By CAITLIN LENG

Published: 17:15 BST, 3 August 2026 | Updated: 17:23 BST, 3 August 2026

Tributes have poured in for a father who was killed in a mass shooting at a traveller site on Sunday morning. 

Jimmy Ward, who was in his thirties, suffered fatal gunshot wounds at the Calcutt Traveller Site, a permanent council-approved Gypsy and Traveller site near Cricklade, on the outskirts of Swindon.

Emergency services were called to the site just after 8.15am, where Mr Ward was pronounced dead at the scene.

A residential street has been cordoned off following the incident and a white forensic tent remains in place. 

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Wiltshire Police have launched a murder investigation following the event, with a man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s had been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and assisting an offender. Both remain in police custody.

Tributes have now flooded in for Mr Ward, who it is believed leaves behind a wife and children.

One mourner wrote: ‘RIP to my daughter-in-law’s dad Jimmy Ward. Please everyone pray for all the family, my heart goes out to them all.’ 

‘Very hard to believe. Rest in heavenly peace my cousin Jimmy Ward,’ added another. 

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Jimmy Ward, who was in his thirties, was shot at the grounds in Cricklade in Wiltshire on Sunday

Emergency services were called to the site at around 8.15am, but despite the efforts of paramedics, Mr Ward was pronounced dead at the scene. It is believed he leaves behind a wife and children

A man in his 70s and a woman in her 40s had been arrested on suspicion of possessing a firearm and assisting an offender and remain in police custody

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Police have launched a murder investigation following the fatal shooting

‘Thinking of all the family and friends at this very sad time, sending lots of love to his wife and children. Far too young to die, rest in peace,’ said another local.

Others have described him as ‘a gentleman.’

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, from Wiltshire Police’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: ‘This is an incredibly serious incident, and my thoughts are with the victim’s friends and family at this devastating time.

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‘Enquiries are ongoing at the site and in the wider area to establish the circumstances which have led to this incident and locate all the people involved.’

He urged people to respect the cordon and road closure while the investigation continues.

Officers are also appealing for anyone who witnessed the shooting or saw anything suspicious in the area this morning to come forward.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting log 95 of August 2.

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Information can also be passed to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The fire service confirmed that a casualty died at the scene

A person has died after a house fire in a Cambridgeshire village. Crews from Ely and Littleport were called to a house fire on Eagles Lane in Little Downham at 6pm on Friday (July 31.

A fire service spokesperson said: “Wearing breathing apparatus, firefighters used a hose reel to extinguish the fire and cleared the smoke using a positive pressure ventilation fan.

“Sadly, a casualty died at the scene. Crews returned to their stations by 8.15pm. The cause of the fire was accidental.”

The fire service did not release any further details about the casualty or the incident.

In recent years, TV’s best-known survivalist, Bear Grylls, has been more upfront about his Christian faith than ever.

His most public display came in 2024, when the 52-year-old was one of two people present at the baptism of disgraced comedian Russell Brand, just five months after he was first accused of sexual assault, which he denies.

Posting a picture of the trio hugging in the river, Brand wrote: ‘Me, Bear Grylls, The River Thames and of course, The Holy Spirit.

While speaking to Grylls ahead of his new Amazon Prime series The Chosen in the Wild, Metro questioned whether his feelings on baptising Brand have changed in the years since.

After facing backlash for standing in solidarity with the movie star, whom he had filmed an episode of Running Wild with the year before, Grylls initially told the Daily Mail that ‘it is a privilege to stand beside anyone when they express a humble need for forgiveness and strength from above.’

A year later, he doubled down on his decision, telling The Times that he ‘tries to live in a way that I never judge and I always try and love’. He shared that his guiding phrase was often ‘What would Jesus do?’

Two years on, with Brand admitting to having sex with a 16-year-old at age 30 just weeks after pleading not guilty to a string of new rape and sexual assault charges, we ask if he still stands by that ethos?

‘I think all our faith changes and evolves, and I’d also say I have many doubts as well. I really struggle with so much of it.

‘But I don’t know, I think at heart, my faith says we’re connected together and we need each other, and not to judge people and to love people,’ the TV personality says.

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He also shares that the phrase, ‘What would Christ do?’, very much remains a steady mantra for him and is one that shapes how he approaches ‘relationships and your own life and risk and adventure and all that stuff.’

‘I really try and keep that as that compass in my life. I don’t know. It’s like I say, I’m not super religious, but I do try and just start the day as a discipline on my knees and to say sorry, and to say thank you, and then to say help for the day ahead, and then I crack on with it.’

As Grylls explores his faith on the public stage, he fulfilled a longtime ambition in 2025 by retelling the life story of Jesus with his Sunday Times bestseller, The Greatest Story Ever Told, a project he worked on while filming the Netflix show, Celebrity Bear Hunt.

Now, he’s getting up close and personal with Jesus in an entirely different way with his new Amazon Prime series, The Chosen in the Wild.

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For those not in the know, The Chosen is a wildly popular show about the life and times of Jesus Christ, boasting hundreds of millions of viewers, five seasons and counting and a fiercely loyal global fanbase, including Grylls himself.

Now the Emmy winner is taking the main cast members, Jonathan Roumie (Jesus), Paras Patel (Matthew), Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene), Noah James (Andrew), and Luke Dimyan (Judas), on their own adventures in the wild.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever had so much emotion across so many episodes, such consistent, honest vulnerability and heart from actors as I have in Chosen in the Wild, because these roles really have changed their lives, and that surprised me. It really did,’ he shares.

In fact, the show has even made one of his lifelong wishes come true, albeit in an unconventional way.

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‘I was nervous because my secret dream would be to do Running Wild with Jesus, and this was about as close as I was ever going to get.

‘We’d done President Obama and Modi and Julia Roberts and Ben Stiller and all these people, but this was just special. I was nervous beforehand. I wanted to do it justice because I knew that so many people would be excited about this one,’ he reflects.

In fact, the thrillseeker went as far as to say that out of the dozens of shows he’s done throughout his career, this is the one with ‘the most fan anticipation’.

‘The fans of The Chosen don’t really know what the actors are like. People are desperate in the same way I was. I was a fan of the show, but I was so excited to take Jonathan away to actually find out what he was really like, and this show really shows that in a very visceral, powerful way,’ he teases for the 280 million reported viewers of the beloved series.

He promises a refreshing level of candour from Jonathan, who has a whopping 4.2 million followers on Instagram, who is ‘incredibly honest about his battles and struggles with playing Jesus on a personal level’.

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‘[Jonathan] is such a beloved person to so many viewers, so many different cultures and countries. They’re not just watching it for entertainment. The Chosen is different. It really goes into people’s hearts and affects their lives. [This show] felt different from Running Wild for me,’ he shares.

For Grylls, his Christian faith ‘comes alive’ most in nature when he’s in the mountains again, as well as among friends.

‘Even if I lie on the grass a little bit with the dogs or put my feet in a stream or connect with the earth again, for me that is my spirituality.

‘Those two things actually shape my faith: friendships and the outdoors. Chosen in the Wild, as a show, brings those two things together beautifully, and in a way I didn’t anticipate.’

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All six episodes of The Chosen in the Wild will be available to stream from August 9, 2026 on Prime Video

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In this third part in our series on how the UK has changed in the past 25 years, we turn to demographics, immigration, social attitudes and LGBTQ+ lives.

Demographics

Athina Vlachantoni, professor of gerontology and social policy, University of Southampton

Jane Falkingham, professor of demography and international social policy, University of Southampton

Maria Evandrou, professor of gerontology, University of Southampton

The UK population grew in size from just under 59 million in 2000 to 69.5 million in 2025, and is now projected to reach 71 million by 2034. Contrast this with sharp population declines in eastern and southern Europe that prompted a European parliament resolution in 2021 on reversing demographic trends in EU regions.

The UK’s population growth reflects recent trends in the three drivers of population change – fertility, mortality and migration – which have implications for future generations and the country as a whole.

The UK population is ageing

The 2001 UK census showed that around 16% of the population (9.5 million people) were 65 and over, while just under 2% or 1.1 million were 85 and over. By 2025 the Office for National Statistics estimated that the over-65s and over-85s accounted for 20% and 3% of the population respectively.

More people living longer is both a success for the human race and a challenge for policymakers and societies. A woman and man aged 65 today are expected to live on average for another 23 and 20 years respectively, with important consequences for how long pensions and other savings need to last.

How has the UK changed since the start of the century? From Blair to Burnham, from the dotcom era to AI agents, time has certainly not stood still. In this six-part series, a team of some 35 experts look at everything from defence spending to species populations to the rise of populism to try and make sense of the intervening years.

The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee found in 2025 that the UK is “strikingly unprepared for an ageing society”, as a result of increasing costs and a shrinking tax base. Incidentally, despite women living longer than men, a greater proportion of their lives are expected to be spent in poor health.

The UK is becoming more ethnically diverse

In 2001, 11.8% of the population was from minority ethnic communities, whereas by the 2021 census it was 18%. Although white British people still constitute the largest part of the population (over 74%), their proportion has decreased. There have been slow increases in people from Asian ethnic communities (9.3%), white “other” (6.2%) and black groups (4%), reflecting patterns of both past and more recent migration.

Migrants contribute to the growth of the population and – importantly – the labour market, driving economic growth. As the Windrush generation ages, we are seeing more diversity in our population across all age groups.

Families are getting smaller

Women are having fewer children. The total fertility rate stood at 1.7 children per woman in 2000, and after a revival in the mid-2010s, reached 1.4 in 2024, the lowest since records began.

The average age of women at first birth in England stood at 31 in 2024 compared to 29 in 2000. This is due to a combination of factors, including increased participation in higher education, delayed marriage and partnership formation, and younger generations’ desire to establish a career, get on the property ladder and achieve financial stability before starting a family.

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The Resolution Foundation has warned that “the recent fertility decline appears to be driven, in part, by financial constraints facing young non-graduates, rather than a shift in what people actually want”.

The consequences

As a result of these three demographic shifts – the ageing population, increased ethnic diversity and smaller families – the shape of households is changing. Married couples made up 66% of families in 2025, compared to 70% in 2001. The proportion is decreasing as a result of other family types becoming more prevalent, including lone-parent, cohabiting couple and civil-partner couple families.

The proportion of single-person households has remained relatively stable over the last 25 years (around 30% of all households). However, the composition has changed, with the proportion of 65 and overs in this category increasing from about 46% in 2001 to nearly 50% today.

Demographic changes are taking place at the same time as, and partly because of, the broader socioeconomic changes which have led to greater inequalities for people across the life course. For example, research by the Resolution Foundation has shown that the bottom half of the income distribution is older and more ethnically mixed than 30 years ago, and more likely to be childless and single than before.

Immigration

Rob McNeil, deputy director, Migration Observatory, University of Oxford

There are a lot more foreign-born people in the UK in 2026 than there were in 2001. The exact number is uncertain because the UK’s migration data has been sketchy since the 2021 census, with some fairly wild fluctuations during this period, as you can see in the graph below. But in 2001 the UK’s total foreign-born population was 4.9 million, and by 2024 it was estimated at 13.1 million.

UK net migration and immigration (1991-present)

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When Tony Blair’s New Labour had stormed to power in 1997, net migration was 48,000. A few years earlier, it had even been negative. Net migration was a niche concept in those days, as the impact of migration on population growth had only been considered a minor issue compared to how it affected culture or the labour market.

By 2001 net migration had more than tripled to around 180,000. This was a pivotal moment when it started to get political traction, with arguments for numerical limits starting to be discussed fairly prominently in policy circles.

Levels rose even more after the expansion of the EU in 2004. They dipped a little after the 2008 financial crisis, but then rose sharply from 2012-16 despite policies introduced in 2011 by David Cameron’s coalition government to try to reach a “net migration target” of under 100,000. It peaked at more than 330,000 in 2015-16, with much of the influx from new EU member states. Concerns about controlling the numbers of people arriving from these countries contributed significantly to the UK’s decision to leave the EU.

Yet migration policies since Brexit haven’t led to lower net migration. After the pandemic, the Boris Johnson government liberalised migration policy, which sent net migration rocketing to a new peak of over 900,000 in 2023. The numbers have been reduced sharply after the governments of Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer undid those liberalisations. The May 2026 estimates place net migration at 171,000, almost the same level as 2001.

Asylum seekers

In 2001 the Labour government was dealing with a spike in asylum applications – and a media backlash against the UK being a perceived “soft touch” in this area – by implementing various measures to discourage claimants. The measures included preventing asylum seekers from working, restricting access to welfare, and “dispersal accommodation” that housed people around the UK to take pressure off London and the south-east.

In 2026 the UK is once again facing a spike in asylum applications, and the Labour government is introducing a suite of new policies designed to deter asylum seekers from travelling to the UK or claiming asylum.

Asylum applications (1979-2025)

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As part of that challenge, refugees trying to get to the UK from France has remained a major issue. In the summer of 2001 refugees were filmed jumping on to Eurostar trains near the channel tunnel entrance in the Sangatte area not far from Calais, prompting outrage from media and policy commentators.

Sangatte was then the site of a refugee camp which had become a particular bone of diplomatic contention. It was commonly framed by the British as a ploy by France to offload responsibility for asylum seekers to the UK. They claimed the French authorities did little to stop residents trying to escape to the UK through the tunnel, not unlike today’s UK/France blame games on channel migrants.

The quick fix was a deal between the two countries to close the camp in 2002, but this led to the emergence of a migrant shanty-town in the Calais area dubbed “the jungle”. Now, refugees attempted to stow away in the backs of lorries or other vehicles crossing to the UK through the port.

Small boat crossings (2018-25)

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A massive investment in security at the port made these lorry crossings increasingly difficult, so in late 2018 a number of asylum seekers tried a different tactic, travelling to the UK in small boats. Repeated efforts by the authorities have since failed to prevent these crossings, and numbers have ballooned. They peaked at 45,800 in 2022, but were still 41,000 in 2025. Figures for 2026 currently look a bit lower, though it’s not possible to accurately predict what the total will be. Most of those who successfully make the crossing claim asylum when they arrive in the UK.

The persistence of the UK’s migration issues over the last quarter of a century demonstrates that certain things are not easy to fix and that some types of migration are easier to reduce than others. The UK is party to global treaties that require it to offer protection to asylum seekers. Yet these people are expensive for the state to process and support, so the government would prefer fewer (or none) and makes efforts to stop them getting here.

But after a quarter of a century of spending, deterrence efforts and policy changes, little has really shifted except the tactics used by asylum seekers to enter the UK. On the other hand, Brexit and the liberalisations under Johnson – and the reductions since 2024 – show how government policy can make a difference to net migration. But if reading immigration stories sometimes feels like Groundhog Day, now you know why.

Social attitudes

Michael Skey, senior lecturer in communication and media studies, Loughborough University

Immigration has risen to the top of political and media agendas over the last 25 years. It has underpinned some of the most momentous shifts the country has seen, most notably Brexit and then the subsequent reshaping of the political landscape in favour of the populist right.

Polling data shows that concerns about immigration tend to rise and fall in response to certain issues – national elections, EU enlargement, Brexit. But also noteworthy is the changing nature of migration as a perceived problem and the identity of those who articulate such fears.

Twenty-five years ago, fears about migration were shaped by neo-Powellite fears about the “swamping” of (white) British culture. But the terms of the debate were changed somewhat by EU expansion, as migrants from eastern Europe got categorised as a novel threat for taking jobs, undercutting wages and changing the landscape of local towns.

Post Brexit, the “small boats” phenomenon has become a huge talking point. Fuelled by the right-wing press and social media networks, it far outweighs the actual numbers of people entering the country in this way, which is below 50,000 a year.

When it comes to who is concerned about immigration, the subject has long been a key concern for those who are older, less educated, more likely to identify as English, and – in many cases – live in areas with relatively little experience of immigration.

The populist right – first Ukip and more recently Reform and Restore – has successfully leveraged the fears of this group. But there is also growing evidence that migration is viewed as a concern by other constituencies within Britain, including ethnic minorities born and brought up in the country.

This was demonstrated by support for Brexit among some south Asian groups in particular. Interestingly, from the mid-2010s onwards, pollsters started treating race and immigration as separate categories: previously if a respondent said they were concerned about borders it was assumed they also had concerns about Britain’s racial composition, whereas now these are tracked as two separate issues.

The liberalism paradox

Equally interesting is the extent to which these debates have taken place against a backdrop in which British people have become more tolerant and more liberal over the last 25 years in everything from LGBTQ people to gender roles.

As data from the National Centre for Social Research shows, there was little change in attitudes during the 1980s and 1990s. But then, according to the centre:

Almost every year since 2011 has witnessed a swing towards a more liberal outlook, such that, in our most recent survey, the scale score stands at 56, 15 points different from just over a decade ago.

Some have argued that growing numbers entering higher education may account for this increased liberalism, others that changing family and work relations have had a profound impact. The answer is likely to be a combination, but essentially what we have is a more liberal country that is increasingly exercised by the issues of migration and belonging. How do we make sense of this?

There is a notable divide between major cities and smaller towns, semi-rural and rural areas, with the cities being much more relaxed about migration and population diversity in general.

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But even outside cities, the attitudes may not always be what they seem. In many cases, migration seems to have become a way for a whole range of people to articulate their anger at changes within local areas that are largely the outcome of wider structural developments. In particular, the savage cuts to public services in the so-called era of austerity.

Migrants have, at one time or another, been seen as responsible for a stagnating jobs market, growing hospital waiting lists, lack of affordable housing, collapsing social services, crumbling schools and various other problems. In other words, migration – and the spectre of the immigrant coming to take “our” homes, jobs and public spaces – is being used to provide some easy answers to very difficult questions.

Rory Fitzgerald, director of the European Social Survey, City St George’s, University of London

There is a general perception that Brexit and increasing support for anti-immigration political parties is due to rising intolerance. But in our analysis of data collected by the biennial European Social Survey (ESS) over 21 years, we find attitudes towards immigration have become significantly more positive over time.

We’ve asked three questions about immigration in every round of our survey: whether immigrants make the UK a worse or better place to live, if the cultural life is undermined or enriched by immigrants; and whether immigration is bad or good for the economy. These questions are all asked on a scale from 0 to 10, with 10 indicating the most positive.

In the UK, 52.7% of respondents were the most positive about immigration (answering 7-10) in the most recent 2023-24 survey. This was second highest after Ireland, which scored 52.9%, of the 18 countries who took part in both the 2002-03 and 2023-24 surveys. In 2002-03 only 20% of Britons were as positive about immigration, compared to 31.8% in Ireland.

There is a similar pattern for the questions on the effect of immigrants on the economy and cultural life in the United Kingdom. On the cultural life between 2002-03 to 2023-24, the mean score has risen from 5.2 to 6.5, and from 4.4 to 6.4 when it comes to the economy.

LGBTQ and family attitudes

Attitudes towards homosexuality have become significantly more positive from the United Kingdom over the 21 years where data is available. One question we asked in the first and latest round of the survey was whether respondents agree with the statement that gays and lesbians are free to live their life as they wish. This was answered on a five-point scale: agree strongly; agree; neither agree nor disagree; disagree; and disagree strongly.

If we consider the percentage of those selecting strongly agree or agree, we find that tolerance has risen in the United Kingdom from 76.0% in 2002-03 to 90.2% in 2023-24 (similar patterns can again be found elsewhere).

Our data also found a softening in opposition to non-traditional family behaviours, as detailed here. This derives from looking at family values in depth in the 2006-07 and 2018-19 surveys. These gauged attitudes towards choosing never to have children; living with a partner without being married; having a child with a cohabiting partner while not married; having a full-time job with children aged under 3; and getting divorced with children aged under 12.

In all five areas, negative attitudes in the UK dropped over this 12-year period, while positive attitudes increased. There were still a “gendered double standard”, particularly in attitudes towards full-time employment with a young child and divorce, where women faced greater disapproval than men. However, disapproval fell for all areas over time.

Our data on increasing tolerance in the UK is supported further in this article. It includes data showing more positive attitudes to non-traditional family values, sexual relationships and abortion, compared to data collected as far back as 1984 in some cases.

The one area where prejudice has risen between 2016-22 is towards people who are transgender. This, perhaps, is something the ESS should cover in future. Yet while traditional media focuses on the divides between us, it’s worth remembering that the data almost exclusively and consistently shows attitudes are becoming more accepting over time.

LGBTQ+ lives

Carrie Paechter, professor emerita, childhood, youth and family life, Nottingham Trent University

One of the earliest changes to the lives and public perceptions of LGBTQ+ people over the last 25 years was the repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. The act’s repeal in Scotland in 2000 and in 2003 in England and Wales meant schools no longer felt forbidden to support young LGBTQ+ young people or to discuss LGBTQ+ parented families – albeit there were still schools overtly conforming with the act 15 years later.

The repeal of section 28 can be seen as ushering in a series of changes that significantly improved the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in civil society. The Gender Recognition Act 2004 meant trans people’s experienced gender could be legally recognised in the form of a gender recognition certificate. The process to acquire one is long, complicated and expensive, however.

The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals and groups from discrimination across society based on nine “protected characteristics”, including gender reassignment and sexual orientation. It includes a “public sector equality duty” which requires public bodies such as schools, hospitals and local councils actively to consider how their policies, services and decisions affect people with protected characteristics.

Gay, lesbian and bisexual couples have also been permitted to enter civil partnerships since 2004, and to marry since 2013 (2020 in Northern Ireland). Single-sex couples have had the right to adopt in England and Wales since 2002, in Scotland since 2009 and in Northern Ireland since 2013. It is clear, therefore, that, over the past 25 years, LGBTQ+ people enjoyed a long period of improving and increasing inclusion into civil society.

The challenges

These changes, however, don’t apply equally to all groups within the LGBTQ+ spectrum. They mostly incorporate the assumption that people are (cis or trans) men and women, and make little allowance for queer and non-binary identities. For example, non-binary people cannot marry as non-binary, because marriages must be registered either as same-sex or as opposite-sex.

My research into non-binary young people’s experience in schools also found that toilet provision was problematic, with some leaving the premises to find suitable facilities and others holding on until they got home. There is also little recognition of polyamorous relationships within either legislation or wider society, with polyamorous parenting in particular ignored in school sex and relationship policies.

The situation for trans people is even more precarious, following a UK Supreme Court ruling in 2025 that “sex” in the Equality Act should be taken to refer to “biological sex”. The new draft code of practice to reflect this has brought fears that trans people will lose access to such things as toilet provision and domestic abuse support.

Meanwhile, puberty blocking medication can no longer be prescribed to under 18s, forcing them to undergo puberty in opposition to their experienced gender. Reform and the Conservatives are now respectively threatening to also rescind all or part of the Equality Act, should they get into power.

So while the last 25 years have mostly seen increased freedom acceptance and inclusion for many LGBTQ+ people, these benefits may have come at a price for those who do not fit in so easily, exacerbating their marginalisation.

The Insights section is committed to high-quality longform journalism. Our editors work with academics from many different backgrounds who are tackling a wide range of societal and scientific challenges.

Spider-Man beat the Avengers at the box office. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” broke the “Avengers: Endgame” record for the biggest North American opening weekend with $360 million in ticket sales from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, Sony Pictures said Monday.

Sony on Sunday projected that “Spider-Man” would net an estimated $355 million in its first weekend playing in 4,487 theaters, just barely missing the 2019 “Avengers: Endgame” record of $357 million. But the fourth Spider-Man movie starring Tom Holland had a stronger than expected Sunday and ultimately came in ahead.

Tom Rothman, the chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group said in a statement, “records are made to be broken, but we will take great pride in this one, for as long as we hold it.”

Before “Avengers: Endgame,” no movie had opened over $300 million domestically. The previous record holders were “Avengers: Infinity War,” which launched with $257 million in 2018, and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” ($247 million in 2015). In December 2021, during the pandemic, the third Holland Spider-Man movie “No Way Home,” earned a place on the list with a $260 million debut on its way to $1.9 billion globally.

The high-earning combination of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” and “The Odyssey,” which share actors Holland, Zendaya and Jon Bernthal, also propelled a record weekend overall for movie theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

According to Rentrak, the domestic box office overall is up over 15% from last year with over $6.2 billion in ticket sales to date.

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Two town centre shops at Newborough in Scarborough have applied to sell alcohol from the early morning, seven days a week, with councillors set to debate the plans at a meeting next week.

If the premises licence applications are approved, the One Stop at 50 – 53 Newborough would be allowed to sell alcohol and stay open from 7am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Food Plus at 54 – 55, Newborough would also be allowed to stay open and sell alcohol from 7am to 11pm, daily.

However, concerns have been raised by local residents about the impact on other businesses, customers, and members of the public if the licences are granted.

One objector said: “The area risks becoming an area dominated by off-licence alcohol availability and that is not in the interests of the local community.

“It would increase the risk of alcohol-related nuisance, street drinking, littering, loitering, anti-social behaviour, proxy purchasing, underage access to alcohol and pressure on the surrounding businesses and public areas.”

Google Maps Distance Between The Two Businesses On Newborough Seeking 7am Premises Licences. Google Maps

The objector, who owns nearby commercial premises, has expressed concerns about alcohol-related nuisance and street drinking.

The objector said: “The grant of these applications would, in my view, undermine the licensing objectives, particularly the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance, and the protection of children from harm.”

At a meeting on Monday, August 10, members of North Yorkshire Council’s statutory licensing sub-committee will discuss the proposal.

The committee can grant the licences as applied for, subject to any conditions, grant the licences subject to any additional conditions that members consider appropriate, or reject the whole or part of the applications.

The objector has urged councillors to introduce various additional conditions if the licences are granted.

Newborough, Scarborough. Google Maps.

These include restricting alcohol sales to between 10am and 9pm, prohibiting the sale of single cans or bottles, and banning the sale of beer, lager, or cider above 5.5 per cent ABV, except for “genuine premium or specialist imported products sold as part of a multipack”.

The objector also suggested that spirits should be kept behind the counter or in a locked display cabinet, and that the premises should operate a Challenge 25 policy at all times.

Residents and members of the public are invited to attend the committee meeting at Scarborough Town Hall, starting at 10.30am.

(Image: Newsquest)

Elizabeth Emanuel, who with her husband, designed the wedding dress worn by Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in 1981, has a new challenge

The designer of Princess Diana’s wedding dress has created a replica of the late princess’s 40-foot veil – more than four decades after the original went missing.

Elizabeth Emanuel has recreated the iconic embroidered veil, which she originally designed with her husband David for Diana’s wedding to the then Prince Charles at St Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981.

In the decades after the royal wedding, Diana’s famous wedding gown has been on display for visitors of both Kensington Palace in London and the late princess’s ancestral home of Althorp House in Northamptonshire, however her veil has always been missing from the exhibits.

Now, Ms Emanuel has been commissioned by Renae Plant, the founder of the Princess Diana Museum, to bring the veil back to life on the 45th anniversary of the royal wedding.

Taking to Instagram, Ms Emanuel shared some unseen photographs of seamstresses and embroiderers working on crafting the original bridal gown in her small studio in Mayfair back in 1981.

She wrote: “Hard to believe it’s been 45 years since the royal Wedding! The behind the scenes photos bring back so many memories.”

Speaking to People magazine about the remarkable recreation of the veil, Ms Emanuel explained that adding the accessory to future displays will help ensure the ‘whole magic’ of Diana’s wedding look continues to live on in her memory.

She told the publication: “’That’s why I call it the Veil of Light. You can see the twinkle, and it radiates. The dress isn’t as complete without the veil.”

The designer added that once the veil is added to the whole look, the wedding dress “looks lighter, and has this airy, delicate feel to it which you don’t necessarily appreciate when you see the dress without all of that. It is an integral part of the design.”

To ensure the new veil is as accurate as possible to the original, Ms Emanuel worked alongside London-based embroidery house Hand & Lock, who produced the first veil in 1981, and has also unearthed the initial measurements they used.

45 years on from the royal wedding, which was watched by 750 million people in 74 countries, Ms Plant is set to take the collection on tour in Autumn, allowing members of the public to catch a rare glimpse of the recreated piece for the first time.

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David and Elizabeth Emanuel went to extraordinary lengths to keep the design of Diana’s iconic wedding gown under wraps until the big day. The pair even destroyed their sketches immediately after showing them to Diana, ensuring they could never end up in the wrong hands. And should the design somehow be leaked, they crafted a second backup dress as a precaution.

David previously told People magazine: “At the time we wanted to make absolutely sure that the dress was a surprise. We didn’t try it on Diana. We never even discussed it. We wanted to make sure that we had something there; it was for our own peace of mind, really.”

Diana never actually set eyes on the second dress, which was crafted from identical fabric to the first and also featured ruffles around the neck.

South Cambridgeshire District Council ordered the unapproved mobile homes at Southgate Caravan Park to be removed – but a government inspector sided with the site owner

An inspector has allowed the owner of a Cambridge Traveller site to keep extra mobile homes put up without permission after an appeal against the council.

Planning permission was granted in 2008 for 24 mobile homes and two chalets to be sited at Southgate Caravan Park off Fen Road for use solely by Travellers.

South Cambridgeshire District Council issued an enforcement notice in February alleging that more mobile homes had been added and others subdivided. Amos Webb appealed to the Planning Inspectorate with a hearing held on July 14.

The council also said that nine of the mobile homes were “used by persons of several ethnicities and did not identify as Gypsies or Travellers”.

Mr Webb disputed this and said he had made sure all residents were from the Gypsy or Traveller community by checking they “could speak Roma”.

Inspector M Madge said there was no “substantive evidence” to show that only Gypsies or Travellers have used the site.

Mr Webb also appealed on the grounds that the “time that action could be taken had passed”. This was accepted for two of the mobile buildings as they could be shown to have been there for 10 years or more “without significant interruption”.

A building alleged by the council to be an “additional unit of accommodation” was found by the inspector to instead be used as a garage. It can be seen in aerial photographs dating back as far as April 2015.

Another mobile unit was also in photographs from this period. Mr Webb said it was used to provide “additional sleeping and showering facilities”. The council argued this was used as a separate home as it was fenced off from the surrounding pitches.

Inspector Madge said it was “not clear what purpose this mobile home serves” but “it would not be unreasonable to conclude it contains all the required facilities for day-to-day domestic existence”.

There were multiple mobile homes “substantially larger” than the others which the council alleged were sub-divided. The inspector said Mr Webb did not provide any “substantive evidence” to disprove this.

The inspector said these larger units were only visible in aerial images as far back as May 2017, less than the 10-year cutoff. Three more mobile homes were seen to have been placed on the land somewhere between June 2023 and March 2025.

The inspector said that the extra units do not “significantly reduce” outside space and, “seen against a backdrop of mobile homes”, do not “have any adverse effect on the character and appearance of the countryside”.

Though planning permission was only given for 26 homes, they said each pitch “is of a sufficient size to accommodate a mobile home along with associated vehicles, touring caravans and outside amenity space for residents.”

Inspector Madge accepted Mr Webb’s argument that, “as families grow”, residents on the pitches needed extra accommodation or dayrooms and that these extra units “would make a positive contribution” to “facilitating the traditional lifestyle of the authorised users of the caravan site”.

They granted planning permission for the additional mobile home units – under the condition they cannot be used as independent homes “to prevent overcrowding”.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — A court case opened Monday challenging South Africa’s controversial new law that allows the government to seize private land, which has been at the heart of strained relations with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The Expropriation Act was signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa last year as part of the government’s efforts to address the effects of land dispossession and economic inequality through decades of white minority rule in South Africa that ended in 1994.

Trump has said the law will be used to target white farmers for land seizures and has cited it as a reason why the U.S. has withdrawn all financial aid to South Africa and imposed high trade tariffs on the country. The government denies this, and says the law will be aimed at making unused land productive.

The Democratic Alliance, a political party which is now part of the country’s unity government, has joined with lobby groups to challenge the law in the Western Cape High Court. Lawyers for the groups argued Monday that the law violates the South African Constitution’s protections of private property and prohibitions of expropriation of land without compensation.

Proceedings in the case are scheduled to run through the end of the week, but is unclear how long judges will take to deliver a ruling, which could take weeks or months.

The law allows the South African government to expropriate land from private parties if it’s in the public interest, and it allows for expropriation without compensation if negotiations for a reasonable settlement have failed. The government says the law does not allow land to be taken arbitrarily.

Others parties to the case include the Institute for Race Relations, which argues the law does not adequately protect land owners’ property rights and the Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum.

Afrikaner farmers are descended from Dutch and other European colonial settlers who first came to the country more than 300 years ago. The Trump administration has offered asylum to Afrikaners who claim persecution.