Traffic is queueing along the road while recovery takes place

Traffic is queueing along a major A-road after a “significant” crash involving two lorries. The A1 near Stibbington, between the A1139 Fletton Parkway in Peterborough and A47 at Wansford, was closed in both directions just after 4am today (Tuesday, July 28).

Two lorries crashed along the road and later caught fire. The Peterborough Volunteer Fire Brigade attended the scene.

A fire spokesperson said: “A significant incident is currently ongoing on the A1 northbound, with multiple fire service crews, ambulance personnel, and police in attendance.

“The A1 northbound is fully closed between Chesterton and Wansford. Motorists are advised to avoid the area, seek alternative routes, and expect significant delays while emergency services respond.”

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There are currently delays of around 20 minutes and two miles of congestion this morning while recovery takes place, National Highways reports.

Cambridgeshire Police, Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue and the East of England Ambulance Service have been contacted for further information.

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The star, who played Cassie Plummer on the ITV soap since 2023, has opened up on her emotional final scenes.

Ms Sweeney is leaving the show after being cast as Miss Hannigan in the UK theatre tour of Annie.

Coronation Street’s Claire Sweeney opens up on exit scenes

Coming up on the Cobbles…

Who attacks Dylan? What does Ross do to Cassie? And what heartbreaking glimpse into the future does Debbie witness?

Read more about what’s coming up via the link below 🔗 👇https://t.co/W6kFRyYq8n #Corrie pic.twitter.com/zvNNTpt3or

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— Coronation Street (@itvcorrie) July 27, 2026

“Saying goodbye to Hope and Ruby, I sobbed,” she told The Sun.

“The tears were real.

“At one point, the director even asked me to hold back a bit because it looked like I was having a breakdown.

“The children started crying too.”

She said the stage role as Miss Hannigan prompted her departure, being something she could not turn down.

The actress has previously spoken about the impact Coronation Street had on her career, describing it as a “real turning point” and a “lovely surprise” at the age of 52.

Speaking last year she said: “I’ve done brilliant things in my life and in my career, and I’m grateful and thankful.’

“But when I got into Corrie at the age of 52, it was a lovely, lovely surprise and a real turning point for me.

“When I was younger, I wouldn’t think, ‘This is fabulous.’ It would be, ‘What’s next?’

“But with Corrie, I’m so appreciating it and I’m staying in the moment.”

A Coronation Street spokesperson said previously: “We wish Claire every success playing Miss Hannigan and congratulate her on being offered a role she has long wanted to play.

“Cassie will be on the cobbles until the summer, during which time she will continue to make her presence felt in Weatherfield leading up to a great exit storyline.”

Ms Sweeney will begin her run as Miss Hannigan on July 7, with tour stops planned across the UK and Ireland.

Coronation Street star talks potential return to ITV soap

In other Corrie news, former star Charlotte Jordan, who played the popular Daisy Midgeley on ITV’s Coronation Street from 2020 to 2025, has spoken about a potential return to the show in the future.

The actress notably earned a British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance for her role.

She weighed in on a potential return to Weatherfield when speaking to Radio Times.

She said: “Oh, well, nobody’s asked, but for now I’m happy to sort of just keep exploring and keep seeing what… I mean, I only left a year ago, it’s very early days, so now I’m happy to keep, keep giving it a good go.”

Ms Jordan’s latest role is in the new BBC period drama series The Hairdresser Mysteries, where she stars as Clary Coombs, alongside Sally Phillips, who plays the main character, Lily Petal.

Charlotte Jordan plays Clary Coombs in the new BBC drama The Hairdresser Mysteries (Image: BBC/Mill Bay Media/Gary Moyes)

It tells the story of upmarket hairstylist Lily, who leaves the city to run a hairdressers in a small town, and becomes the centre of gossip and secrets.

Ms Jordan revealed that the transition from Coronation Street to her latest project was relatively smooth.

She said: “I mean, speed-wise, it wasn’t an adjustment.

“Corrie was a fantastic training ground in that sense, for this particular job, but I did really like playing a character that couldn’t be more different from who I played, which was great.

“I was hoping for that.

“I wanted to play someone next who was the polar opposite, so I’m grateful for that.

“But no, it wasn’t super different technically, it was all sort of the same ingredients, but it was a very different world, and it’s a very different tone, and it’s obviously very different, it’s a different genre, different vibes.

“So that was great.”

Will you be sad to see Claire Sweeney leave Coronation Street? Let us know in the comments.

Chelsea are without a number of key stars who remain on holiday following the World Cup, a group that includes new club-record £117million signing Morgan Rogers, while other new arrivals such as Emmanuel Emegha and Geovany Quenda miss out through injury. However, Alonso has still taken a strong squad Down Under featuring the likes of Cole Palmer, Joao Pedro and recent recruit Marco Palestra.

Need to know

More than 800,000 people are expected to visit the city during the festival

Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann comes to Belfast for the very first time from Sunday. Here is what you need to know before it kicks off:

1. Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann is the world’s biggest celebration of Irish traditional music, song, dance and culture. It translates from Irish as “a festival, or feast, of the music of Ireland”.
2. It is coming to Belfast for the very first time this week – running from Sunday, August 2 to Sunday, August 9 2026. With more than 800,000 visitors expected to descend on the city, it will be one of the biggest and most celebrated events ever to take place in Belfast.
3. The Fleadh is organised annually by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (CCÉ) and has been running since 1951. The Fleadh features All-Ireland music and dance competitions, live stage concerts, céilí dancing, street performances, pub sessions, storytelling, language events and a huge fringe festival programme.
4. The Gig Rig at Belfast City Hall will host a packed programme of free music and performances throughout the festival. Special performances and competitions will also take place at Ulster Hall, ICC Belfast and Waterfront Hall.
5. During the Fleadh, Belfast City Council will need to close many Belfast city centre streets and roads to ensure safe pedestrian movement and allow street performances and activities to take place. Some roads and streets in Belfast city centre will be closed to vehicle traffic from 6am on Sunday August 2 to 10am on Monday August 10 2026.
6. To help everyone to move with the rhythm of the Fleadh, visitors are encouraged to plan ahead, allow extra time for journeys and choose Park and Ride, public transport or active travel wherever possible.To create a safe and welcoming event zone for Fleadh 2026, Belfast city centre will be pedestrianised – find out more and see the map here.
7. The Fleadh is an inclusive and family-friendly festival. Children are warmly welcomed and there is a wide range of events, workshops and entertainment designed especially for younger visitors.
8. CCÉ has already announced that Belfast will host the Fleadh again in 2027, making it a back-to-back host city.
9. The full event programme will be published on fleadhcheoil.ie. Visitors are encouraged to check regularly as more announcements and event details are confirmed in the run-up to the festival.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our What’s On newsletter.

The local authority has internally submitted a planning application which describes eight houses and 46 flats which would be built near Dunbeth Family Centre.

North Lanarkshire Council has published details of its plans for a significant housing development in Coatbridge.

The local authority has internally submitted a planning application which describes eight houses and 46 flats which would be built near Dunbeth Family Centre, on a site which was formerly the location of Jackson Court tower block which was recently demolished.

In addition to the new housing, parking at the site would be increased to 44 spaces.

Prior to seeking planning permission for the development, the council held a public consultation exercise which included two public sessions.

These were not well attended, with just five people attending each session, which the council attributes to a relatively low number of people and properties in the vicinity and a general acceptance that replacing the tower block will improve the area.

However, the feedback which has been received in person or online has largely been positive.

Some concerns were raised about the availability of space for children to play in at the site, but the proposed development includes areas designated for informal free play.

In response to concerns over traffic at the junction of Hillcrest Avenue and Main Street, the council has indicated that this development represents a reduction in the total number of homes compared to the old tower block, while no access to it from Main Street is planned.

For more information, or to comment on the proposals, visit the council’s website and search for planning reference 26/00849/FUL.

*Don’t miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.

And did you know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.

Mia, 13, was last seen last night (July 27) in Glenbrook Gardens, Bolton, at around 8:20pm.

She is described as four feet tall with straight, shoulder-length brown hair.

She was last seen wearing grey leggings, a black jacket, and black socks with beige crocs.

Greater Manchester Police put out the following statement: “Mia is around four feet tall with straight, shoulder-length brown hair and was last seen wearing grey leggings, black jeans, and black socks in beige crocs.

“Police in Bolton are becoming increasingly concerned about Mia, 13, who was last seen last night.

“Anyone with information about Mia’s whereabouts should contact police on 101 – or 999 in an emergency – and quote log 3508-27/07/26

For years, former detective Mike Barley hoped to say one of two things to the parents of Suzy Lamplugh.

“Those two lines were ‘one we found her’, or two, ‘we’ve got it’,” he said.

“We used to sit with Paul and Diana and not be able to deliver those two lines. I watched them age over the years, constantly saying to them, ‘I’m sorry, there’s nothing new’.”

It is forty years on Tuesday since Suzy, a 25-year-old estate agent, left her Fulham office to meet a client under the name “Mr Kipper” and never returned. She was legally declared dead in 1993.

Her parents died without the answers to one of Britain’s most notorious missing person cases, which is set to be mothballed in 12 months.

Suzy’s disappearance inspired her family friends Mary Asprey and Janet Newman to launch the charity Missing People, which Mr Barley describes as one of the few positives that came out of the case.

The Independent joined forces with the charity in November to spread awareness of children who have gone missing and help launch SafeCall – a free and confidential support service designed to keep young people safe.

Thanks to the support of our readers and the backing of former prime minister Sir Keir Starmer, former footballer Sir David Beckham, mother of missing Madeleine, Kate McCann, and many others, the helpline was launched in January after an incredible £165,000 was raised.

Mr Barley, who spent 12 years working on the Lamplugh investigation as a Met Police detective chief inspector, has recently published the book Suzy Lamplugh: The Inside Story of Britain’s Most Notorious Missing Person Investigation.

He has told The Independent of how he always lived in hope of getting answers for Suzy’s family, and says no case in his 25-year career has stayed with him more than hers.

At around 10.30pm on 28 July 1986, he was heading to bed when another detective rang his landline.

“‘Mike, we’ve got a missing person here, it doesn’t feel right. You’d better come in, meet me at Stevenage Road’,” Mr Barley was told.

He arrived to find Suzy’s white Ford Fiesta abandoned, with the driver’s door open, the handbrake off, her purse still inside the door pocket, and the keys missing.

That day, she was supposed to be meeting the mysterious client at a nearby property in Shorrolds Road.

“At the end of that first day, we knew that Suzy had left her office at around 12.40pm, we knew that her car had been found at 10.01pm, and we knew that she hadn’t been seen since,” he said.

“Really, strictly speaking, 40 years on, we still only know those same three things.”

John Cannan remains the prime suspect in the case, but died in prison in 2024 and was never charged.

In October of 1987, he was arrested for the murder of Bristol newlywed Shirley Banks, whose Mini was found in his garage, repainted and fitted with a false number plate SLP386S.

“The inference was that the letters SLP stood for Suzy Lamplugh,” Mr Barley said.

In what he describes as his most unforgettable moment in the investigation, he went to interview Cannan in prison in 1990 after he was jailed for Banks’ murder the previous year.

“I said, ‘So why did you choose those [numberplate] letters in that particular order, John?’ And he said, ‘Let me tell you something about that car, that car belongs to a Bristol businessman, and he’s the man who killed Suzy Lamplugh, Shirley Banks, and another girl’.

“I said, ‘Was that man you, John?’ And he said, ‘Yes’, and then he went, ‘No, no, no, I’ve met him. I don’t know who he is. I’ve met him’.

“For that briefest moment in time, I firmly believe John Cannan was telling the truth.”

Mr Barley tried to recover that moment, but it was gone forever. He believes that Cannan is responsible for the abduction and murder of Suzy, but says his “belief isn’t proof, and there’s a huge gap between suspicion and proof.”

One of Cannan’s girlfriends, Gilly Paige, then claimed that he had driven her to Norton Barracks, Worcestershire, and told her Suzy was buried there. She later denied that he ever confessed to her murder.

Mr Barley urged his force to search the area at the time, but it did not go ahead.

Following further information and a review of the case, police launched a search of the site in 2000, but found no evidence.

But Mr Barley said the force had searched the wrong area, and the correct site had already been developed into a housing estate.

“Suzy was never born to be a case to be investigated,” he said. “She should be 65, probably with a family, maybe with grandchildren. She’s missed out on all that. Her family is still suffering, grieving.”

He said Missing People was a charity that was “very much needed”, and is “one of the really good things that has come out of this particular tragic event.”

Interim chief executive Ross Miller said: “Suzy’s disappearance became the catalyst for something that continues to make a difference today. When Suzy disappeared, there was no support for families with a missing loved one, and no way for a missing person to reach out for help in confidence.

“Inspired by the search for Suzy, sisters Mary Asprey and Janet Newman and a team of volunteers founded what would become Missing People, creating a lifeline for people facing the unimaginable. Today, Missing People continues that same mission.”

Suzy’s parents set up The Suzy Lamplugh Trust in the wake of her disappearance to champion women’s safety.

On Tuesday, it launched a campaign calling for urgent action to ensure victims of stalking, harassment and abuse receive appropriate protection and access to justice.

In a statement issued through the charity, her family said: “She was, as she is always portrayed, a truly beautiful person inside and out.

“Within months of her disappearance, our parents founded the Suzy Lamplugh Trust with a vision to help create a world where everyone can live free from violence, aggression and fear.”

Met Police detective chief inspector Teresa Foster said: “The investigation into the disappearance and murder of Suzy Lamplugh remains open, and is one of the oldest cases in the Met.

“They have shown remarkable strength despite everything they have endured and we will never give up hope that we can find the answers they deserve.”

Please donate now to The Independent and Missing People’s SafeCall campaign, which has raised £165,000 to create a free, nationwide service helping vulnerable children find safety and support.

For advice, support and options if you or a child you love goes missing, contact safecall.org.uk

The Suzy Lamplugh Trust is inviting people to join and donate to its #40YearsShouldHaveBeenEnough campaign.

Draper remains hopeful of playing in Montreal and Cincinnati before the US Open – where he reached the semi-finals in 2024 – starts on 30 August.

However, there is no doubt this is another concerning development – and a worrying pattern with an injury which Draper describes as “complicated”.

The former world number four has only played 14 matches in the past 12 months, largely because of the bruised humerus which he has tried to overcome by resting for long periods.

“It’s hard to tell when you can push [and] when not to push,” Draper said at Wimbledon.

“At the end of the day I’m playing a very aggressive sport, that you need to play through some stuff. Sometimes it’s too much. Sometimes it’s not.

“I wouldn’t be competing anywhere if there was a chance that I’m going to get a lot worse, for instance.”

Draper’s initial comeback earlier this season was derailed by tendinitis in his knee and the three-time ATP Tour winner had not played for more than two months before his return at Eastbourne in June.

Reaching the semi-finals came at a price, though, with his arm injury flaring up again at Wimbledon and leaving Draper “devastated” at having to pull out of his home Grand Slam.

Draper, who is now ranked 147th in the world, has not played a major since the US Open in August.

If he is fit enough to play at Flushing Meadows this year, he will have to come through qualifying – or be given a wildcard – to play in the main draw.

In Washington, Draper will be replaced in the draw by lucky loser Mackenzie McDonald.

Chelsea appear set to strike a surprise double deal for England veterans Danny Welbeck and Jordan Henderson as Xabi Alonso seeks to add experience to his squad. The Brighton striker, 35, and Brentford midfielder, 36, could continue an intriguing summer of incomings at Stamford Bridge after the marquee addition of Morgan Rogers earlier in the window.

Arsenal, meanwhile, are plotting an audacious move for Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Jr and want to sign the Brazil winger this summer. The Premier League champions are preparing to offer the 26-year-old the biggest contract in their history but Real Madrid may yet offer the Brazilian fresh terms.

It could be a busy few weeks for Mikel Arteta’s side as they also look to sign Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes and add another centre-back, with England internationals Ezri Konsa and John Stones both of interest – though the latter appears bound for Italy. Newcastle manager Eddie Howe confirmed that he wants to keep Guimaraes, but added that his future at the club is out of his control.

Elsewhere, Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola has set out his targets for the transfer window and has confirmed the Reds “definitely need to sign a winger”, while France international Bradley Barcola is reportedly open to leaving Paris Saint-Germain this summer. PSG, who are set to miss out on the signing Yan Diomande to Real Madrid, would demand a record fee, however.

Manchester United are still interested in adding another midfielder and have “reached an agreement in principle” with France international Manu Kone, according to reports in Italy. Aurelien Tchouameni remains a target, too.

Follow the latest transfer news, rumours and reports with our live blog below

Real Madrid to hold contract talks with Vinicius Jr amid Arsenal interest

Could Real Madrid yet see off Arsenal’s interest and keep Vinicius Jr? Sky Sports reports that new contract talks are planned with the Brazilian’s representatives with hope of a breakthrough.

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Harry Latham-Coyle28 July 2026 07:30

Chelsea target Jordan Henderson to add experience to their squad

Widespread reports also suggest Chelsea are hoping to sign Jordan Henderson, who may be available on a free transfer from Brentford. The 36-year-old was part of England’s World Cup squad and would add more experience to Xabi Alonso’s squad.

Harry Latham-Coyle28 July 2026 07:20

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Chelsea make surprise move for Brighton striker Danny Welbeck

Chelsea are in shock talks to sign veteran striker Danny Welbeck from Brighton.

The 35-year-old has emerged as a surprising target to reinforce the Blues’ attacking options, following an impressive season where he netted 13 Premier League goals in 37 appearances.

Transfers news LIVE

A very good morning. A busy, and faintly fascinating, summer transfer window rolls on with Premier League clubs and those around Europe scrambling to get deals done after the World Cup. We’ll have all of the latest throughout the day.

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Harry Latham-Coyle28 July 2026 07:10