Emergency services were called to Balmer Hill in Gainford at 8.10pm on Saturday (August 29) after gunshots were fired at the home.

The victim, a 46-year-old man, suffered birdshot injuries to his abdomen and was rushed to hospital.

On Sunday (August 30), police and CSI officers were seen working at the detached home, while a cordon was put in place. The window had been smashed and door damaged by gunfire.

The house on Balmer Hill, Gainford, County Durham (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

This morning (August 31), police have left the scene, and a cordon is no longer in place.

The window has been boarded up to make the home secure.

Police and CSI on the scene on Sunday (August 30) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

A 20-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, and both remained in custody.

The damaged door at the Balmer Hill house (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

The boy has also been arrested on suspicion of theft, failing to stop and driving without a licence, police said.

A spokesperson for Durham Police said on Sunday: “An investigation has been launched after a man was shot in Gainford last night.

A boarded-up window at the Gainford house (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“Emergency services were called to an address in Balmer Hill just after 8.10pm following reports that suspects had driven to a house and fired at it from their car before making off.

“A 46-year-old man suffered birdshot injuries to his abdomen and was taken to hospital. His condition has been described as critical but stable.

A boarded-up window and damaged door at the property (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“No one else at the address was injured and officers remain at the scene today.”

Neighbours, who did not want to be named, told The Northern Echo they heard two loud ‘pops’ around 8.10pm.

“I was just sat watching the TV,” they said. “They were talking about Newcastle on Sky Sports News, then we heard like a pop.

“At first I thought it was a car backfiring. We jumped.

Police have left the scene of the property this morning (August 31) (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“And then there was another pop, and it was a case of ‘What the heck was that?’

“Then the next thing we saw was a red soft-top car go down the road.

“After the pops, I looked along towards next door and we saw all the glass that was outside, and the front windows were gone.

A boarded-up window at the Gainford house (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

“It is something you see in movies or television.

“You don’t expect to see it in a little village, in your own of street.”

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson added: “We were called to an incident at a private address in Gainford, Darlington at 8.10pm on Saturday, August 29.

“We dispatched one ambulance crew, one duty officer, one clinical team leader and were supported by Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

“One person was taken to hospital by road.”

Vicky Mcloughlin was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer in 2024 but has been denied surgery based on her age, her daughter has said

A mum who was told she had stage three bowel cancer after struggling to use the toilet for two weeks has now been refused surgery that her daughter says could ‘cure’ her.

Vicky Mcloughlin, 66, was given the devastating news in November 2024 after her daughter, Chloe, 33, said she “wasn’t herself”.

The mum experienced bleeding and underwent an endoscopy that initially failed to detect anything untoward. But Chloe then took her mother to A&E, where a scan revealed a mass in her cervical area.

A biopsy confirmed cancer, with doctors establishing the tumour had formed in her bowels before spreading to her cervical area.

Yet despite having to make frequent trips to the hospital ever since her diagnosis, Chloe says her mother has been denied surgery twice, Birmingham Live reports.

Infections and a build-up of fluid, caused when the spreading tumour created a tear in both her bowel and cervical area, meant she was deemed unsuitable for surgery. Vicky was instead given two rounds of chemotherapy.

Chloe appealed to medical teams at Solihull Hospital and St Mark’s Hospital in London to perform surgery and remove the tumour, but both refused on the grounds of excessive risk, fears Vicky could lose a leg and a likely deterioration in her quality of life.

In correspondence sent to Vicky, doctors said they had “significant concerns” about how she would cope with the surgery, saying it would not be “in her best interests”.

But her family argued her quality of life was already drastically impacted as she needed hospital visits every fortnight.

Chloe, who owns a dog walking business in Tamworth, said: “It was a lot to process when she was diagnosed.

“We never would have thought where we are now and be in the situation we are now. The only way to cure her is through surgery.

“A hospital in London, and one in Solihull both refused.

“They said it was too major and she could lose her leg and they said with her age they don’t know if she’d survive the surgery.

“They said she’d have a better quality of life without the surgery – but to me that’s not the case.

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“It’s constant – every other week she’s back in hospital. It does nothing – it’s just torture.

“It’s a living nightmare. I don’t know what else to do.”

Vicky’s tumour has so far remained confined to the bladder, bowel and cervical region and has not spread elsewhere. But the infections she contracts can trigger sepsis. Chloe said: “When the tumour broke through it caused a hole in the bowels and cervical area. So infections were caused.

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“She had multiple drains to drain out the fluid collection. She’s had four in the last two years.

“She had to have surgery for a stoma bag too. But the collection of fluid with the last drain didn’t drain out as it was too thick.

“They eventually managed to remove it as it was putting pressure on her kidneys. The urine was going back towards her kidneys, so she had surgery for two tubes to go into her back through her kidneys and they drain out her urine.

“So now she doesn’t go to the toilet at all. She was in such a strong position but now I don’t know how she’s alive today.

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“She has sepsis all the time.”

Vicky has had sepsis five times in the last two years. Her condition means that cannot have any more treatment.

A spokesperson for University Hospitals Birmingham, which runs Solihull Hospital, said: “We have great sympathy for Mrs Mcloughlin and her family at what is clearly a difficult and distressing time.

“Decisions about radical cancer surgery are very complex and are never taken lightly.

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“Any advice given is based on a careful assessment of the potential benefits and risks, and are coordinated by a multi-disciplinary team, with the clinical team’s overriding priority being what is safest, and in the patient’s best interests.”

London North West University Healthcare Trust said it could not comment on individual patients’ circumstances.

Dolly Parton’s sister Freida Parton has shared a heartfelt tribute to the country music icon following her private Nashville funeral, revealing the special role Dolly played in her life and announcing a special project in her honour

Dolly Parton’s sister Freida has spoken out following the country music legend’s private funeral, sharing a heartfelt tribute to the woman she affectionately referred to as her “Dolly Momma”.

Freida, one of Dolly’s 11 siblings, revealed she was finding it difficult to accept the loss of her “big sister” after the iconic singer passed away aged 80 last week following a brief battle with cancer.

The funeral took place in Nashville on Friday, August 28, with only close family members in attendance. Dolly’s niece Lainey Mae Parton announced the news via an emotional Instagram post, accompanied by a collection of photos of the star, expressing how challenging it was to articulate her sorrow.

The singer was interred next to her late husband Carl Dean at Woodlawn Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Nashville. Dean passed away in March 2025 after nearly 60 years of marriage to Dolly.

The star had previously expressed her desire for an intimate and private send-off.

Reports suggest she was buried wearing a simple cotton dress and her signature high heels, a nod to the country star’s iconic fashion sense while respecting her preference for a more modest final goodbye. Freida has now posted a deeply moving tribute to her sister, disclosing the unique bond Dolly held in her life, The Mirror reported.

In a Facebook post, Freida wrote: “Thank you all for bearing with me as I mourn the death of my big sister. I know to the entire world, she was a superstar, but to me, she was my Dolly Momma.”

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She continued by recalling childhood moments between them, explaining how Dolly would provide reassurance when they felt scared.

“She was the sister who would climb into bed with me when I was little because we were both afraid of the dark,” Freida wrote.

“She was the woman who stepped up and became my Momma, raising me from ages 13 to 18.”

Freida also recounted a more lighthearted recollection of Dolly attempting to encourage her to wear her wigs during performances at Dollywood.

“She was the one who tried to convince me to wear her wigs at my shows in Dollywood (sorry, sister, but I definitely didn’t listen to you on that one),” she said.

Despite their strong connection, Freida acknowledged that, like any siblings, they had encountered their fair share of disputes over the years.

“Like all sisters, we definitely had our share of arguments and disagreements throughout the years, but even through all the highs and lows, and all the laughter and tears, I never stopped loving her,” she wrote.

She subsequently asked supporters to keep her family in their prayers as they process their heartbreaking loss.

“I asked you all months ago to pray for Dolly, but now I’m going to ask you to please pray for me and my entire family as we navigate this insurmountable loss,” Freida said. The singer’s passing has left her family, friends and countless admirers across the globe grieving one of country music’s most iconic figures.

Dolly was celebrated for hits such as Jolene, 9 to 5 and I Will Always Love You, while her career encompassed acting, business ventures and charitable work.

However, Freida explained that her sister’s impact within their family extended far beyond her celebrity status.

“There will never be anyone who can replace her in our hearts, and I know she holds a special place in many of yours as well,” she wrote.

“I know she would want me to keep going, keep smiling, and keep sharing the love she gave so freely with others. That is what I’m going to try to do, even on the days when it feels impossible.”

Freida also disclosed that she is developing a special tribute project in memory of her late sister.

“I’m working on something very special for all of you in her honour,” she said. “It’s my way of keeping a little piece of my Dolly Momma with me, while sharing her with all of you who loved her, too.”

She concluded her heartfelt message by expressing gratitude to supporters for the affection they had demonstrated towards Dolly throughout her life and since her death.

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“Thank you for loving her, for praying for her, and now, for loving and praying for all of us. All My Love, Freida.”

Dolly had already selected her funeral song Dolly had openly discussed her funeral preferences more than ten years before her passing. During a 2014 conversation with Entertainment Weekly, the legendary performer was questioned about which music she would want played at her funeral.

While she recognised that many would anticipate hearing her timeless classic I Will Always Love You, she disclosed that she had a different piece in mind.

“I’m sure they’ll be playing I Will Always Love You when I die, just like they did with Whitney Houston,” Dolly said.

She remembered watching Houston’s funeral service, where her rendition of the track was performed as the singer’s casket was carried out.

“When they picked her coffin up and started in on that song, I started to cry, and I thought, ‘Oh my lord’, that’s when it hit me that she was really gone.”

However, Dolly revealed the song she truly desired was If We Never Meet Again (This Side Of Heaven), a country-gospel hymn penned by Albert E Brumley in 1945. She shared that the track held particular significance as it had been her father’s most cherished song.

“But there’s a song called If We Never Meet Again, it’s an old country-gospel church song that talks about, ‘if we never meet again this side of heaven, I will meet you on that beautiful shore, where the charming roses bloom forever and where separations come no more’,” she said.

“That was my daddy’s favourite. We did sing it at his funeral, and I would like it to be sung at mine.”

Dolly’s desire for an intimate private ceremony was honoured, with close family members convening in Nashville to bid their final farewell. Her passing was confirmed on 25 August by her nephew Bryan Seaver, who revealed she had asked him years previously to prepare for that moment.

Her publicist subsequently announced that she had passed away after a “brief battle with cancer”.

While admirers across the globe continue to grieve the country music icon’s death, Freida’s heartfelt words have provided insight into the woman behind the fame: not merely an international star, but a cherished sister who helped bring up her younger sibling and remained her “Dolly Momma” until the end.

The mayor met representative of the Astley Warehouses Action group after a walking around the site.

Earlier this summer Logisitics firm Whistl started around the clock operations at the controversial ‘cruise ship’ warehouse complex in Tyldesley.

The development, commissioned by  PLP, has been dogged by controversy for more than year since building work started.

Many residents, some of whom have gardens just 30 metres from the 350,000 sq ft logistics site, have criticised the huge scale and appearance of the “towering warehouses”.

Incidents of flooding on nearby paths and gardens have also occurred last winter with complaints that run off from the construction site was causing the issues.

Bev Craig said : “I was really keen to talk to residents, like everyone else I’ve seen the pictures online and it didn’t sit right with me to build something so big so close to residential properties.

“I heard from residents about the noise and other problems they’ve been experiencing, the flooding and even hearing about the basics such as the quality of the landscaping.

“It’s good to see it first hand and makes it clear.

“I don’t have planning powers but I want to use the role that I’ve got to make residents feel that they are heard.

“I will be writing to Peel to make sure they are taking some ownership and will be in touch with the action group going forward.”

Steve Retford from the action group said: “This meeting was extremely positive.

“This development has affected all our lives in a profound way.

“The mayor was very understanding to our situation and had clearly done some research so she had a good idea of the burning issues we’ve got.

“She was extremely supportive to our concerns.

“We realise she’s no planning powers but we’re hoping their maybe some sympathetic ears to the Greater Manchester mayor in Westminster.

“Something clearly needs to change if the Mayor can’t challenge a planning permission which is clearly wrong. The answer may lay at Westminster”

Whistl said they ‘appreciate the strength of feeling amongst the community over the new business park’ and have had ‘active dialogue’ with the action group representing residents before taking measures to mitigate the impact of operations.

During Ms Craig’s visit, a representative from Whistl was delivering letter to households titled ‘Help Us Understand and Investigate Noise Concerns’.

The letter said: “Have you heard a noise that you believe may be coming from the warehouse? Whistl want to hear from you.

“We understand that residents have experienced noise disruption, particularly overnight. To help us investigate concerns properly, we have created a simple online form where residents can report noise incidents seven days a week, as they happen.

“The information you provide will help us understand when noise is occurring, how often it is happening and whether there are any patterns that need further investigation to remedy the cause.”

A thrilling and, potentially record-breaking, end to the summer window is in store as Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham all work on deals before Tuesday night’s deadline. Plenty of movement is expected at Arsenal with Julian Alvarez the priority signing and there has been a significant development regarding that pursuit. Elsewhere, Habeeb Ogunneye, James Scanlon and Igor Tyjon have joined the Premier League champions but Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira are set to depart.

By RUTH SUNDERLAND

Updated: 08:20 BST, 31 August 2026

The idea that young workers are taxed far too much while rich pensioners sit back and gloat is an entrenched grievance for a certain type of Left-leaning economist.

One of Labour’s favourite think-tanks, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), has just put out a paper arguing the tax system is ‘slanted towards the interests of older Britons with large amounts of accrued wealth and away from younger earners’.

The ‘balance of responsibility’ for meeting the nation’s growing fiscal needs, the author adds, must shift. 

This conflation of the old and the rich is a basic logical fallacy. 

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Just because most rich people are old does not mean most old people are rich.

Nearly 2million pensioners are in poverty – or around one in six. Many of those are women, either widowed or divorced. 

Yet the ageist stereotype of the elderly miser, found in the works of Roman playwright Plautus, as well as Moliere and Dickens, is clearly still potent in Leftish economic thinking. 

The bogus assumption, never quite spelt out but lurking just beneath the surface, is that it is somehow unfair for older people to be better off than the young. 

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Entrenched grievance: The idea that young workers are taxed far too much while rich pensioners sit back and gloat is an entrenched grievance for a certain type of Left-leaning economist

The reality – that most older individuals have built any wealth they possess through years of work and investment on which they have already been fulsomely taxed – is ignored. 

One of the IPPR’s ideas is to change the rules where older employees are spared from having to pay any National Insurance Contributions (NIC) after they reach retirement age. 

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The think-tank cites the case of a pensioner versus a graduate at income levels of £45,000 and £70,000, saying the former would pay a marginal rate of 20 per cent and 40 per cent respectively, while a youngster repaying a student loan could face rates of 37 per cent and 51 per cent. 

It floats the idea of imposing NIC only on comparatively well-paid pensioners, which may not seem so unreasonable. 

But if the principle of bringing pension-age people into the net were established, it would probably act as a Trojan Horse, raising the risk that more ageing workers would be pulled in over time. 

Conservative and Labour governments have deployed such ‘fiscal drag’ mercilessly to milk taxpayers over the past few years. 

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If that happened, it would be very harsh. Among the 1.75million over-65s who still work, median monthly earnings are a modest £1,596, lower than every other age group apart from the under 18s. 

We do not know how many want to stay at work and how many are compelled to by financial hardship. 

Women, some ethnic minorities and manual labourers, whose interests the Left purports to defend, are much more likely to find themselves in the ‘forced to’ category, according to the charity Age UK. 

How are they enjoying the fruits of a skewed tax system just because they are older?

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And how insulting to say the old must pay more tax because they are not shouldering their financial responsibility to the young: just look at the multibillion-pound collective generosity of the Bank of Mum and Dad. 

Labour is already undermining this natural impulse through changes to inheritance tax. 

Other suggestions to hit the elderly are higher capital gains tax rates and property levies. 

The IPPR is correct that an ageing population will become an enormous pressure on public finances. Yet to assert that younger workers are suffering an unreasonable burden while rich oldies are ‘protected’ is not a solution: it is simply the peddling of divisive and unpleasant prejudice. 

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Children under five may have been forced into marriage in the UK, Home Office data has revealed.   

At least 100 children aged 12 or younger have been referred to the Government’s forced marriage unit in the past five years, the figures show. 

The total includes 27 children up to the age of five, according to data obtained through a freedom of information request.

One campaigner branded the figures ‘deeply disturbing’, warning ‘there will be missing children’ when schools re-open from the summer holidays. 

Forcing someone to marry is a criminal offence across the UK and in 2023 the legal age of marriage was raised from 16 to 18 in England and Wales.

Referrals can be made to the forced marriage unit (FMU) – which operates across the UK – by police, social services and education professionals, friends, family members, colleagues or victims themselves who might need support and guidance.

The figures obtained from the Home Office cover the five calendar years from 2021 to 2025.

Data for some of the years was not disclosed due to the very small number of individuals involved, which could potentially allow them to be identified.

But the figures show that at least 100 children up to the age of 12 were referred across the five-year period, of which 62 were aged 10 or below, with 27 aged five or under.

The Home Office said a referral means some details have been provided to the unit about an actual, potential or suspected forced marriage, but that not every referral means a forced marriage has or will take place.

Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, who ran away from her home in Derby after being faced with the prospect of a forced marriage aged 14, branded the young ages ‘deeply disturbing’ – but said it can be the case a child is ‘promised to somebody from birth’, with the marriage taking place years later.

‘I know that when schools open in September, there will be missing children,’ she said. 

‘The opportunity to identify them was pre-school holidays. Is somebody going to ask where they are, or are they simply just going to go off school roll?

‘Or children will come back engaged or even married.’

The charity founder, who was given a damehood for services to the victims of child, forced marriage and honour-based abuse, said the number of forced marriages is likely to be higher as there is ‘inevitably going to be a high number of children and adults whose situations never reach statutory services’. 

The Home Office has said forced marriage is ‘not a problem specific to one country, religion or culture; there is no archetypal victim or perpetrator, and no 2 cases are the same’.

Dame Jasvinder warned of perpetrators hiding behind accusations of racism, as she insisted forced marriage is a clear safeguarding issue.

At least 100 children aged 12 or younger have been referred to the Government’s forced marriage unit in the past five years, figures show (Stock photo) 

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She said: ‘The tactics of perpetrators will be to use that. So they will try to put you on the back foot. “This is our culture. This is our religion. You’re being racist” or whatever, to put you on the back foot, to make you look the other way.’ 

She added: ‘Cultural acceptance does not mean accepting the unacceptable.

‘This is abuse. That’s why I’ve always framed it as that, as a safeguarding concern.’

She said teachers and other professionals must have the confidence to report their concerns.

Recalling an experience in recent years, during which she went into a sixth form school to talk about her own life, Dame Jasvinder said some boys walked out while a number of girls approached her afterwards to say they were facing forced marriages.

The Home Office figures also show there were nine referrals in 2022 of children aged 12 or under which had no overseas element, with the potential or actual forced marriage taking place entirely within the UK.

The Home Office did not give data for the other years, as there were between zero and five cases in each age group, meaning there was the risk of individuals being identified.

The department also declined to provide the age of the youngest person referred to the unit in the last five calendar years, saying this could potentially lead them to be identified and that disclosure ‘could potentially deter others coming forward’.

Separate data published by the Home Office in April covering all age groups showed the number of cases with no overseas element has risen in recent years.

Some 58 cases (14 per cent of the total) had no overseas element in 2025, up from 15 cases (6 per cent) in 2024 and 10 cases in 2023 (4 per cent) – which the Home Office said ‘continues to highlight that forced marriages can and do take place in the UK’.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘There is nothing more important than the safety of our children.

‘Our strengthened keeping children safe in education guidance provides staff with robust information to help identify different types of abuse and harm – including abusive behaviour such as forced marriage – and clearly sets out what all school staff should know and do, and how to respond to any concerns about a child.

‘Our new RSHE (relationships, sex and health education) curriculum will also teach pupils from this September about positive relationships, staying safe, recognising and reporting risks and abuse – with different forms of abuse addressed sensitively and clearly at appropriate ages.’

Rescue teams worked overnight to reach hundreds of people believed to be stuck inside blocked hydropower project tunnels in the aftermath of last week’s flood in Nepal, as terrifying new videos of the disaster have emerged.

The unprecedented deluge of ice, rock, mud and debris on the Nepal-Tibet border on Wednesday – blamed on a glacier collapse – has killed more than 900 people with 4,250 still missing.

Hundreds of bodies, many unidentified, have been buried in shallow graves as they began decomposing in the humid weather in the plains of the Himalayan country after being swept down the mountains by the torrent.

Nepali officials said that the focus was on reaching the hundreds of workers believed to be trapped inside about half a dozen hydropower project tunnels that had been blocked by mud and rock debris.

Pictures and videos shared by rescue teams showed earth-moving equipment digging and shovelling mud and rocks under lights in the dark of the night as workers watched. 

Soldiers used torchlight in a big pit they had created to look for space to get into one tunnel.

Teams had used a pipe to begin ‘sending air through the small opening’, Nepali Home Minister Sudan Gurung said in a statement. 

Rescue workers taking part in a rescue operation near the tunnel of the Trishuli 3A Hydropower Project

Nepali soldier walks inside a tunnel amid rescue operations to free workers believed to be trapped at the scene of the Langtang hydropower project

Nepali soldiers inside a tunnel amid rescue operations to free workers believed to be trapped at the scene of the Langtang hydropower project

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Nepal’s disaster management authority said that 933 people were missing from hydropower projects in the flood-hit region.

At the Upper Trishuli 3A site, rescuers broke through into the upper part of a mud-swamped tunnel, pumping air inside, then using drilling and excavator machines to dig down.

‘When members of the team descended using ropes and called out to those inside, there was no response,’ Prime Minister Balendra Shah said in an update on Sunday night.

The Nepal Army said on Monday morning that work continues to ‘clear water, mud, and sediment from inside the tunnel’.

Specialised Indian, Chinese and South Korean tunnel-rescue teams are also helping.

At another site, Upper Trishuli-1, a Chinese team ‘entered approximately 300 meters (984 feet) into the tunnel and conducted a search, recovering one body’, the Nepali Army said.

At the Chilime Hydro tunnel, where Indian teams are deployed, rescuers entered 100m inside, but then said it was blocked.

‘Farther inside, was buried with mud and soil,’ the statement added. ‘During the operation, two bodies were recovered.’

Nepali expert mountain rescue teams – who regularly aid climbers on the world’s highest peaks, including Everest – are also taking part.

The Nepal Electricity Authority said 11 hydropower stations and one solar power station, with a combined capacity of 431.1 megawatts, had stopped operating, about 10 per cent of the country’s installed electricity generation capacity.

Another 15 power projects under construction, with a planned capacity of 470 megawatts, were damaged.

The Red Cross has estimated that more than 90,000 people are likely to have been affected by the disaster, which China has linked to the effects of climate change.

On Monday, Nepali authorities said 903 people had died, with 4,247 missing, including the 933 at hydropower projects. On the Chinese side, authorities said 16 people were killed in Gyirong County and 546 were missing.

‘A large amount of debris has been deposited and that is posing us a big challenge to open the tunnels,’ Nepal army spokesman Raja Ram Basnet told Reuters. ‘Our main focus is on opening the tunnels.’

Prime Minister Balendra Shah said the flood was an ‘unprecedented and devastating natural disaster’ and it remained challenging to compile a complete assessment of the damage.

‘Despite the adverse weather, difficult terrain and continuing risks, we are moving forward with determination to save the lives of our citizens,’ he said in a Facebook post late on Sunday.

He added that nearly 21,000 security personnel were involved in the rescue operations, besides civilian workers and volunteers.

An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods

Relatives console Muna Khadka, center, who lost her son Aayush Khada, in flash floods

Firefighters and sniffer dogs conduct a search for missing people along a road leading towards Gyirong Port

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Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a visit to Kyrgyzstan, said Beijing is making every effort to search for missing people following the disaster, Xinhua reported on Monday.

Beijing has said 261 foreign nationals from 23 countries were unaccounted for in Tibet, near a key border crossing with Nepal.

China’s state-run CCTV reported Beijing has mobilised more than 2,100 rescue workers and allocated at least 220 million yuan ($33million) to support relief efforts.

China has also been airdropping equipment and supplies to frontline rescuers, while its soldiers used life-detection equipment to look for the missing.

 Although Nepal has said that it does not need foreign help in general rescue and search, it has leaned on giant neighbours India and China for their expertise in tunnel rescue.

Rescue operations have been suspended several times since Friday because of bad weather and concerns that a lake formed across the Nepal-China border by the disaster could trigger fresh flooding after it began overflowing into Nepal’s rivers.

China’s state television CCTV said that another lake formed upstream by a landslide had largely drained as water flowed out naturally.

The landslide occurred 2.8km downstream from the first lake formed by debris of the glacier collapse.

Authorities are now monitoring an impact crater carved out near the site of the glacier collapse on the Nepalese side, which had expanded to 174,000 square metres by Saturday evening, state media said.

The crater had an estimated reservoir of 2.5 million cubic metres, which if breached, could lead to a chain reaction to lakes further downstream, authorities warned.

CCTV said there is risk of further landslides along the river that could create additional lakes, as investigators identified eight high-risk locations for geological disasters.

The flood was ’caused by glacier instability under the long-term effects of global warming’, the state broadcaster reported, saying it was a ‘new and prominent feature of cryosphere disasters’ on the Tibetan plateau.

Two Nepali officials told Reuters that China had not shared much information on glacier risks and water levels following a meeting to strengthen co-operation earlier this year, and they feared that a lack of data sharing could hamper future disaster preparedness. 

Three months before the wall of water, mud and rock killed hundreds when it hurtled down a Himalayan valley bordering Nepal and China, experts and officials from both countries met in Kathmandu to discuss the risk of such disasters.

At the May 27 meeting in Nepal’s capital, ten officials from Nepal and about a dozen from China, including the Tibet region where the disaster struck, discussed strengthening co-operation to monitor and respond to floods, weather and glacier-related hazards, according to an agenda prepared by the Nepali side.

People salvage belongings from their home following flash floods at Devighat in Nepal’s Nuwakot district

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Drone view of people inspecting a damaged house after the deadly flash floods and mudslide

Damaged houses stand precariously near the swollen, debris-choked banks of the Trishuli River

The participants called for joint risk-reduction measures, including inventories of glacial lakes and hazard mapping.

But the Nepali officials told Reuters they did not receive as much information as they wanted from China on glacier risks and water levels after the meeting and they feared insufficient data sharing could hamper their ability to anticipate and prepare for major disasters.

‘What we actually wanted from them, and still want, is if there are early movements of glaciers and early movements around that area, we would want to know a bit early,’ said Sauhardra Joshi, a hydrologist at Nepal’s Flood Forecasting Division, who was in the May meeting.

No officials or experts have blamed either side for the natural disaster, which will cost an estimated tenth of Nepal’s annual economic output to recover from. 

Nepali officials say the priority is to deepen co-operation with China.

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The eastbound A1036 Tower Street away from the city centre is closed this morning (Monday, August 31) after last night’s storm (Image: Kevin Glenton)

This morning, the eastbound A1036 Tower Street coming out of York city centre was closed after the junction with Piccadilly and Fishergate with traffic turning right into Lead Mill Lane, opposite The Postern Gate pub.

City of York Council is advising vehicles travelling east from Tower Street to divert via Piccadilly and Walmgate Bar.

The eastbound A1036 Tower Street away from the city centre is closed this morning (Monday, August 31) after last night’s storm (Image: Kevin Glenton)

A spokesperson for the council said it will provide an update following an inspection of the road.

The Press has contacted City of York Council.

Chelsea McGillivray, 31, from Rutherglen tragically died during childbirth after suffering a sudden cardiac event in labour — baby Tommy survived in what family called a miracle

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A family from Rutherglen in Scotland have been left “heartbroken” after a first-time mother tragically died during childbirth following what had been described as a “textbook” pregnancy.

“Amazing” Chelsea McGillivray, 31, passed away on Monday (August 24) after doctors tried “everything they could” to save her when her heart stopped while she was in labour.

Her family have described it as a “miracle” that Chelsea’s baby Tommy survived after she suffered a sudden unknown cardiac event during labour, with loved ones saying that holding on long enough to save her newborn son was “the last thing she could do for him”.

Long-term partner and Tommy’s father Jack Mitchell, 31, now faces the daunting task of raising their newborn alone, though those close to him say “he’s a natural” at parenthood.

Chelsea’s sister-in-law Lorna McGillivray, 33, described her as the “life and soul of every party”, adding that she had been eagerly anticipating motherhood. She has since launched a GoFundMe page to support Jack and Tommy, which raised nearly £50,000 in just one day.

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Lorna, who is married to Chelsea’s brother Steven, told Glasgow Live: “I’ve never seen a mum that had everything so organised. As soon as she found out she was pregnant it was like she had found her purpose.”, reports Glasgow Live.

“She was the best auntie to my two boys, so I know what kind of mum she would’ve been.”

Chelsea had displayed no signs of any health concerns throughout her pregnancy, according to Lorna, and had been preparing on the hospital ward at the Queen Elizabeth to give birth to baby Tommy when she “crashed suddenly”.

Lorna recalled: “She got to the labour suite at around 8.30am and Tommy was born at 8.39am. So all of this transpired in nine minutes. They [c-] sectioned her and got him out, and then they started CPR. They worked on her for hours, and they had consultants and specialists from all over the Queen Elizabeth and the Jubilee.

“But they just couldn’t get her back. She was here one minute talking away, and not the next.”

Lorna is convinced Chelsea’s body “held on” long enough to deliver her son Tommy in a final act before her death.

She explained: “It’s a miracle that Tommy’s here. I’ve spoken to some doctors and consultants, and this happening alone is extremely rare, but for the baby to survive is even rarer.

“I like to think her body held on long enough just to get him here safely. But obviously she never got to meet him.

“All she wanted was her wee baby, and he’s here and he’s healthy. And that’s the last thing she could do for him.”

Little Tommy was admitted to the NICU before being discharged on Wednesday, a moment Lorna described as “bittersweet”.

The heartbroken sister-in-law revealed the cause of Chelsea’s death remains unconfirmed, saying: “We know her heart stopped but we don’t know why.

“She was completely healthy as far as everyone was concerned.”

Beyond being the “life of the party”, Lorna described “glamourous” Chelsea as a devoted Rangers supporter who loved watching matches at Ibrox, and maintained close bonds with her parents and wider family. She also described Chelsea as having “the most infectious laugh”.

Following her sudden death, Chelsea’s nearest and dearest have “rallied round” her partner Jack to support him as he navigates parenthood on his own.

Lorna said: “He’s obviously grieving, but at the same time trying to learn how to be a dad. But he’s a natural – he won’t say that himself but he is. It’s bittersweet.

“But he’s got a great support around him, and we’re all there for him.

“They planned this for nine months- he knows exactly what Chelsea would’ve wanted.

“He’s strong and he’s really doing her proud.”

Looking ahead to baby Tommy’s future, Lorna added: “None of us will ever let him forget his mummy. She got him here safely, it was the last thing she could do for him.

“He’s our wee miracle and he’s going to be absolutely spoiled rotten.”

To contribute to Lorna’s fundraiser supporting Jack and baby Tommy, click here.