Lottie Perks went on a family holiday to Brazil – but within days she was struck down with what seemed like a stomach bug

A mum says medical professionals ‘dismissed’ her concerns as ‘overly anxious’ behaviour before her daughter’s supposed holiday tummy bug proved to be a ruptured appendix – and life-threatening sepsis.

Now 20-year-old Lottie Perks had recently started university and had been looking forward to a much-needed family getaway. However, just days into the trip, she started suffering ‘crippling’ stomach pain and vomiting.

Yet 24 hours afterwards, she had recovered and the family resumed enjoying their holiday in Brazil. After returning home, though, it became obvious Lottie, from London, still wasn’t right.

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“She began shaking uncontrollably and I noticed her lips, hands and feet were freezing cold,” her mum, Laura, said.

“Her feet were white and her lips were blue. And her temperature was weirdly very low. Her face and limbs were swollen and flushed. I had been trying to trust the doctors before this and convince myself they were right.

“But, at this point, it was clear something was very wrong. I was terrified. And then, she collapsed in my arms as her eyes rolled back in her head. Her blood pressure plummeted and her heart rate raced dangerously high. I thought this was the end.”

‘They said they’d done all they could’

Laura had experienced a bout of sickness after returning from the trip in April 2025, too. And so, the family simply assumed Lottie had contracted the same bug.

But just hours after coming home, the stomach pain and vomiting started up again, coupled with bleeding and diarrhoea. They went to A&E, concerned, but nothing was found to be wrong.

Laura said: “She was very pale, weak and physically could not stop vomiting even though there was nothing left in her.

“Lottie was placed on an IV drip for three hours while being observed, but was ultimately discharged with a gastro bug, as her blood tests showed normal levels of inflammation. That night, and the next day, she didn’t improve and became much weaker.

“I called the hospital and asked if it could be appendicitis, but they said everything was fine.”

Still worried, Laura rushed her daughter back to hospital and begged for her to be seen again. Doctors allegedly claimed she was simply dehydrated and that they needed to leave the hospital – until an unusual rash was spotted.

After further checks, Lottie’s legs had started to turn a mottled purple and her body was severely swollen. A CT scan was ordered and it was found that her appendix had burst, causing sepsis.

Laura said: “I knew something was clearly wrong and before they took me seriously, I felt powerless. She had emergency surgery, but it was too late, the sepsis had spread. When she collapsed in my arms, that was her going into septic shock.

“And the start of her organs ceasing to work. I thought she’d be OK after the operation But the look on the surgeon’s face afterwards told me otherwise. When they explained about the sepsis and septic shock, and said they’d done all they could do, I felt powerless.”

Doctors rushed to give Lottie antibiotics, as there was a one hour window before her organs would start to fail completely. As nothing else could be done, it was a waiting game for a week. Luckily, the teen recovered and was slowly taken off medication, as well as machines, keeping her alive.

And, despite her life being on the line, she managed to return to university and pass her first year with flying colours. Now, she still suffers with bouts of sickness, stomach pain, dizziness, fatigue and difficulty keeping warm.

‘Sepsis can become fatal so quickly’

The emotional toll is felt by not just Lottie, but her mum, too. To help raise awareness, the pair are working with Sepsis Trust to warn others of the signs to look out for.

And, to never dismiss whether worrying symptoms could be sepsis.

Laura added: “Sepsis doesn’t need a cut, injury or an appendix bursting. It can be from something as simple as a virus. The symptoms are so subtle and confusing; but can become fatal so quickly.

“Having that one question in your mind when advocating for a loved one could save their life. We both suffer from nightmares following the experience. It’s difficult to look at photos from that time.

“And it’s hard not to associate the trip with what happened. We’ve always enjoyed relatively adventurous holidays and discovering further away places. But this has definitely put on the radar the possibility of a medical emergency while we’re away.

“And so, as a family, we haven’t been away too far since. We’re trying not to let the worry and her vulnerability take over too much from enjoying life.

“It’s forever changed us, but we’re so incredibly lucky to have caught it just about in time. I was treated like an overly anxious mother – but that’s what saved my daughter’s life.”

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Lottie added: “Initially, I was very scared. I tried to stay calm and thought it was probably a gastro bug or food poisoning.

“It quickly turned into frustration because I was in so much pain and it was clearly where my appendix was. There was a lot of fear; I was terrified. Genuinely feeling like you’re dying and can’t explain or get anyone to understand was [infuriating].

“I still don’t think I really understood what was happening while I was in the ICU. I remember being frustrated that I couldn’t go up to the normal ward. But this was obviously because my organs weren’t fully functioning on their own still.

“Another part of the recovery that was quite frustrating was the loss of all my muscle. I remember just doing one lap of the ICU when I was well enough and being completely exhausted and my legs feeling so tired.

“Going from being someone quite active, and having to come to terms with this new situation, was quite a shock. Looking back on it now, I just feel incredibly lucky and almost proud of my body for managing to push me through it.

“But that gratitude and appreciation also comes with a huge frustration that it could’ve been avoided or acted upon sooner. And I wouldn’t have had to have been in that position in the first place.

“But it taught me a lot and I’m obviously very grateful for all the doctors and nurses that helped me. I have learned to advocate for myself better and to speak out when something isn’t right.

“I also felt frustrated as just being young and female meant that so many things masked it – from doctors thinking I could be pregnant, toxic shock syndrome, period cramps. I wanted to explain that as women, we know what’s normal for us, and this clearly wasn’t normal.

“I understand that various possibilities needed to be ruled out; but I wish someone had considered rapidly progressing sepsis as one of those a little sooner.

“That said, I am well aware that I am one of the very lucky ones. I’ve been shocked to read all of the ways it could have ended differently.”

The UK’s biggest energy supplier is encouraging Brits to use less electricity during the solar eclipse tomorrow, because solar power generation will plummet.

Octopus Energy urged its eight million customers to delay using their washing machines, ovens, dishwashers and other plug-in devices between 6pm and 8pm.

Tomorrow’s hotly-anticipated eclipse will see solar generation plunge at a crucial time of day when electricity demand rises as millions of people come home from work.

Octopus told customers that the eclipse will ‘briefly knock out a chunk of Britain’s solar power’ and possibly require more fossil fuel power generation.

Spain, a country which gets more than half of its electricity from wind and solar, was plunged into blackouts in April 2025. Critics initially blamed a sudden plunge in solar power generation, but experts later put it down to so-called ‘voltage control issues’.

The National Energy System Operator, which runs the UK grid, said the eclipse could cut supply by up to 1.3 gigawatts tomorrow – enough to power about 500,000 homes.

Extra gas power stations may therefore have to be fired up, but Octopus said this need will be reduced if enough households delay using electricity for a short time.

The London-based company is therefore asking people to use less energy to avoid putting extra pressure on the grid at that point and increasing carbon emissions.

As an incentive, Octopus said those who use less electricity than usual during the two-hour window would get one hour of free daytime electricity this Sunday.

Bosses said solar power generated a record 14.4 per cent of Britain’s electricity last month, meaning two hours without sunshine will ‘leave a gap that has to be filled’.

The moon will obscure more than 90 per cent of the sun between 6.17pm and 8.06pm tomorrow, the most it has been blocked above the UK since the 1999 total eclipse. 

Octopus said it will monitor usage during the ‘Eclipse Session’ from customers’ smart meters tomorrow, and will then email successful participants on Saturday with the exact time – which will be at some point ‘in the late-morning, early-afternoon’.

Its chief customer officer Rebecca Dibb-Simkin said: ‘Many of us will be looking up at the sky on Wednesday evening to experience this once-in-a-generation event. But as the sun disappears, so will some of Britain’s solar generation, just as demand peaks.

‘By shifting everyday tasks like the washing machine or dishwasher until later, households can help reduce the need for gas power stations – and earn rewards for doing their bit.’

The company added that solar power generated a record 14.4 per cent of Britain’s electricity last month, meaning a ‘couple of hours without sunshine can leave a gap that has to be filled’.

Customers can also enter an Octopus photo competition showing what they did during the eclipse instead of being inside at home, with the chance to win free solar panels and installation or £12,000 in cash instead.

Neso said it has been planning for the solar eclipse for more than a year, ‘helping keep the electricity system balanced while the nation looks to the skies’.

Meanwhile the Met Office revealed Devon, Cornwall and the westernmost parts of Pembrokeshire in Wales are set to see the eclipse at its fullest, with a range of 94 per cent to 96 per cent of the sun obscured by the moon.

Plymouth in particular is forecast to see the moon cover 94.66 per cent of the sun at 7.16pm.

The rest of Wales, Northern Ireland, parts of the West Midlands and the South West, and the westernmost parts of Scotland can expect to see 92 per cent to 94 per cent solar coverage.

The Daily Mail’s front page on August 12, 1999 following the last total solar eclipse 

Another total solar eclipse visible from the UK in 1927 – pictured in Stoneyhurst, Lancashire

In Cardiff, the moon is forecast to obscure 93.24 per cent of the sun at 7.13pm while in Belfast it will cover 93.09 per cent of the sun at 7.08pm.

Skygazers in the rest of the UK will likely see the moon obscure 90 per cent to 92 per cent of the sun – with 91.79 per cent expected in Birmingham at 7.12pm, 91.41 per cent in London at 7.13pm, 90.74 per cent in Inverness at 7.03pm, 90.71 per cent in Edinburgh at 7.06pm and 90.22 per cent in Newcastle at 7.07pm.

Those most keen to catch a sight of the fullest possible solar eclipse should avoid the easternmost parts of the UK, where only 88 per cent to 90 per cent of solar coverage is expected.

These include the coasts of Norfolk, Yorkshire and Aberdeenshire, as well as the Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Eye doctors urged people to avoid looking directly at the sun, with even brief exposure causing lasting vision damage.

Experts have warned that only special solar eclipse glasses that are ISO 12312-2 certified for the safest eye protection should be used to view the eclipse. But they have all but sold out online, or carry hefty delivery fees to arrive in time.

The Royal Greenwich Observatory told the public that regular sunglasses are not a safe enough method to view the cosmic phenomenon.

So-called eclipse glasses that do not carry the safety standards, or ordinary sunglasses, no matter how dark, should never be worn to view an eclipse, as they reduce glare, making it feel more comfortable to look at the sun for longer, but still allow harmful solar radiation to reach the retina.

Following the 1999 eclipse, the Royal College of Ophthalmologists reported around 70 cases of people experiencing vision problems after watching the eclipse. Around 40 per cent had looked at it for less than a minute.

The next time the moon obscures as much of the sun will be in 2081 and the next total solar eclipse in the UK will be in 2090.

Reykjavik in Iceland and Spanish cities A Coruna, Oviedo, Zaragoza, Bilbao and Valencia will see a total eclipse tomorrow, in which the moon fully obscures the sun.

In an added bonus for stargazers, the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak tomorrow night. The shower is produced as Earth ploughs through a stream of dust left behind by Comet Swift–Tuttle.

Each tiny grain strikes Earth’s atmosphere at about 60km per second (37 miles per second), burning up in a brief flash that takes the appearance of a shooting star.

Molly-Mae Hague has vowed her son Midas, 10 weeks, will ‘be her last’. 

The influencer, 27, is already mother to daughter Bambi, three, with partner Tommy Fury – however, in her latest YouTube vlog, she insisted she will stop at two children due to the fact she is ‘in survival mode’ with a toddler and newborn. 

In the video, which was released on Monday, she revealed that Midas is struggling with feeding issues, leaving him ‘screaming’ in intense pain. 

Speaking on camera to her 2.09 million YouTube subscribers, she said: ‘I just, to be honest, I just feel so bad for mine just because this reflux thing is actually becoming like a massive issue for me – I’ve never, ever heard a baby scream like that.’

Reflux occurs when stomach contents flow back up into the food pipe, causing a baby to spit up milk during or shortly after a feed. 

In the video, which was released on Monday, she revealed that Midas is struggling with feeding issues, leaving him ‘screaming’ in intense pain

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Molly-Mae has been candid about her struggles with motherhood, frequently shedding light on Bambi’s behaviour. 

Since welcoming Midas in early June, she admits her baby days will be over as she is juggling her relationship while parenting a toddler and newborn. 

She said: ‘Like, peace and love and prosperity and all of that, but it’s just a lot, like, obviously, and I’m, like, I feel like I’m showing a lot of, like, oh, you know, I’m coping, I’m good, but also…

‘I’m having moments where I’m thinking 100 per cent, like, I’m so blessed and so lucky, but this will be my last child.’

Molly-Mae went on: ‘One for the books is to remember like that having a 10-week-old and a three-and-a-half-year-old, like is something that a lot of mums are doing and they have more children. I am so aware of that, but it is a little bit savage…

‘Obviously, it would be so not realistic of me to not talk about the highs and the lows, and yeah, I need you guys to understand that.’

On her battles to feed Midas, she lamented his struggles with reflux. 

She said: ‘I’ve never, ever heard a baby scream like that. And it like literally makes me want to cry. Like he’s crying, I want to cry…

The influencer, 27, is already mother to daughter Bambi, three, with partner Tommy Fury – however, in her latest YouTube vlog, she insisted she will stop at two children due to the fact she is ‘in survival mode’ with a toddler and newborn

She discussed the situation in the video 

‘And it’s so just a lot like having a baby when it’s hard enough as it is, and then add like feeding digestive issues on top of that. And it’s just, it is a lot, but anyway.’

She admitted that the attempts at balancing the two kids meant she and Tommy are forced to spend their time apart until bed time.

She said: ‘I’m trying to get him in a routine, I’m trying to do the best thing for him, but equally, like, that’s not the best thing for Bambi…

‘[But] that means that we’re all tied to the house, unless we literally just do separate things with the kids, which is what we’re doing…

‘This is what I mean about just like, separate, being separate all the time, doing separate things with the kids, because it’s just, it’s not fair, I’m trying to get him in a routine, and this is where I’m like so torn.’ 

GoodGym turns exercise into practical community action. Its members run, walk or cycle to help local projects and isolated older people, whether that means clearing a garden, sorting donations at a food bank or helping someone with a task they can no longer manage alone.

“GoodGym was founded on a simple idea that we could use being active to help people and strengthen communities, Ed Field, head of operations, said. “What we’ve seen is that the benefits go both ways and that the people participating feel healthier, more connected and more purposeful through helping others.”

Each session combines movement with usefulness, giving people a reason to get active and to keep showing up, while turning exercise into something that reaches beyond the person doing it.

Image: Laura Lewis
Main image: Ella Richardson

This is the second fire at the nature reserve within two weeks

Firefighters are expected to remain at the scene of a nature reserve fire for “days to come”. Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue were called to a fire at the Holme Fen Nature Reserve on Saturday (August 8) at around 10.24am.

Firefighters have been continuing to tackle the fire over the last few days. Crews remain at the scene today (Tuesday, August 11).

A fire spokesperson said: “Firefighters have been at the scene overnight continuing to tackle the fire. Crews will remain on the scene throughout the day, and for days to come.”

This is the second fire within two weeks that firefighters have dealt with at Holme Fen. The cause of the first fire was deliberate.

The cause of the second fire hasn’t yet been determined.

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Donald Trump secretly swapped planes as he left a Nato summit in Turkey last month in response to a possible Iranian threat, US media report.

The US president boarded Air Force One in view of television cameras before being smuggled onto an elevated airport catering truck and transported to a military aircraft, without journalists and some White House staff on board knowing, the Washington Post said.

Officials told the BBC’s US partner CBS News that the US had detected a credible Iranian threat to fire a missile at the plane. The White House has not confirmed the secret switch.

Trump had earlier said he was Iran’s “number one target” during the summit in Ankara.

The clandestine manoeuvre came a day after the US renewed military strikes on Iran following a breakdown of negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end the war.

Trump had arrived in Turkey aboard a newer Boeing 747-8 donated by Qatar, but announced that he would leave on the old Air Force One “for old time’s sake”.

On 8 July, footage showed him boarding the presidential jet at Ankara airport. But according to the Washington Post, he was then secretly taken to a smaller C-32A military aircraft – a modified Boeing 757 often used by the vice president – via a catering truck which had been elevated to plane level on the opposite side to where he had boarded.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the C-32A separately using external stairs in an effort to make the flight appear normal, according to the newspaper.

Journalists and some White House staff boarded Air Force One and were reportedly told to close their window shades. They were unaware the president was no longer on board.

Trump then flew to the UK en route to the US, where he reboarded the old Air Force One and was seen descending from the aircraft after it landed at RAF Mildenhall. It is unclear how he moved from the C-32A back to the legacy jet.

The man and woman were killed in the smash on Hyde Road

A young man and woman who died in a crash on a main road in Gorton have been named for the first time as Jack Cartwright and Natasha Denman.

The pair lost their lives in the crash on the A57 Hyde Road on August 5. Emergency services were called to the road, near the junction with Clumber Road, after a car hit a stationary digger at around 9.35pm.

Four people were inside the car at the time, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said previously. A young man and a woman, aged 23 and 24, sadly died at the scene.

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The man has now been named on official court documents as Mr Cartwright, while the woman has been named as Ms Denshaw. The car involved the crash has been identified in the court documents as being a Skoda Fabia.

Apollo Simms, 26, of Tealby Road, Manchester, has been charged with two counts of death by dangerous driving and failing to provide a sample for analysis. He is due to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court today (August 11).

Another man who was arrested has been released on bail, police confirmed.

The Government has announced major changes for those paying off student loans

The Prime Minister should consider scrapping student debt or making interest payments interest free to encourage more people into higher education, M.E.N readers have said.

Yesterday, the Government announced major changes to interest rates and repayment thresholds for anyone with a student loan.

The Department of Education published its new interest rates for undergraduate and postgraduate loans; the new repayment thresholds for Plan 1 loans; and the interest rates and deferment threshold for Mortgage Style Student Loans.

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The new interest rates are set to affect the RPI rates for student loans – the base inflation measure. The government uses the RPI figure from March each year to set the baseline for student loan interest rates starting in September.

Depending on which plan you are on, you will be charged RPI plus up to an extra 3%. In the update issued yesterday, it has been confirmed that RPI rates are 4.1% for anyone paying back their loan from September 1. The repayment threshold for Plan 1 loans has also been affected.

You can see a full breakdown of changes to the student loan repayment plans here.

‘This is so wrong’

Following the announcement, M.E.N. readers expressed their views on the current student loan system on our Facebook page.

Ellen Vdk said: “Make it 0% and then the government has more chance of getting the full amount back.”

Su Bo expressed a similar view, adding: “Make it interest free or very very low interest. Those are the only sensible options. We want to encourage people to continue to go into higher education not put them off.”

The hot weather will intensify and be more widespread on Wednesday.

In an area from South Yorkshire to east Wales, Somerset and east across England temperatures will be in excess of 30C.

Some of the warmth will spread further north into northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland with temperatures into the low to mid-20s.

The hottest weather will be around the Midlands and south-east England with 31 to 33C.

By Thursday and Friday, extreme heat is most likely in parts of the Midlands, eastern and south-east England where temperatures could be as high as 35 or 36C.

As heat builds throughout the week, overnight temperatures will stay relatively high bringing some uncomfortable nights for sleeping.

Minimum temperatures may not go lower than 16 to 18C across England and Wales.

There is also a possibility of a “tropical night” – where temperatures remain above 20C all night – in south-east England.

While the heat will not be quite as intense or feel as humid as the heatwaves in June and July, the BBC understands the Met Office may be considering issuing extreme heat warnings.

That would suggest that, as well as health impacts, there could be some concerns about infrastructure such as the transport network and power lines.

The highest temperatures in June and July were 38C and 35.5C respectively.

For the first time in recorded history we are expecting a temperature higher than 35C to have been recorded in the UK for four consecutive months – underlining that this has been a year like no other.

Taking place on Wednesday (August 12) the eclipse will be the most coverage seen in the UK since 1999, when most of Cornwall and Devon experienced total coverage.

With most eclipse glasses sold out across the country, a pinhole projector offers a simple, homemade alternative to safely view the event.

Here is how to make one at home so you can still enjoy this week’s eclipse.

A partial solar eclipse will be visible in the UK this week (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

How to make a pinhole projector for the solar eclipse

A pinhole projector, which can be assembled using everyday materials, allows people to observe the eclipse indirectly by projecting an image of the Sun onto a surface, making it safe for the eyes.

The method works best for partial eclipses, where the Sun takes on a crescent shape as the Moon moves across it.

To make a basic pinhole projector, all you need is two pieces of white card.

Poke a small hole in one piece and hold it above the other, with your back to the Sun.

The sunlight passing through the hole will project a small image of the Sun onto the second card.

During the eclipse, the shadow of the Moon will be visible within this tiny, projected disc.

A colander or even the gaps between tree leaves can serve the same purpose, casting multiple crescent shapes onto the ground.

For those looking for a slightly more involved project, a box pinhole projector can also be constructed for a steadier view.

Where to buy solar eclipse glasses in the UK

You can buy certified solar eclipse glasses in the UK from reputable astronomy retailers, specialised online distributors, or general online marketplaces such as Amazon UK.

However, many retailers are seeing shortages in stock as people across the country rush to secure them ahead of the event on Wednesday evening.

People have been warned not to look at the eclipse without glasses, as they block out the Sun’s harmful rays.

Regular sunglasses are not safe to use, as they don’t have adequate UV protection to protect your eyesight.

Adequate glasses should have safety certification ‘ISO 12312-2′ or ‘ISO 12312-2:2015’ printed somewhere on them.

There are other ways of viewing it, such as a solar telescope or watching official live streams, one of which is being run by the Royal Museums Greenwich (RMG).

What time will the solar eclipse be in the UK?

What time the solar eclipse will peak will depend on where you are in the UK, but it will be somewhere between 7.02pm and 7.16pm.

Here are the estimated eclipse times for areas across the UK, according to the RMG:

• Edinburgh and Glasgow – begin at 6.08pm, peak at 7.05pm, end at 8pm
• Manchester and Liverpool – begin at 6.13pm, peak at 7.10pm,  end at 8.03-04pm
• Norwich and Birmingham – begin at 6.15pm, peak at 7.11pm, end at 8.04pm 
• London, Bristol and Cardiff – begin at 6.17pm, peak at 7.12pm, end at 8.06pm
• Truro, Cornwall – begin at 6.18pm, peak at 7.16pm, end at 8.10pm

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At its peak, enough of the Sun will be covered to make a noticeable difference in the temperature and light levels.

However, unlike with a total eclipse, the sky will not become dark – it will feel more like a cloudy day or close to dusk or dawn.

Will you be watching the solar eclipse this week? Let us know in the comments.