crisis” said Rafael, the former provincial health minister. “The system is weakened, and as a result, the response to this outbreak has been very slow. That exposes all of us”.

Outside Argentina, public health experts said that the investigation is a critical step so that a similar situation can be avoided.

“It’s not an extreme emergency, but it’s still of urgency in terms of collecting the data” said Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist who serves as editor-at-large for public health at KFF Health News and previously advised the Biden administration on the coronavirus pandemic.

“If there is an Andes virus that is more infectious locally you’d want to know that so that you can warn local residents and take measures to prevent their infection. And if they haven’t started that process yet, that would be concerning”.

A daunting hunt for answers

The Dutch couple that the WHO has identified as the first cruise passengers infected with the Andes variant — the only hantavirus that may be able to spread from person-to-person in rare cases — arrived in Argentina last November, according to the Argentine Health Ministry.

The couple, 70 and 69 years old, spent weeks driving up and down the country before making a series of border crossings between Argentina and Chile over months.

They also traveled between Argentina and Uruguay in March before embarking on the Antarctic cruise from Ushuaia on 1 April.

The governments of Chile, which has seen deadly outbreaks of the Andes variant before, and Uruguay, which hasn’t, declared the couple couldn’t have become infected while visiting based on the virus’ up-to-eight-week incubation period. They didn’t offer details.

Because the couple died, retracing their steps through the country is exceedingly difficult, said Argentine health officials, adding that they’re working to fill in some gaps in the couple’s travels.

Many independent Argentine epidemiologists believe that the hantavirus outbreak most likely emerged from the woodlands of central Patagonia, another major tourist destination where authorities have recently recorded hantavirus cases and long-tailed rats known to carry the Andes variant run rampant — unlike in Ushuaia.

“With the media pressure now, it wouldn’t surprise me if the government’s response has been more about quieting criticism by appearing to act” said Raul González Ittig, genetics professor at the National University of Cordoba.

The motorway is closed southbound between J17 (Sandbach) and J16 (Crewe/Stoke-on-Trent).

Cheshire Police are in attendance and motorists are being warned of delays on approach to the closure and diversion routes. 

Diversion Route

Follow route marked with a hollow circle symbol on road signs:

• Exit the M6 at J17
• At the end of the slip road turn right on to the A534
• Follow the A534 towards Crewe
• At the Crewe Green Roundabout take the second exit on to the A5020 University Way
• Follow the A5020 on to David Whitby Way
• At the Weston Gate Roundabout with the A500 take the first exit
• Follow the A500 Shavington Bypass eastbound on to Alsager Road and continue to the M6 J16
• At the roundabout take the fourth exit to re-join the M6 southbound

A National Highways spokesman said: “If this closure affects your journey please allow extra time for your journey, consider alternate routes (if possible).

“Further information is available from National Highways by visiting our www.trafficengland.com website and travel apps, or via our regional X feed.

“Our 24/7 contact centre team is also available to provide up to the minute information on 0300 123 5000.”

The Other Side of Me will be performed at Northern Stage in Newcastle on May 20, following a seven-venue tour along Australia’s east coast that ends with a four-day run at the Sydney Opera House.

Originally scheduled to be staged in Newcastle in 2020, the production was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company at DanceX Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne 2025 (Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.)

It also carries emotional significance, following the death in 2024 of Dr Laura Fish, the Northumbria University writer and assistant professor who first conceived the project.

Dr Fish began the work after exchanging letters with a young Aboriginal man who shared his struggles with identity and reconnecting with his Indigenous heritage.

Liz Pavey, assistant professor at Northumbria University and co-creator of the production, said: “It is a joy that The Other Side of Meis finally coming to the North East after all this time.

The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company at DanceX Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne 2025 (Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.)

“This is such an important story, and we are so excited that North East audiences can finally connect with it – I know they will be moved, challenged, and in awe of the choreography. It raises profound questions about colonialism and belonging that resonate far beyond Australia.

“This is also a wonderful moment of international recognition for Gary and his extraordinary artistry. And of course, it is a tribute to Laura – a chance for all those who knew her to remember the incredible cultural impact she had on creative writing, on this region, and well beyond.”

The Other Side of Me by Gary Lang NT Dance Company at DanceX Festival, Arts Centre Melbourne 2025 (Image: Gregory Lorenzutti.)

The Other Side of Me tells the story of a young man from Australia’s Stolen Generations – Indigenous children forcibly removed from their families under government policy – who is adopted and raised in the UK, cut off from his culture and identity.

Blending contemporary and First Nations dance with physical theatre and literature, the work unfolds as an intimate duet between two men representing different sides of the same person: the British identity he lives and the Indigenous identity he yearns to reclaim.

The performance has received international acclaim since premiering at the Darwin Festival in 2023.

It has since toured Western and Central Australia, featured at The Australian Ballet’s DanceX Festival in Melbourne, and embarked on its acclaimed 2026 East Coast Australian tour, which culminates at the Sydney Opera House before travelling to the UK.

Produced by the First Nations-led organisation BlakDance, the production was developed in collaboration with Northumbria University and the Gary Lang NT Dance Company.

Ms Pavey described the upcoming performance as a tribute to Dr Fish and her lasting influence.

She said: “This is also a wonderful moment of international recognition for Gary and his extraordinary artistry.

“And of course, it is a tribute to Laura – a chance for all those who knew her to remember the incredible cultural impact she had on creative writing, on this region, and well beyond.”

Gary Lang, choreographer and artistic director of Gary Lang NT Dance Company, said: “While this work was inspired by a specific and gut-wrenching story about the loss of a Blak boy’s identity, the exploration is about the many ‘what if’ moments we can all recognise in our lives.

“The Other Side of Me is about the prison that everyone has in their own minds – how we keep ourselves behind bars and how we try to find our own freedom.”

Following the Newcastle date, the production will appear at Dance North Scotland’s RISE 2026 festival, an annual event celebrating contemporary dance across Caithness, Inverness, Findhorn, and Glasgow.

The Other Side of Me will be performed at Northern Stage, Newcastle, on May 20.

The campaign, Together Through Sport, aims to ensure every child can play, grow and thrive through access to sporting opportunities.

Mr Quinn said: “Sport should be for every child, not just the lucky few.

“Together Through Sport is helping ensure no child is left on the sidelines.

“By supporting the campaign, you can help provide opportunities that make a real difference to young people and families across our region.”

The campaign brings together major sporting foundations and organisations across the North East, including the Foundation of Light, Newcastle United Foundation, Durham Cricket Foundation, Eagles Community Foundation and Newcastle Rugby Foundation.

Together, they aim to remove barriers that prevent young people from taking part in sport and physical activity.

Funds raised will go towards free and subsidised holiday activities, community sports sessions for children and young people, school-based opportunities to get active, access to safe, inclusive and welcoming environments, and support for families facing financial barriers to participation.

The campaign also forms part of a wider ambition to establish the North East as the UK’s first Region of Sport, harnessing the power of clubs, charities and community organisations to create healthier, happier and more connected communities.

People can support the campaign by texting TOGETHERFIVE to 70085 to donate £5, plus one standard network rate message, or by donating online through the campaign’s JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/campaign/sport.

Prince Harry has, it is said, been made aware of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor being threatened at his Sandringham home by a “balaclava-clad” armed man

Prince Harry is expected to “double down on his position” his family needs taxpayer-funded security when they visit the UK after the alleged Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor incident.

The Duke of Sussex’s legal and personal argument in his continued fight is said to have been given a boost following the arrest of a man in connection with the alleged Andrew incident. Alex Jenkinson, 39, appeared in court on Friday, charged with two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior to harass someone or cause alarm or distress.

Tom Sykes, a royal journalist, said: “It’s reasonable to assume he will be seriously concerned, and will now double down on his position that he simply cannot bring his wife Meghan Markle and their children back to the United Kingdom without a comprehensive security package in place.”

Prince Harry’s argument has, for years, been met with scepticism, legal battles, and indifference but it is believed the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is likely to change things.

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The machinery governing Harry’s security when he visits the UK runs through RAVEC, the Royal and VIP Executive Committee, and has a complicated process. Under the current arrangement, Harry must give thirty days’ notice of any visit, after which RAVEC makes a case-by-case determination about what protection he receives.

But last September, a known stalker managed to get within feet of the Duke of Sussex on two separate occasions during a single London visit. Mr Sykes, also an author, continued: “If something were to happen [to Prince Harry], it would be catastrophic, not just for Harry, but for the United Kingdom, the monarchy, and the country’s reputation in the world.”

Father-of-two Harry has claimed he is particularly concerned for Meghan Markle and their children during visits to the UK. His wife and children will not join Harry when the duke comes here in the summer for a preperation meeting ahead of the Invictus Games, which next year will be held in Birmingham.

With this in mind, Mr Sykes added: “The time has come to untangle status from safety. But the fact that Harry has been foolish does not mean he should be unsafe.”

The expert shared his thoughts in a piece for The Daily Beast after Jenkinson’s appearance at Westminster Magistrates Court. There, the defendant pleaded not guilty to using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour toward the former Prince Andrew near his home on King Charles III’s Sandringham Estate.

Jenkinson, who is from Stowmarket, Suffolk, been released on conditional bail. One of the conditions is that he must not go into Norfolk or go near any royally owned premises in the UK and another that he must not contact the victim.

Storm Stacey claimed the Superstock race and second Superbike event on his first appearance on the roads of the Causeway coastline

Storm Stacey had a North West 200 debut to remember as he completed a brilliant double on the legendary Triangle Circuit.

The 23-year old claimed the Superstock race and second Superbike event on his first appearance on the roads of the Causeway coastline.

The British Superbike frontrunner rode his BMW to pip Michael Dunlop in the Stocker race and followed that up with a success in Superbike race two which came to a premature end when the red flags came out because of an oil spill.

The race was halted after lap three, with Stacey declared the winner, and Dean Harrison and Glenn Irwin second and third.

“Unbelievable,” Stacey told BBC Sport NI after the Superstock race.

“The goal here was just to come here and have a good, successful North West 200, go home happy and continue with BSB.

“I did promise Stuart Higgs I would go easy, but you get a bit carried away when you’re racing, unfortunately.

“I really enjoyed that race, battling with Michael [Dunlop] is– it’s a new thing for me, I’ve never battled with Michael.

“Obviously, we’ve done test days before on tracks, but the difference on a track to on roads is so different, but it was good having some duals, we were looking at each other down the straights and it was a bit of a ‘who dares wins’ on the brakes.

“I think I won all the battles on the brakes, so it was very fun.”

Irwin claimed the 12th Superbike triumph of his career by winning race one, Michael Dunlop took the Supersport victory and Peter Hickman and Jeremy McWilliams were the winners of the Supertwin/Sportbike races.

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Rowling, a former Labour supporter herself, later added: “Polite notice to those urging me to show blind tribal allegiance to a party that’s screwed over female nurses who want to change in a female-only space, female prisoners housed with male sex offenders and female rape survivors who want an all-female support service: nope.”