Since the last international break, no player has scored more Premier League goals than Watkins’ nine.

Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland is second on that list with seven, while Nottingham Forest‘s Morgan Gibbs-White is the next best English player on five.

But, while Watkins may well be arguably England’s most in-form striker heading into the World Cup, realistically the spot everyone is vying for is the number one back-up position to captain Kane.

Ivan Toney has been in prolific form all season for Al-Ahli but playing in the Saudi Pro League means his numbers are difficult to directly compare with the other contenders.

Of the rest, Watkins’ 19 goals in all competitions puts him five ahead of both Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who returned to the England fold after a five-year exile in March, and Danny Welbeck, whose last cap was in 2018.

“He’s got to be on the plane,” former Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie said on Sky Sports when asked about Watkins’ chances of being included this summer. “Since being left out we’ve just seen a massive turning of the corner.

“He’s been relentless in front of goal, he’s shown his capabilities. He’s a totally different player to Harry Kane and gives them something different.”

Frances Price said her ‘life will never be the same again’ following the death of her son Marcus Carpenter, 37, who was killed by Kyle O’Callaghan

A mother has said her life has been “destroyed” after her son was killed after being punched in the head outside a Wetherspoons pub. She told a court she would never get over her son’s death, saying “Mine and my family’s life will never be the same again.”

Kyle O’Callaghan, 30, punched Marcus Carpenter, 37, outside the Picture House pub in Ebbw Vale on February 21 after he had asked his victim ‘Do you want to come outside and have a word with me a minute?’. Both men walked to an alleyway outside the pub, where O’Callaghan punched Mr Carpenter to the face.

A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court heard they continued talking for a couple of minutes before Mr Carpenter tried to walk away, but the defendant grabbed his fleece and punched him a second time, causing him to snap his head back onto railings. Make sure you never miss Wales’ biggest updates by getting our daily newsletter.

O’Callaghan attempted to wake the victim up, by dragging him around and slapping him to the face but Mr Carpenter remained unconscious.

The defendant returned inside the pub and asked one of Mr Carpenter’s friends “I can’t wake him up, he’s not moving. Get him up for me.”

Mr Carpenter suffered catastrophic injuries and was taken by Air Ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.

He was found to have suffered an “extensive and devastating” brain injury.

Some days later, it was established that Mr Carpenter displayed no signs of brain activity and he was declared dead on February 24.

A cause of death was given as hypoxic brain injury through lack of oxygen, an out of hospital cardiac arrest and traumatic subarachnoid haemorrhage.

O’Callaghan, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter, was sentenced to 10 years and six months imprisonment, with an extended licence period of four years.

During the sentencing hearing, prosecutor Martha Smith-Higgins read out victim personal statements, the first from Mr Carpenter’s mother Frances Price.

She said: “I am the mother of three sons, Marcus was my first born. He was a happy cheeky boy, always smiling. His smile meant he could get away with anything, same when he was an adult. He lit up places when he entered a room with his personality. He was kind and generous to family and strangers who were struggling, and he looked after me and his brothers.

“Since he was cruelly taken away from me my life has been destroyed in ways I never thought possible. I feel lost and empty, every day I feel in pain, I am heartbroken.

“To know I will never get to see him again tears me up. He was taken in such a selfish manner for absolutely no reason at all. I didn’t even know who this person was or why he took my son away from me.

“My mental health has declined, I feel at rock bottom. I drink more to get through the day and numb the feeling of immense loss.

“The outpouring of love and support shows me how much he was loved. I don’t think he would have realised how much he was loved, which breaks my heart. I will never get over this, mine and my family’s life will never be the same again.”

Mrs Price gave a second statement after she saw the footage of her son being punched by O’Callaghan.

She said: “Watching that footage killed me. It absolutely destroyed me seeing my son’s lifeless body treated as though he was nothing, as if his life did not matter when he was my life.

“He was dropped on the floor and dragged, nobody deserves to be treated that way. It was cowardly.

“I never thought something could hurt as much as losing my son, but watching that his last moments was so undignified exposed a new layer of grief I never thought possible. It has torn my family apart.

“I watched the footage with one of my sons and he said he no longer wants to live…

“(O’Callaghan) has taken my life as well as Marcus’s life. I don’t even have a memory of him anymore because every time I think of him, the footage of him being killed plays in my head. I try not to think of him but in truth I can’t think of anything else.

“The hurt and heartache caused by one person’s selfish actions is something me and my family will spend the rest of our lives paying the price for.”

The next statement was from Mr Carpenter’s partner Jay Murphy.

She said: “Marcus was my person, my partner in life. We met five and a half years ago and instantly became inseparable. For me, he was the man I wanted to be with forever. I instantly fell in love and knew it was he I wanted to be with with.,

“He was a caring, generous, and loving man who would give to anyone without hesitation. I am heartbroken he has been taken away from me.

“We were talking about marriage and making plans to be a family together. We had holidays booked and plans to look forward to but it now feels like my whole life has been ruined.

“I wait for him to come home. I can’t sleep, I am in a constant state of depression and I have started taking medication.

“I couldn’t be a mother for the first few weeks he was taken and my son had to stay with my mum. I work for the NHS but had to stop, how can I care for people when I can’t look after myself?

“I don’t know how I will ever move on from this, a person I didn’t know stormed into my life and my family’s lives and took my future and the love of my life.

“I will never get to say goodbye, I will never get the happy ending Marcus promised me.”

The final victim personal statement was from Mr Carpenter’s brother Ian Price.

He said: “Since the death of my brother I just feel empty. Life will never be the same. He was my best friend, we grew up together and spent time together.

“I have lost a part of me I will never get back, which someone has selfishly taken away from me.

“It has affected my mental health, I felt like I wanted to self-destruct. One minute I feel emotional and upset and the next I feel nothing.

“Someone unknown to our family has taken a huge part of our lives away from us. Our lives have been ruined in the most destructive and selfish way possible.

“I will never get over the loss of my brother, my heart is broken.”

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The York and North Yorkshire Mayor said the current state of his party after months of errors meant what it had delivered in Government was not landing with voters.

He said he would want someone who could unite the party if the prime minister goes but no one was challenging him currently so he should continue serving his mandate.

It comes as Sir Keir and the Labour Party continue to reel from the loss of more than 1,460 council seats across England along with defeats in Scotland and Wales.

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Nigel Farage’s Reform UK emerged as the big winners in England, gaining more than 1,450 council seats.

The results of local elections and those in Scotland and Wales have piled pressure on the prime minister who is now fighting to stay on as Labour leader.

High-profile Labour figures including former Health Secretary Wes Streeting and Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham have made moves to position themselves to run a potential leadership contest.

But a leadership election has not been officially triggered as of Friday, May 15.

York and North Yorkshire Mayor Mr Skaith appeared on BBC News where he described the situation in the party as a real mess.

He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) afterwards that he stood by his assessment and feared the consequences for Labour and the country going forward.

David Skaith has weighed in on Labour infighting (Image: Gavin Priestley)

The mayor added there would have to be a lot of water under the bridge to get to a fully-fledged leadership contest, including Mr Burnham standing in and winning a by-election.

Mr Skaith said: “I think there’s a lot of frustration on the doorstep, from myself and other mayors and MPs up and down the country at the state of the party.

“We’ve delivered a lot and there’s been good stuff about economic growth and NHS waiting times but it’s not landing because there’s been so many errors over the last 18 months.

“We’ve got to crack on and deliver what people put Labour into office for, especially after what we saw with the Conservatives with all the chopping and changing of leaders.

“The entire party needs to stop looking inward, if we’re unsuccessful a knee-jerk reaction to the far-right and Reform could be coming.

“A spent a lot of time in West Yorkshire before the local elections talking to voters, there’s a fear of a Reform government and there’s a lack of connection to Labour.

“No one else has put themselves forward so far, the entire Government has a five-year mandate and Keir Starmer’s the prime minister so they need to get on with the job.”

The bridge is widely recognised as the world’s oldest railway bridge still in continuous use, carrying trains over the River Skerne on the northern edge of Darlington town centre.

It was built for the pioneering Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR), the line which opened in 1825 and hailed the birthplace of the modern passenger railway.

The bridge famously carried George Stephenson’s Locomotion No.1 and a train of coal wagons and passengers on September 27, 1825, the opening day of the S&DR

That journey marked the first time the general public could travel by steam train, turning this modest stone arch into a symbol of a transport revolution that would spread around the world.

A closer look at the design

The bridge was designed in local stone by architect and engineer Ignatius Bonomi, who produced a single main arch over the river with two smaller arches at either side for footpaths.

Built by contractor Francis Peacock of Yarm, the structure was deliberately solid and unfussy.

Its location over the Skerne was one of the most challenging points on the original line, spanning what was then regarded as the biggest ravine on the S&DR.

When traffic grew more quickly than expected, the earth embankments leading to the bridge began to slump, forcing the company to return to the site within just a few years.

How the bridge was saved

By 1828, only three years after opening, the heavy coal traffic was already putting serious pressure on the new railway and the approaches to Skerne Bridge.

In 1829 the company brought in Heighington builder John Falcus Carter to carry out vital strengthening work.

Carter added curved flanking walls to hold in the embankments and protect Bonomi’s original arch, reshaping the way the bridge looks from the surrounding paths.

Further alterations in the early 1830s allowed the main line to be doubled, creating the widened bridge that appears in later Victorian paintings and engravings.

(Image: ANDREW WHITE)

From £5 note to national “100 Places”

Although it sits just off Northgate and within walking distance of Darlington station, Skerne Bridge fell from view for much of the 20th century as vegetation and neighbouring development closed in around it.

Even so, its importance was recognised nationally when it appeared on the back of the British £5 note in the early 1990s, the only bridge ever to be given that honour.

Historic England has since named Skerne Bridge as one of its “100 Places” – a list of irreplaceable historic sites that have shaped England’s story.

The structure is protected as both a Grade I listed building and a scheduled monument.

Restoration and Hopetown Darlington

Ahead of the 195th anniversary of the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 2020, Network Rail carried out a programme of cleaning and maintenance on Skerne Bridge.

Stonework was carefully cleaned and vegetation stripped back to make the bridge visible again from nearby roads and paths.

At the same time, the wider Hopetown Darlington project has opened up new ways to reach the bridge on foot and by bike.

A well-lit walking and cycling route now links John Street and Albert Road with the riverside, giving people a safe route under and around the arches as part of a wider heritage trail.

(Image: SARAH CALDECOTT)

Trains still crossing today

Nearly two centuries after Locomotion No.1 first crossed the River Skerne, modern services still rumble over the same stonework.

Today the bridge carries local trains on the Bishop Auckland to Saltburn route, a short distance from the East Coast Main Line which links London, Yorkshire, Durham, Newcastle and Edinburgh.

For passengers, the crossing passes in a matter of seconds and often goes unnoticed behind the carriage windows.

But each train adds another chapter to a story of continuous use that no other railway bridge in the world can match.

How to see it for yourself

Skerne Bridge sits close to John Street, off Northgate, where a riverside path follows the Skerne and passes directly under the arches.

Gareth Stark was caught on camera slapping the back of his baby’s head in KFC

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A dad not only ‘violently shook’ his three-month-old baby to death, he was also caught on camera hitting the baby in KFC. Gareth Stark ‘deliberately’ slapped the back of young Leon Stark’s head while in the restaurant in Stafford.

Just three days later, the poor baby was left with multiple brain, eye and spinal injuries during a moment of ‘forceful’ shaking, BirminghamLive reports. The 38-year-old dialled 999 but lied, claiming he had put Leon down in his crib and found him ‘unresponsive’ with a red rash on his body 30 minutes later.

Leon was rushed to hospital but sadly died a week later. Stark, of Masefield Drive, Stafford, was today (May 15) jailed for nine years for manslaughter and battery.

Sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Farrer KC said the assault in KFC was ‘not a forceful blow’ and that Stark did not ‘intend to cause Leon injury’. But he said Stark inflicted a ‘traumatic shaking injury’ on his baby just days later and ‘acted in gross breach of trust’.

He said Leon was ‘extremely vulnerable’ because of his age, adding: “You obviously knew that and it should have been obvious to you that forcefully shaking him was highly likely to cause, at least, serious harm.”

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Stark admitted battery on October 9, 2023, and manslaughter on October 20, 2023, both on a basis – he said he ‘recklessly assaulted’ Leon in KFC and three days later, was unable to stop him from crying so ‘momentarily shook him in frustration’.

The court heard how mum Laura Willey had a ‘medically uneventful pregnancy’ before Leon was born via caesarean section in July 2023. The baby was in ‘good condition’, in ‘good health’ and was making ‘steady developmental progress’ before his death.

Stark and Ms Willey were with their son at KFC when the dad ‘deliberately struck’ the tot to the back of his head with an open hand while holding him on October 9, 2023. Leon was left ‘visibly upset’, prosecutor Lisa Hancox said.

Footage from KFC, which was played to the court, captured Stark assaulting his child while Ms Willey’s back was turned. On October 12, Stark caused fatal injuries to Leon during an ‘episode of violent shaking’ at the family’s home in Stafford.

The dad – who had been alone with Leon – called the emergency services just before 3.10pm, the court heard. Leon was taken to the Royal Stoke University Hospital before he was transferred to an intensive care unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

It later became clear that the baby’s injuries were ‘unsurvivable’ and he died on October 20. Experts suspected Leon had suffered ‘abusive head trauma’, with a medical cause of death later given as traumatic head injury.

Force used by Stark would have been ‘clearly recognisable’ as ‘excessive’, Ms Hancox said. The dad must have ‘appreciated’ that shaking his son was ‘likely to result in harm’, she added.

Justin Jarmola, defending, pointed to a ‘momentary shake of Leon’, adding: “He shall never forgive himself.

“This guilt shall be with him forever.”

He said Stark has a ‘long history of mental illness’ and is susceptible to difficulties managing any ‘frustration, angry and agitation’. The court heard how Stark was handed a six-month conditional discharge for criminal damage in 2023.

Mr Jarmola added: “There was a lack of premeditation. He does otherwise, in effect, have positive good character.”

Judge Farrer acknowledged Stark has anxiety and bipolar disorder but said he was ‘medicated and not symptomatic’ at the time he caused Leon’s fatal injuries.

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Melissa Rein Lively is charged with assault by beating while Philipp Ostermann, 37, is charged with two racially aggravated public order offences and a further public order offence, after an incident at Bond Street Underground station on the evening of October 11 last year, British Transport Police said on Friday.

The search is on to find contestants for the second series of the show, which is hosted by Alan Carr and Susie Dent.

The first series attracted more than 2.1 million viewers for its opening episode.

A spokesperson for Mothership Productions said: “We are back with even more games, more twists and brand-new ways for viewers at home to play along and test their own smarts alongside the contestants.”

The show celebrates overlooked and underestimated intelligence, giving people a chance to prove just how clever they are through a series of immersive games inspired by Mensa-style challenges.

Adults from all backgrounds across the UK are invited to apply.

The spokesperson added: “Secret Genius celebrates people whose intelligence has been overlooked, underestimated or completely missed, giving them a chance to discover just how brilliant they really are.”

Producers are looking for people who have felt ‘misunderstood’ at school, at work, or even at home, and who believe their true potential has gone unnoticed.

The application process and eligibility details are available at www.geniuscasting.co.uk.

Applications are now open.

A total of 254 issues including problems with plants, street furniture, roads and pavements, along with fly-tipping and graffiti have been reported to City of York Council Neighbourhood Caretakers since October.

The eight-strong team will have been on 31 walkabouts by Monday, May 18 and have visited each of York’s 21 wards at least once since their launch in September.

A council report stated 234 of the 254 issues reported had been resolved, with the remaining 20 passed on to others, found not to be an issue or otherwise closed.

It comes as councillors are set to discuss the performance of the team on Tuesday, May 19.

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The team of seven caretakers and one foreperson is equipped with two light vehicles, one commercial sweeper and other tools.

They cover four areas, North, West, East and Central York, with the division influencing how jobs for the team are prioritised.

Neighbourhood Caretakers aim to address issues raised by councillors and in communities that are not picked up through routine work by other council staff.

They made their debut with a visit to Hull Road ward on Monday, September 29.

Council figures show most of the issues reported to Neighbourhood Caretakers were classed as vegetation problem, totalling 176.

Street cleaning requests numbered 48, with road and pavement problems totalling 25 and two reports made about fly-tipping.

There was one report each related to street furniture problems, graffiti and a category listed as ‘quick log’.

(From left to right) York Council Neighbourhood Caretakers Evan Webster-Barker, Marcus Preston, Chris Ferry, Andrew Wood and Salem Branch (Image: City of York Council)

October saw the highest number of reports to Neighbourhood Caretakers, 69, with the second-highest made in January, 58, the third in March, 44 and the fourth in February, 42.

A total of 26 issues were reported in December and 15 were in November.

Jobs have included clearing plants from an alleyway off Leeman Road and removing weeds from Pateley Place in Holgate.

Overgrown plants have also been cleared from a walkway and cycle route in the Clifton Road and Shipton Road area.

The team has visited Hull Road, Holgate, Westfield, Clifton, Rawcliffe and Clifton Without, Dringhouses and Woodthorpe, Heworth, Guildhall and Micklegate twice each since September for walkabouts.

They have been to Copmanthorpe, Fishergate, Fulford and Heslington, Acomb, Strensall, Rural West York, Heworth Without, Osbaldwick and Derwent, Haxby and Wigginton, Wheldrake, Bishopthorpe and Huntington and New Earswick once.

A walkabout in Huntington and New Earswick is scheduled for Monday, May 18.

Walkabouts typically see ward and parish councillors, authority staff, volunteers, residents association members and sometimes police officers visit areas to find issues Neighbourhood Caretakers can deal with.

Residents are also encouraged to take part in community action days to help with lower-level issues such as litter-picking and painting fences.

For Liverpool, meanwhile, Arne Slot is once again left to pick up the pieces and he has yet more injuries to work around after losing both Alexander Isak and Jeremie Frimpong ahead of this match. Catch up with the action as it happene below with Standard Sport’s dedicated match blog, complete with expert insight and analysis.

Northampton: Furbank, Freeman, Litchfield, Hutchinson, Hendy, Smith, McParland; Iyogun, Smith, Millar Mills, Coles, Prowse, Kemeny, Pollock, Chick

Replacements: Walker, Fischetti, Green, Van Der Mescht, Pearson, Graham, Mitchell, Dingwall

Sin-bin: Prowse

Bristol: Lane, Rees-Zammit, Janse van Rensburg, Williams, Ravouvou, Jordan, Randall; Genge, Thacker, Kloska, Dun, Batley, Owen, Harding (c), Grondona

Replacements: Gwilliam, Woolmore, Lahiff, Taylor, Ivanishvili, Marmion, Moroni, Heward

Sin-bin: Ravouvou, Batley, Moroni

Referee: Luke Pearce