The widow of hero PC Andrew Harper last night blasted Labour’s soft justice prisoner release scheme as ‘deplorable’.

Lissie Harper spoke out after it emerged that two of her husband’s killers are due to be freed early. 

She accused politicians of ‘making decisions from behind a desk that will have real and lasting consequences for victims’ families like mine’.

Last night, following her dramatic intervention, the future of the release programme was in doubt. 

Prime Minister Andy Burnham reiterated a previous vow to review it – a flagship Labour policy to ease prison overcrowding – when questioned by journalists during a visit to Bath.

The Ministry of Justice refused to confirm reports that prison governors had been told to pause the scheme. 

But a source told the Daily Mail that officials have been summoned to an online meeting with members of the Prison and Probation Service today to discuss it. 

Mrs Harper led senior police, campaigners and MPs in demanding Mr Burnham intervene to stop Jessie Cole and Albert Bowers being released among waves of killers, rapists and violent criminals from September.

Henry Long, left, Jessie Cole, centre, and Albert Bowers, right, were jailed over PC Harper’s death

Albert Bowers (left) and Jessie Cole (centre) pictured leaving Reading Magistrates Court in 2019 

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PC Harper was killed in the line of duty in 2019 when he was dragged behind a car for more than a mile as he tried to stop three teenage thugs from stealing a quad bike.

His widow fought for Harper’s Law – a mandatory life sentence to anyone who kills an emergency worker in the line of duty.

But yesterday she said the widespread political support which changed the law in her husband’s memory now felt ‘forgotten’.

In a powerful statement after years spent largely away from the public eye, Mrs Harper said: ‘It is deplorable to me that we have reached a point where releasing prisoners early is even considered acceptable.’

She added: ‘We speak of justice, accountability and standing with victims, yet decisions like this do the opposite.

‘They tell victims their suffering matters less, and offenders that the punishment handed down by our courts is no longer what they will actually serve.

‘For victims’ families, this is not about politics. It is about whether a sentence means what a judge says it means. It is about whether justice is something we truly believe in, or something that can be negotiated away when it becomes inconvenient.’

Mrs Harper signed off by saying: ‘Andrew deserves better. Every victim deserves better. And the British public deserve a justice system they can have faith in.’

PC Andrew Harper and Lissie Harper were married just four weeks before the Thames Valley Police officer was killed in 2019 

Pressure on the Prime Minister to act was already mounting after Cabinet ministers Wes Streeting and Shabana Mahmood were caught laughing about the scheme hours before the news about PC Harper’s killers emerged. Mr Burnham said their behaviour was not acceptable.

Mr Harper, 28, died in horrific circumstances when he was caught in a towing strap between the stolen quad bike and the teenagers’ getaway car.

He was dragged for more than a mile at ‘sickening’ speed down winding country lanes near Sulhamstead in Berkshire before, mortally wounded, he was shaken loose, a court heard. 

His injuries were so grave that those arriving on the scene initially thought they had come across a deer carcass.

PC Harper had been due to clock off hours earlier, but decided to respond to one final call before starting his honeymoon with childhood sweetheart Mrs Harper. 

The pair had been married for only four weeks. Cole and Bowers, who were 17 at the time and were passengers in the car, were handed 13 years in custody for manslaughter after a trial at the Old Bailey in 2020.

The judge described the trio as ‘unintelligent, but professional criminals’, and said they would each serve two-thirds of their sentence. 

The driver, Henry Long, 18, was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years. He is ineligible for early release under current Labour plans.

Dame Priti Patel, the former Tory home secretary who helped create Harper’s Law, said releasing Bowers and Cole early would be ‘outrageous’. 

She added: ‘These offenders should be kept behind bars where they belong.’

Former Tory justice secretary Robert Buckland KC, who also worked on the legislation with Mrs Harper, told the Mail that early release would be ‘an insult’ to PC Harper’s memory. 

Mrs Harper met Conservative and Labour politicians as part of her successful campaign to create a law in her late husband’s memory 

PC Harper was killed in the line of duty in 2019 when he was dragged behind a car for more than a mile as he tried to stop three teenage thugs from stealing a quad bike 

He said: ‘It’s as if the work that the Harper family did is being forgotten. Why on earth did they think this was appropriate in the first place?

‘Andy Burnham needs to pause this coming into effect and focus on [releasing] people who are not violent or sexual offenders who are not a danger to the public.’

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the early release scheme – part of the Sentencing Act – was ‘an utter insult to the victims and any decent people that may be endangered by criminals walking their streets’.

Aileen O’Connor, chairman of Thames Valley Police Federation, representing colleagues from PC Harper’s constabulary, said: ‘Police across Thames Valley – and indeed the country – will be disgusted at the prospect of these smirking lowlifes being free to roam the streets. What message does this send about the worth of a life of a police officer?’

And Thames Valley Police Chief Constable Jason Hogg said the prospect of early release ‘feels wrong’. He has written to the Prime Minister ‘to make my opinion on this clear’.

Claire Waxman, the Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales, said: ‘As things stand, I do not have confidence that these releases can be managed in a way that fully safeguards victims, protects the public and maintains confidence in the justice system.’

Bowers and Cole are among around 6,000 criminals set to benefit from Labour’s Sentencing Act, which will allow violent and sexual offenders to be released after serving just half their sentence, rather than the current two-thirds. It means the duo could be released within the year.

Other offenders could be freed after serving just a third of their sentence if they demonstrate good behaviour while in jail. Murderers will not be considered.

Mr Burnham said: ‘I’ve spoken to the new Justice Secretary [Alex Norris]. We will review the policy together and make further statements in due course.’

Within 48 hours of entering Downing Street, Andy Burnham has confirmed what much of the country feared. He is heading a fiscally illiterate government and he has no economic plan that even begins to make sense.

Despite this, the incoming Prime Minister is already spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave.

Yesterday he floated the notion of a ‘national care service’, to tackle the problems of looking after an ageing population. Like so much of his unwritten manifesto, this concept was scarily short on detail. But he intimated that the new system would be a sister service to the NHS, an idea that has previously been costed by the Health Foundation think-tank at an additional £18.7billion a year.

As health secretary under Gordon Brown in the Noughties, Mr Burnham proposed raising billions for more healthcare by imposing a flat rate inheritance tax of 10 per cent – a universal death duty.

It is difficult to conceive of a tax that would be more unpopular or destructive. The gasps of pain and distress that met Rachel Reeves‘ first Budget in October 2024, when she abolished inheritance tax relief for farms worth more than £1million, will be insignificant compared to the national shock and horror if the Burnham regime taxes every bequest.

The majority of the public already favour abolishing inheritance tax, which is regarded as the ‘most unfair’ of all levies. Polling that we at the TaxPayers’ Alliance conducted found that every group – no matter how you splice it – supports cutting or abolishing inheritance tax, with the exception, bizarrely, of those with PhDs. Reform UK’s Richard Tice summed it up succinctly as ‘an awful grief tax’.

The majority of people are able to leave everything they own to their family and friends, because most of us don’t have enough in savings and property to exceed the tax threshold of £325,000 (frozen since 2009), which rises to £500,000 where their main home is left to direct descendants.

This means ordinary people, not wealthy by any stretch of the term, who have scrimped and budgeted all their lives, are able to provide a nest-egg for their children and grandchildren.

The ability to do something for the people we love best is the most basic right in an economy based on property ownership. And it’s the primary reason why the concept of a communist society sends an instinctive shudder through most people’s veins.

Mr Burnham’s scheme, which forms no part of the manifesto that saw Labour elected two years ago, will undermine that right. It will cause untold damage to the economy, all for a shapeless, uncosted ‘national care service’ that might as well be called the Bottomless British Money Pit.

Without a clear plan, geriatric health care will swallow all the money we can throw at it, without providing any tangible benefits. This is certain, because we already have the template: the NHS, apparently the envy of the world, is now a broken system that wastes tens of billions of pounds in taxes.

The reality of this will hit Mr Burnham like a sledgehammer, as soon as he tries to impose his social care scheme. Neither the economy nor the voters will be able to bear it.

Yet there is also talk of a second death duty, with the removal of capital gains ‘uplift’ on inherited assets.

At the moment, for the purposes of inheritance tax, property is assessed on its value when the owner dies, not the price originally paid. But Labour is thinking of abolishing this rule and imposing tax on the difference.

The effect of this double whammy would leave most grieving families unable to hang on to the family home. They’d have to sell, just to pay the swingeing death taxes. Not only would this cause misery to individuals, it would flood the housing market and send prices crashing. The chaos it could create is hard to overstate.

It is difficult to conceive of a tax that would be more unpopular; the majority of the public favour abolishing inheritance tax, which is regarded as the ‘most unfair’ of all levies

What Mr Burnham fails to understand, despite all his talk of easing the cost-of-living crisis, is that Britain is already buckling under the heaviest tax burden since the Second World War. We have entered a doom loop and to increase taxation and state spending now will only cause the country to spiral down faster.

The cause of both the economic crisis and the unsustainable taxation ought to be obvious to everyone. We are spending far more than we can afford on welfare. More than four million people now claim Personal Independence Payments (PIP), a benefit which is not means-tested – an increase of 400,000 claimants since Labour came to power.

Almost a quarter of all PIP claimants cite ADHD, autism, depression or anxiety as their main disability. Benefit payments to people with mental health problems have reached £3billion a year. The total cost of sickness and disability benefits for working age people now stands at £58billion and is predicted to rise to £78billion within five years.

Yet the disability minister, Sir Stephen Timms, states in an internal government report that he does not regard this as any cause for concern. The complacency is staggering.

The previous Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, made a timid attempt at slowing the increase of the welfare bill and was forced into a humiliating U-turn by raging backbenchers. But the scale of the crisis was spelled out by Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary under both Prime Ministers.

What Mr Burnham fails to understand, despite all his talk, is that Britain is already buckling under the heaviest tax burden since the Second World War, writes John O’Connell

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In a WhatsApp message made public during the Peter Mandelson scandal, Mr McFadden said that every discussion he had with colleagues amounted to one dilemma: ‘Who can we tax in order to pay benefits to others?’

The answer, evidently, is ‘everyone possible, dead or alive’.

According to research by the TaxPayers’ Alliance released yesterday, one million people will be dragged either into paying income tax during 2026-27 or into a higher tax threshold, including an extra 600,000 pensioners.

Half of them will pay the basic rate, while another 41 per cent will face the higher rate. Just 7 per cent will pay the top rate – emphasising that it’s lower paid employees and self-employed workers, with their families, who bear the brunt of these stealth taxes.

The average taxpayer will have been hit with an increase of £640 since 2024-25. Yet for those on welfare, prospects are rather better. A claimant in London who takes full advantage of all the various potential entitlements could have an income of £710 a week, equivalent to an annual salary before tax of £46,000 – only slightly less than the median annual salary in the capital of £49,700, or about £756 a week take home.

There is also the potential benefit, for those who qualify, of a subsidised Motability vehicle.

Once the costs of working are taken into account, such as commuting and workwear, it’s probable that full-time employment pays no better, or actually worse, than welfare for many people.

That can’t continue – not just because it’s morally abhorrent but because people will not stand for it. No amount of tinkering around the edges with bus fares or grand promises about ending the blight of rough sleeping can disguise the disaster facing Britain.

The Government cannot afford to keep paying millions not to work. It cannot keep forcing more people to pay taxes. And it cannot keep raising those taxes.

This is the doom loop. Unless it is halted, it will spin our country to destruction.

John O’Connell is chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance.

The Creative Babes Club on Grange Road, is a coworking, event hire and workshop space.

Founder, Alice Rose Toth, set up the club in 2019 after experiencing burnout and craving a creative community.

Creative Babes Club Studio opened in Darlington this month. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

On Saturday, July 4, she opened her first physical studio for female and LGBTQ+ creatives.

The studio holds a range of events including a scrap book club, craft workshops, and a coworking club.

The opening hours are Monday to Friday, 10am-6pm.

Lord Anas, who has been Scottish Labour leader since 2021, was among the first to call for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down in February.

Anas Sarwar has stood down as Scottish Labour leader and been made a lord and minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade. Lord Anas, who has led the party since 2021, was among the first to call for Sir Keir Starmer to stand down in February.

Downing Street announced 47 new ministerial appointment late on Wednesday night, along with 17 re-appointments. It comes a day after the Record exclusively revealed the Glasgow MSP will take up a job in the new Government with Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

A statement from Lord Anas said: “Throughout my life, I have only ever been motivated by public service. The opportunity to serve our country is all I have ever asked. That’s why this is an opportunity I humbly accept.

“From working as an NHS dentist, through my time as Member of Parliament, Member of the Scottish Parliament and as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, it has been an honour to serve the people of the great City of Glasgow and across Scotland. Looking back over the last five years, I am hugely proud of the work we have done since I became Scottish Labour Leader.

“To all my colleagues in both Parliaments and to all our amazing staff – thank you for everything you have done, and I’m sure will continue to do – for the Labour movement and for Scotland. I look forward to continuing to support you in those efforts, albeit from a different role.

“The Scottish Labour Party has a range of talent among our Members of the Scottish Parliament. The best interests of the individuals, families, and communities we seek to represent is served by having a strong and effective Labour Party. I will work with my successor to deliver that.”

First Minister of Scotland John Swinney hit out at the “hypocrisy” of the expected appointment earlier on Wednesday. Speaking to the Press Association, the First Minister said: “I think what it demonstrates is an appalling level of judgment by Anas Sarwar.

“He said before the (Holyrood) election he had absolutely no interest in going to the House of Lords, he only wanted to be first minister of Scotland. Then, after the election, Anas Sarwar has accepted a place in the House of Lords – a body, by the way, he wants to abolish.

“That is an incredible level of hypocrisy and it just illustrates what I think the Prime Minister is trying to address, which is the fact that politicians say one thing one minute and then do another thing the next minute, when it suits them. That, I thought, was what Andy Burnham was trying to address and to solve.

“But instead, Andy Burnham has exacerbated that sentiment within our society.”

Acting Scottish Labour leader Jackie Baillie MSP said: “I want to thank Anas Sarwar for his leadership and friendship. He led the Scottish Labour Party with integrity and a vision to build a fairer and more equal Scotland.

“These are the same values I am sure he will now champion in government. The Scottish Executive Committee will meet to agree a timetable for the election of the next Leader of the Scottish Labour Party.

“Further details of the Leadership election will be communicated in due course.”

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A man who stabbed his wife to death in their New York City apartment left their infant son alone with her slain body before hanging himself in a nearby park, it has emerged.

Mary Kate Golding, 34, a set designer, was found dead with a knife lodged in her back at her family’s property in Astoria on Tuesday. 

Her husband, Joseph Azzaretto, 33, was found hanging from a tree in Astoria Park around six hours later. 

Azzaretto left the couple’s 11-month-old son Nolan with his wife’s corpse, law enforcement sources told the New York Post. 

The orphaned infant was found by Golding’s friend after Azzaretto allegedly called her to confess to the killing, the insiders said.

A neighbor told the newspaper how the friend was ‘screaming’ after she discovered the body and then ‘took the baby and walked out’ of the basement apartment. Golding’s parents later arrived and took Nolan into their care. 

Police have not formally classified the deaths as a murder-suicide, but investigators believe Azzaretto killed Golding following an argument and then fled the home. Both were reportedly in the film and TV industry, with Golding’s IMDB page revealing that she worked on The Marvelous Mrs Maisel and Goosebumps.

Golding’s death is not the first violent tragedy to plague the family. Azzaretto’s younger brother, Nicholas, shot and killed their father six years ago.

Her husband, Joseph Azzaretto, 33, was found hanging from a tree in Astoria Park around six hours later. Investigators believe he killed his wife following an argument

Police found Golding’s body in her family’s basement apartment in Astoria. Investigators say a knife had been lodged in her back

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Nicholas, then 20, killed 58-year-old Frank Azzaretto in the kitchen of their family home in Monroe County, Pennsylvania, in February 2020 amid a domestic dispute.

Frank was fighting with his wife, Patricia, over a phone bill when he became violent, the Pocono Record reported at the time.

He threw plants and pictures, and started pushing Patricia around, she testified.

Nicholas, who heard the fight from the basement bedroom, came upstairs and found Frank being physical with his mother, the court heard. 

Frank ordered Nicholas to go to the basement and closed the door on him. Nicholas then came back upstairs with a 12-gauge shotgun and shot Frank in the shoulder.

Pellets entered Frank’s chest and he was taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died. 

The defense, during the court proceedings, said that there was a history of abuse in the Azzaretto family, with Frank having an ‘apparent abuse streak in his personality.’ 

Nicholas, now 26, later pled guilty to third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter, according to public records.

Nicholas Azzaretto, 26, after his arrest for the murder of his father in 2020

Frank Azzaretto, 58, was shot dead in his Monroe County, Pennsylvania, home in February 2020 amid a domestic dispute with his wife. His son Nicholas pleaded guilty to his killing

He appears to have been released from jail, as he is no longer listed as an inmate with the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.

A Facebook account believed to belong to Nicholas was also updated with a photo of him cuddling a dog in October 2024.  

Golding and Azzaretto moved to New York from Pennsylvania just two months ago, according to their neighbors.

Neighbors claimed Azzaretto had become known for losing his temper and arguing over parking spaces. 

‘He was an angry person,’ one local told the Post. ‘I decided to avoid him. I didn’t even look at his text messages.’

Others branded him as ‘crazy’ and said he was ‘mentally disturbed.’

The NYPD told the Daily Mail that officers responding to a 12.24am report of an assault found Golding with a stab wound to her back. 

Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.

Golding and her husband moved to New York from Pennsylvania just two months ago

Footage obtained by the New York Daily News allegedly showed Azzaretto outside the building speaking on his cellphone before getting into a car and driving away.

He was reportedly identified as a person of interest before his body was discovered at around 6am.

Azzaretto was found near Astoria Park South and Shore Boulevard, about two miles from the family’s home.

The new Prime Minister is also expected to meet John Swinney and use his engagement in Scotland to talk about the cost of living crisis and devolution.

Andy Burnham will visit Scotland today for the first time since he became Prime Minister. The new PM will attend the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

He will also hold talks with First Minister John Swinney during the trip. Burnham is expected to use his engagement in Scotland to talk about the cost of living crisis and devolution.

He will also set out how he intends to work with the SNP Government. Burnham said: “When I say we need good growth in every postcode, I mean every postcode across the whole of the UK.

“Every place and every person matters. I’m not focused on point scoring or discussing constitutional changes like referendums, I want practical measures to help people live well and bring back hope.

“That’s why I’m giving families more breathing space with help on the cost of living, which I have started this week by taking VAT off electricity bills, saving money for millions of households.”

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Maura Higgins looked nothing short of sensational as she modelled sexy lingerie for her latest sizzling Victoria’s Secret photoshoot in Paris. 

The Love Island star, 35, set pulses racing in a glittering pink bra and matching thong as she posed up a storm in her lavish hotel room.

Maura showed off her amazing figure in the two-piece as she draped the brands iconic pink striped satin robe off her shoulders.

Styling her brunette bobbed tresses in voluminous curls, the Irish model elevated her frame in a pair of black stilettos.

The reality star later slipped into a daring leopard print bra and coordinated black lace underwear as she posed with the picturesque backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. 

Maura flaunted her toned abs in the two-piece as she opened her long black robe to sit in the large hotel window overlooking the historic landmark. 

The Love Island star, 35, set pulses racing in a glittering pink bra and matching thong as she posed up a storm in her lavish hotel room

She wasn’t afraid of being spotted in her lingerie in the French capital as she posed for photos on her balcony.  

For her final look, the TV personality relaxed on her bed in a cheeky black lingerie set with her brunette locks in curlers. 

She wrote: ‘The very sexy push up bra is made to be seen @victoriassecret #vspartner’

It comes after Maura made sure she made a name for herself at Paris Fashion Week as she fashioned another eye-catching look earlier this month. 

The Love Islander embraced the pixie cut as she bid goodbye to her long brunette locks for the Viktor & Rolf Haute Couture Fashion Week show.

Flashing her toned abs, the reality star wore an open blue and white striped shirt which she left unbuttoned. 

However, it was linked to a bizarre white cape-like collar before Maura also threw on a dark blazer jacket which ran down to the floor. 

She paired the look with matching tailored trousers and pointed white heels. 

Earlier in the day, Maura looked every inch the Disney villain in a dramatic hooded gown with vampy gelled hair and long nail extensions at the Robert Wun Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week show.

She showed off another iconic look as she arrived at the show in a dramatic hooded gown.

Maura showed off her amazing figure in the two-piece as she draped the brands iconic pink striped satin robe off her shoulders

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The reality star slipped into a daring leopard print bra and coordinated black lace underwear

The TV personality relaxed on her bed in a cheeky black lingerie set with her locks in a curler

She wrote: ‘The very sexy push up bra is made to be seen @victoriassecret #vspartner’

Maura wowed in a glittering bra and thong 

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Maura teamed the statement piece with some bizarre accessories, adding a pair of long white pointed earrings and carrying a bouquet of bright white lilies.

She matched her earrings to her long nail extensions whilst the finishing touch was a slicked back hairdo.   

As well as enjoying the couture shows, Maura let her hair down during the luxurious girls’ trip to Paris. 

The television personality used her visit to the city of fashion as an opportunity to add to her ever-expanding Hermes handbag collection.

Maura showed off her £32,000 tan Birkin, which she called her ‘new baby’, as she shared an insight into her holiday on Instagram on Tuesday. 

The fashion chameleon also sported a different hair look with a light brown wig and showed off her cheeky personality as she twerked in the bathroom with her girl pals. 

She joked: ‘Difficult when you’ve got an Ikea flatpack as a backside.’

Maura cut a stylish figure in a black miniskirt and vest top which she teamed with cat-eye sunglasses and a black headband. 

The group had enjoyed dinner at La Girafe where they dined on caviar and oysters. 

She wasn’t afraid of being spotted in her lingerie in the French capital as she posed for photos on her balcony

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Styling her brunette bobbed tresses in voluminous curls, the Irish model elevated her frame in a pair of black stilettos

The reality star flaunted her figure in lingerie

The star showed off her tattoo down the side of her leg 

Maura lay on her hotel floor in the sexy lingerie 

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It comes after Maura made sure she made a name for herself at Paris Fashion Week as she fashioned two eye-catching looks earlier this month 

They had flown by private jet with Maura showing off her designer handbag collection as she took her seat on the plane. 

She flew with her Craie Birkin 25 and a huge black Chanel bag.

The former Love Island star is known for her love of Hermes. She also has the Bordeaux Birkin 30, given to her by her Traitors co-star Rob Rausch after he betrayed her in the final. 

The piece features Togo leather and gold hardware and is estimated to have cost £17,000. 

Maura also acquired a classic black Hermès Kelly 25 in Epsom leather with gold hardware. 

The star has been spending plenty of time in America over the past few months as she furthers her career there, recently revealing she is starring on the upcoming series of Dancing With The Stars.

Maura was an instant hit on the ITV2 dating show thanks to her fiery arguments, hilarious one-liners and no-nonsense attitude towards the men in the villa.

Anas Sarwar has never made a secret of his desire to hold high office.

It’s only a matter of weeks since he offered himself to Scottish voters as a candidate to replace John Swinney as first minister.

That went spectacularly wrong. The SNP held power for a fifth consecutive term and Labour recorded their worst Holyrood result since devolution.

While the performance of the UK government under Sir Keir Starmer gets much of the blame, there is now a live debate in the party about Sarwar’s strategy.

Questions are also being asked of Scottish Labour’s campaign co-directors Jackie Baillie and Douglas Alexander.

Sarwar had said he would stick around as leader to steady the ship, but his swift exit contradicts that position and is a source of controversy for some.

There are those who see it as a reward for failure given the Holyrood defeat, even if Labour was able to beat the SNP in Scotland at the UK general election two years earlier.

There are those who see it as a reward for treachery given that Sarwar was the first senior Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit – a move that undermined the then prime minister, to the eventual benefit of Andy Burnham.

As the UK continues to enjoy hot weather, flies are becoming more commonplace in homes and gardens.

Flies will often enter homes and get into people’s bins and deposit eggs there that will turn into hundreds of maggots.

After the eggs are laid, it only takes around eight to 48 hours for the eggs to hatch, which will leave you with an infestation of maggots in your bin.

How to get rid of maggots and stop flies from laying eggs in your bin

Cleaning expert Claire from Sister Pledge Cleans posted a video on Instagram showing people how she keeps flies and maggots away from her bin.

The video’s caption said: “Keep flies away from your food waste bin this summer with a simple hack!

“In Wales, we separate our food waste, and I use a small roadside caddy.

“When it gets hot and we have weekly collections those bins can get stinky!

“When I first showed this tip, it got 4.9 million views and I confused a lot of people in America who thought I was either a giant person or I just had an extremely tiny wheelie bin!

“This hack will work in any bin.”

She goes on to show how all she does is take some table salt and pour a generous amount in the bottom of her bin before putting the bag in.

Table salt can be bought from any supermarket, with Aldi selling it for only 65p, making this a cheap and effective hack to use during the summer.

Responding to a comment, Claire said every time your bin is emptied, you should rinse it out and put in fresh salt.

One commenter said: “Right I’m grabbing all the salt in my kitchen and off I go!

“Thank you for sharing such great life hacks.”

Another comment said it was a “nice idea” with others thanking Claire for sharing the tip.

Why does salt keep flies away from your bin?

When a fly comes into contact with salt, it can cause moisture to be absorbed from their bodies and lead to dehydration.

Dehydration will deplete the fly’s vital fluids, which can cause paralysis and death.

While a small amount of salt can attract insects, using it in a higher concentration will repel them.

This will stop them from getting into your bin to lay their eggs, leaving you with no maggots.

Will you be trying this cheap hack to keep flies away from your bins this summer? Let us know in the comments.