The quick-thinking youngster took his own boat out to the water to save the pair.

A teenager has been praised for using his own boat to rescue two men from the water in the Hebrides.

The two men fell out of a toy blow-up inflatable boat in Broadford Bay, Skye, on Saturday evening.

The quick-thinking teen, around 16, spotted the two in difficulty and went out in his own boat to rescue them.

He brought the pair back to sure in an epic rescue mission.

The Kyle of Lochalsh RNLI lifeboat were also called to the scene after the Coastguard received reports of two people in difficulty.

However, the men had been rescued by the time they arrived and were said to be safe and well.

Lifeboat organisation the RNLI has praised the youngster for his heroic efforts.

Andrew MacDonald, helm at Kyle RNLI, said: “Thanks to the quick thinking of the teenager going out in his own boat to rescue the two casualties, a far more serious situation was averted.

“We’d like to remind people that blow-up inflatable toys should be kept for use in swimming pools and not open water, and to always ensure that you have lifejackets on and a means of communicating to the emergency services if you get into any difficulty.”

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Magistrates went ahead with all their cases, found them guilty in their absence and sentenced them.

Three cases were heard at Harrogate Magistrates Court.

Sarah Partridge, 38, of Water Lane, York, was convicted of failure to tell police who was driving her vehicle when it was allegedly committing a traffic offence.

She was banned from driving for six months, fined £120 and ordered to pay £120 prosecution costs and a £48 statutory surcharge.

Jamie Lee, 52, of Middlefield Close, Osgodby, Scarborough, was convicted of not telling police who was driving his vehicle when it was allegedly committing a traffic offence.

He was banned from driving for six months, fined £660 and ordered to pay £120 prosecution costs and a £264 statutory surcharge.

Thomas Butler, 37, of Hugden Close, Pickering, was convicted of driving without insurance in Helmsley and was banned from driving for six months.

He was fined £660 and ordered to pay £120 prosecution costs and a £264 statutory surcharge.

Christopher Roche, 36, of Millgate News, Selby, was convicted by Bradford magistrates of failure to tell police who was driving his car when it was allegedly speeding in a 30mph zone at Walton near Tadcaster.

He was fined £660, ordered to pay a £264 statutory surcharge and £130 prosecution and given six penalty points.

Having made his England debut in 2017, Pickford helped the team reach the World Cup semi-finals the following year in Russia and has cemented his place as manager Thomas Tuchel’s number one.

Now a veteran of the team with 85 caps at the age of 32, Carlisle played their part in his development after he joined the then-League One team on loan from Sunderland.

He only played 18 games for the Cumbria-based club but clearly left his mark.

“I remember one game in particular, we were playing at Deepdale against Preston,” said Ben Benson, who went to the game as a fan but was also part of Carlisle’s goalkeeping set-up.

“He made a mistake, one that goalkeepers up and down the country make every week.”

The stakes couldn’t have been higher in the incident Benson recalled as Pickford, aged just 19, had joined a club struggling to stay in the division.

Away to Preston he’d come for a cross and, despite seeming to have both hands on the ball, it fell from his grasp and Lee Holmes poked home to score North End’s third goal in a 6-1 success.

However, it was what Pickford did after that mistake which impressed Benson and set the tone for the rest of the season.

He added: “Once it happened, I could remember him going back to his goal. He got his towel and put it over his head for maybe five seconds.

“He took it off, put it back on, and it was almost like he’d pressed the reset button. From the moment on, I remember him being outstanding.”

Pickford’s displays weren’t enough to save Carlisle from relegation but he returned to Sunderland where he established himself as their first-choice keeper and moved to Everton in 2017 for a transfer fee reported to be £30m.

“In Jordan you see reliability and robustness first and foremost,” said Benson. “For him to have over 300 Premier League appearance and more than 80 England caps, there’s a robustness there and I think that’s very important.”

It has earned a growing reputation in recent years after joining the food line-up at the popular city venue

Knead Pizza needs no introduction to regular visitors to Belfast’s Common Market. The local pizzeria has become a firm staple at the iconic city food spot.

Founded by Newtownabbey man Aidan Moss, Knead has earned a growing reputation in recent years after joining the food line-up at the popular Cathedral Quarter venue.

His latest move has been him partner with food services giant SSP Group as part of the newly refurbished dining area at Belfast International Airport.

OPINION

For Aidan, 38, it’s been a whirlwind journey from working in banking to making pizzas in a garage and now doing it for a living within Belfast’s thriving food scene and all in the space of a couple of years.

Aidan told Belfast Live: “It all started during COVID making pizzas in the garden, me and my friend, Mark. My wife Aisling had bought me a new pizza oven for my 30th birthday.

“It turned into a bit of a competition between the two of us. me and Mark, to see who was better at it and everybody would have said that we’re both good and that we should team up.

“As a result, Belfast Pizza Lads was born in 2022 – just two lads from Belfast doing pizza our way. We started in his garage, taking pre-orders on Instagram and we started to get busier and busier selling.

“Aisling, who is a teacher got us to do an event at her school catering for the staff. One of the staff member’s husbands owned a pizzeria in our local pub, The Crown and Shamrock Inn in Newtownabbey. I reached out to the pub owner and he agreed to take us on and we’ve been there for the last four years.”

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Back in 2024, Aidan’s banking job was being made redundant and moved to Edinburgh so it was decision time for Aisling and himself: “We’d just had our first kid so I couldn’t really travel.

“My wife talked me into giving Knead to go. I came from a banking background, not a food background so I had no real network in the city centre.

“I reached out to one of my friends who is a director of the Waterfront Hall and he introduced me to Lawrence Bannon, who owns Common Market. Just purely by chance there was a vendor leaving, and we were able to get in.

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“Our pizza is inspired by our travels and experiences, with a distinctive Belfast twist. We’re not Neapolitan, we’re not New York – we sit somewhere in the middle so I call it like a Belfast pizza experience. It’s as local an experience as I can make it.”

Knead Pizza is also now being enjoyed by passengers at Belfast International Airport. Flax & Soda is one of the airport’s newest food and drink venues and offers an approachable, family-friendly atmosphere.

Celebrating the best of Northern Ireland, Flax & Soda is a 280-cover space offering a flexible, all-day dining experience tailored to a wide range of passenger needs.

The venue has also teamed up with Knead to add their pizzas to the menu for passengers to get when they’re passing through.

“As a local business, we are incredibly excited for the opportunity to partner with SSP to bring our product to Belfast International Airport, and we are proud to share it with visitors from around the world.

“It’s been a mad journey from working in a bank in 2024 to making pizzas in an airport in 2026,” Aidan laughs.

Video: Justin Kernoghan

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The Tartan Army were praised for bringing an extraordinary atmosphere to the game on June 14.

The President of the Boston Red Sox penned a letter thanking the Tartan Army after their spectacular takeover of Fenway Park.

More than 5000 Scotland fans marched through the streets of Boston, kilted and playing bagpipes, before attending the venue to watch the Red Sox take on the Texas Rangers on June 14.

The Tartan Army were praised for bringing an extraordinary atmosphere to the game, with players describing it as the most enjoyable game of their careers.

Red Sox president Sam Kennedy has now penned a letter to Hampden bosses, admitting the moving scenes will never be forgotten.

He said: Dear President Mulraney and Chief Executive Maxwell,

“On behalf of all of us at Fenway Sports Group, we wanted to take a moment to say thank you.

“What happened at Fenway Park on June 14th was something none of us will forget. We knew the Tartan Army was coming. We did not fully understand what that meant until we saw it.

“Hundreds of Scotland supporters gathered at the foot of a statue of Robert Burns in the Back Bay and marched all the way to Landowne Street to the sound of bagpipes. Kilts and Scottish flags filled our ballpark with a spirit that has no equivalent in American sport.

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“It was genuinely one of the most moving things we have witnessed at Fenway Park in a very long time.

“Throughout its 114-year history, Fenway Park has seen World Series championships, historic rivalries, and more than a few unforgettable nights.

“And yet on Sunday evening, a ballpark that is typically filled with a baseball crowd became, for a few hours, a meeting point between two sporting cultures. Our fans embraced your supporters without reservation.

“Your supporters responded with exactly the generosity and good humor that has made the Tartan Army beloved everywhere in the world they travel.

“Scotland’s return to the World Cup after 28 years deserves every bit of the enthusiasm your supporters brought to Boston.

“We are proud that Fenway Park could be part of this chapter in your celebration.

“Please extend our deep gratitude to your staff, to manager Steve Clarke and the full Scottish FA delegation, and above all to the Tartan Army itself.

“They treated our home like their own, and we are better for it.

“With warmth and admiration, Sam Kennedy President, Boston Red Sox.”

Boston has fallen in love with the Tartan Army after embracing fans who travelled to support Steve Clarke’s men for their two 2020 Fifa World Cup matches in the city.

From drinking pubs dry to playing bagpipes at 6am and abducting traffic cones to give statues the Duke of Wellington treatment – Bostonians loved the Scots so much that Glasgow and Boston are now set to become sister cities.

Daily newspaper The Boston Globe also published a full page tribute to the Tartan Army after bringing “a joy that Boston will never forget.”

They said: “Dear Tartan Army, you came for the World Cup, but gave us something more.

“For a week, you turned train stations into singalongs, Fenway into a football ground and an ordinary June into something we’ll be talking about for years.

“Boston has hosted championships, parades and celebrations of every kind. But we’ve never hosted guests quite like you all.

“Thank you for the laughter, the bagpipes and the memories. The World Cup will move on. So will the songs, but we’ll never forget the joy you brought to our city.”

The Tartan Army has since moved on to Miami for Scotland’s final group stage match against Brazil on Wednesday.

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Thousands have gathered to celebrate the summer solstice as the UK braces for a heatwave that could see record-breaking temperatures.

This morning, a crowd of more than 20,000 people flocked to Stonehenge and Avebury in Wiltshire to see the sun rise at 4.25 am on the longest day of the year, according to English Heritage.

Visitors, some wearing flower head-dresses, touched the ancient monument and cheered as the glowing sun peeked over the misty horizon.

One of the visitors was the ‘real Merlin’, dressed in a full wizard outfit – and his father joined as well.

The father of Merlin said: ‘This is the son of Merlin. It’s his birthday today, but this is why we’ve come to celebrate.

‘It’s my son’s birthday, son of Merlin, and it’s the solstice. Yes, that’s a really magical time for me as a father. And the sun. And that son, so I’ve got two sons, really. This one, this one.

‘And it’s powerful stuff. We come here, and we pick up vibrations from the cosmos. I’ve been 40 times here. In the rain, in the fog, you know, no sunrise, but the vibrations are still here. The stones themselves have been concreted, which stops a lot of energy coming up. But it’s still there, it’s still powerful on the ley lines.’

The solstice comes just days before the Met Office said the heat is expected to peak at about 35C on Tuesday and Wednesday, sparking weather warnings, health alerts and concerns for vulnerable people.

Forecasters have said there is ‘growing confidence’ this week could break the record for the hottest June temperature of 35.6C, which was set in 1976 in Southampton.

In France, highs of 40C are expected on Sunday, with Monday likely to be even hotter as emergency services and military forces have been put on wildfire alert.

Public alcohol consumption restrictions have also been put in place by French authorities and some outdoor sporting events cancelled.

Today, highs of 31C are forecast in London along with 27C in Cardiff and 21C in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Monday will be a ‘cloudier day overall’, with temperatures expected to reach up to 32C with humidity forecast to rise throughout the week, he said.

An amber extreme heat warning has been issued by the weather service for Monday and Tuesday for most of southern England, south-eastern and eastern Wales, and much of the Midlands.

The alert flags potential health impacts for people vulnerable to extreme heat and heat-related issues for the wider population, as well as a potential increase in water safety incidents.

People in the alert area are advised to drink plenty of fluids and to keep out of the sun, and avoid exercising between 11am and 3pm, the Met Office said.

The heat comes after at least 15 people died after getting into trouble in open water during a hot spell in May.

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

For more stories like this, check our news page.

MORE: Scientists may have finally cracked one of Stonehenge’s biggest mysteries

Second Rothesay Test, The Kia Oval (day five of five)

New Zealand 391 (Phillips 100) & 362 (Nicholls 121, Ravindra 76, Mitchell 68)

England 291 (Gay 53, Fisher 50*; Henry 5-80) & 209 (Root 76, Brook 58; Henry 6-29)

New Zealand won by 253 runs, three-match series level at 1-1

Scorecard

England’s miserable fortnight ended with a crushing defeat in the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval – setting up a high-stakes decider at Trent Bridge.

Under the shadow of the controversy surrounding absent captain Ben Stokes, an inexperienced England team were exposed by an excellent performance from New Zealand, who won by 253 runs.

England began a baking final day with scant hope of an escape, resuming on 182-5, chasing a notional 463.

The home side lasted less than an hour thanks to the brilliance of New Zealand seamer Matt Henry, who claimed 6-29 for career-best match figures of 11-109.

Joe Root was out for 77 in the third over of the day, again lbw to Henry with the keeper standing up, and the tail was exposed.

Jofra Archer was bowled by a shooter, Matthew Fisher played on and Josh Tongue was caught at first slip for a golden duck, giving Henry his first Test 10-wicket haul.

And when Jordan Cox was bowled an attempting a sweep, England were beaten and Henry had the best match figures by a New Zealander in a Test in England.

It meant that exactly two weeks on from a confidence-boosting win in the first Test, England are trying to move on from a period of chaos while also facing the vital third Test.

In celebrating the win at Lord’s, Stokes and pace bowler Gus Atkinson broke the England team’s midnight curfew and were present when a member of security staff was struck by a Saracens rugby player.

The pair were stood down for this Test pending an investigation, the outcome of which is now due to be revealed as England need to name a squad for Trent Bridge.

While it was already thought likely the duo will return, with Stokes as captain, a clear indication was given on Sunday morning when both were withdrawn from their county fixtures.

Need to know

The long-running inquest into the death of the 14-year-old is being heard with a jury at Belfast Coroner’s Court

• At least two people who “had eyes” on Noah Donohoe on the night of his disappearance were not asked to give statements by police, the inquest heard on Monday. The PSNI officer responsible for co-ordinating house-to-house searches the week of the 14-year-old’s disappearance in June 2020 said it was for senior investigating officers to decide who would give witness statements. PSNI Detective Inspector McCartan, who was a detective constable in 2020, led the house-to-house searches conducted to find the missing schoolboy. The parameters for the search included homes on a number of streets in the Northwood Drive area near the culvert where Noah’s body was later found. Mr McCartan told the inquest full resident house-to-house forms were not completed for each visit as it would be “hugely time-consuming”, officers instead using a questionnaire form that Mr McCartan himself produced and he said was “considerably quicker”.
• Brenda Campbell KC, representing Noah’s mother Fiona Donohoe, questioned the officer about the process for flagging any “thematic” issues uncovered in the searches. Mr McCartan said he collated a spreadsheet that was updated at the end of each day by officers involved in searches that the investigating officers and CCTV and witness co-ordinators would have had access to. Ms Campbell highlighted “two neighbours”, one referring to “a back door handle being tried around 3am” and another referring to screams heard in the area on the Sunday night Noah was last seen. The inquest was then shown a questionnaire from a house in Northwood Road where the resident reported hearing “noises” and a comment reading “back of house”. Mr McCartan said the officer who filled out that form “would have pressed” the residents if there was a “specific noise” and also said he could not say “for definite” the back-of-the-house comment referred to where the resident felt the noise was coming from.
• Pressed on the fact there is no statement from that witness from 2020, the officer said it is “not for me to collate witness statements”, his job at that time was trying to figure out “where Noah was and where he had gone to next”. The jurors later saw a house-to-house questionnaire where the residents described a “tall” boy with “dark hair” and seeing him “take his top off and put it on the wall” at the address some of Noah’s clothes were later found. Ms Campbell put it to the officer that when Noah was at that address at Northwood Drive “at least two people had eyes on him and we have statements from neither of them”, asking Mr McCartan “your response is the same, not your responsibility, not your remit?”, to which he responded “yes”.
• A senior PSNI officer has conceded the mother of Noah Donohoe is “in a position of not having answers” about the death of her son because of “mistakes made” by police. PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Phillips became the senior investigating officer (SIO) in relation to Noah’s case on Wednesday 24 June 2020, when it was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
• Mr Phillips said: “There are broadly things that we have missed and mistakes made which has left Fiona in a position of not having answers. In terms of what that would have told us in terms of what happened to Noah – I don’t think so.” Referring to a CCTV camera which police failed to procure footage from, Mr Phillips said: “I’m sorry, that should have been found. Fiona shouldn’t be sat here six years on wondering was there a camera there and what did it show,” he said. He added: “With the benefit of hindsight we did everything we could to find him and I’m content that the PSNI did everything we could to find him as quickly as we could.” The officer went on: “Certainly as time has gone on I regularly think if there was something I could have done to manage my relationship with Fiona in a different way because it deteriorated so quickly. I am truly sorry for any part that I played in that. Noah’s case is unusual enough as it is, nobody should be in this position. I think six years on, I don’t know what else we could have done to help us understand what happened to him and why.”
• Police “pursued the child and not the evidence” in their investigation into the death and disappearance of Noah Donohoe, the inquest heard on Wednesday. Earlier in her examination, Ms Campbell contested that Mr Phillips “pursued a hypothesis that blamed a child, that he did this by choice”. He said: “I disagree with the phrase I blamed him.” Ms Campbell then clarified that he “pursued a hypothesis that Noah did this by choice”. He replied: “Yes, that is where I felt the evidence and information took us.”
• Ms Campbell put it to Mr Phillips “you challenged and you changed nothing” about the search, to which he said “no”, and then “you didn’t challenge and you didn’t change the deployment of specialist resource”. Mr Phillips said: “No, I asked the question but I didn’t suggest they were going too slowly.” When being asked about further failings to recover CCTV footage, Mr Phillips defended PSNI colleagues. He said it was his job as SIO to “drive the investigation to, yes, ensure the information they had was correct and in some cases that didn’t work” and “there were some failings and I’ve apologised for that” but added that is “not to say people involved in this were incompetent, they were good detectives for many years”. He said detectives and officers involved in Noah’s investigation have worked on “many many instances, many crimes, other cases that have all worked out very well so, yes we made mistakes but they’re not incompetent individuals”. He added: “None of this was done deliberately; it was just human error.”
• The inquest continues.

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The EES was first introduced in October last year, before the rollout ramped up on April 10.

The new system requires British travellers and other non-EU visitors to provide biometric data, including fingerprints and facial scans, when entering the Schengen Area.

More than 30,000 people denied entry to Europe due to EES

The latest data from the European Commission has revealed that more than 30,000 people have been denied entry into Europe since the rollout of the new EES, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin.

Of those denied entry, nearly 7,000 had previously overstayed in the Schengen Area, and around 800 were considered security threats.

More than 66 million entries and exits have been logged through the new system so far, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.

Who can be denied entry to Europe?

Under the Schengen Borders Code (SBC), guards can deny travellers from outside the EU entry to the area if they fail to meet the entry conditions under Regulation (EU) 2016/399, ETIAS.com explains.

Refusals typically relate to:

• Missing or invalid travel documents
• Insufficient financial means
• No proof of accommodation or purpose of stay
• Security and public order concerns
• Health or public safety issues

European airports could temporarily shut down EES

The new EES has received significant backlash since its introduction, with it causing long waits for passengers at airports.

Brits have been warned of six-hour waits at several major European airports, with these long waits expected to continue for another two years, according to industry experts.

Major airlines, including Jet2 and Ryanair, have called for the rollout of the new system to be suspended until after the summer to allow for a “smoother airport experience” during peak travel season.

CEO of Ryanair’s Malta subsidiary, Malta Air, David O’Brien, even threatened to pull all flights to Malta due to the extended wait times caused by the EES at airports.

But officials have revealed that European airports have the power to temporarily shut down the EES if queues get too long.

Deputy Executive Director of Frontex (EU border and coast guard agency), Uku Särekanno, speaking to The Mirror, said: “We have until the end of the summer, the possibility during the tourism season to lift the biometric controls or the biometric registration temporarily.

“If there is a peak hour, you see that there are hundreds of people queuing, their queues are getting too long, then member states still have the possibility to lift biometric registration.

“The EU has considered, for the period of summer, to make sure that there is still some relief for the worst-case scenario.”

Have you used the EU’s new Entry Exit system yet? Let us know about your experience in the poll above or in the comments below.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is targeting state pensioners under 80 with annual incomes above £35,000 who received the payment in winter 2025.

Up to two million pensioners across the UK could be affected by the changes, with most facing automatic repayment through tax code adjustments.

HMRC said: “For a typical Winter Fuel Payment of £200, PAYE customers with income more than £35,000 will pay approximately £17 per month extra in tax during the 2026 to 2027 tax year to recover their payment.”

Attention Parents! Do you have a child aged 16-19? ⚠️

If you claim Child Benefit for them, you’ll need to let us know by 31 August if they’re staying in full-time education or approved training to keep receiving your payments.

It only takes a few minutes via the HMRC app or… pic.twitter.com/4J8z6HyjYS

— HM Revenue & Customs (@HMRCgovuk) June 21, 2026

The repayments will be collected via higher monthly tax deductions.

The typical Winter Fuel Payment is £200 for pensioners aged under 80 who live alone and the charge will be spread across the 2026–2027 tax year through a change in their PAYE tax code.

HMRC provided an example to clarify how the system will work for a basic rate taxpayer:

“Your total income is £37,710.

“This is made up of £25,737 from a private pension and £11,973 from your State Pension.

“In December, you got a £200 Winter Fuel Payment.

“Your Personal Allowance is £12,570.

“This is your total deductions.

“£12,570 (Personal Allowance) – £12,973 (total deductions) = –£403 of tax free allowance.

“Your new tax code is K39.

“This means you’ll pay extra tax on £399 of income.

“You’ll pay around £17 more tax per month.”

The repayment scheme applies to pensioners across the UK, including those in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

In Scotland, the payment is known as the Pension Age Winter Heating Payment.

In Northern Ireland, payments were issued by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on behalf of the Northern Ireland Executive.

All recoveries are managed by HMRC, regardless of location.

Only pensioners who exceeded the income threshold and did not opt out of the Winter Fuel Payment are required to repay the funds.

For pensioners under Self Assessment who file online, the Winter Fuel Payment should be pre-populated on their 2025–2026 tax return, due by January 31, 2027.

If the payment is missing, they must add it manually.

Those submitting paper returns need to include the payment by the deadline of October 31, 2026.

HMRC has also issued a warning about potential scams targeting pensioners during the recovery process.

The tax authority urged pensioners to remain vigilant and to report any suspicious communications.

HMRC said: “To report a suspicious text claiming to be from HMRC, forward it to 60599.

“To report a suspicious email, forward it to phishing@hmrc.gov.uk .

“To report a scam phone call, visit GOV.UK.

“If you have had money stolen, contact your bank immediately and notify Report Fraud.

“In Scotland, contact police on 101.”