It will utilise the new virtual production facility Studio Ulster in Belfast

A new film production is getting underway across Northern Ireland.

After another bumper year for the Northern Irish film and TV industry in 2025, things are showing no signs of slowing down as a number of big movies and shows are already filming across the country.

The latest production underway is No Way Off, a new survival thriller starring Hamnet and House Of Guiness star David Wilmot, and Outlander’s Andrew Gower and Academy Award-nominee Maria Bakalova (Borat Subsequent Moviefilm).

READ MORE: TV and movie productions set to film in Northern Ireland in 2026READ MORE: Close to Home: House of Guinness stars to reunite for new Channel 4 drama set in Belfast

Sharing a first look image, Northern Ireland Screen said: “Set over the course of one Christmas Eve night, the film follows exhausted single mother Nadya and her young child who fall asleep on the bus home.

“They wake hours later to find themselves abducted by the driver; and as the bus heads into the wilderness, the ride becomes a fight for survival testing everything Nadya has.”

The film is being shot on location in Northern Ireland and at the new virtual production facility Studio Ulster in Belfast.

Filming marks a return to Northern Ireland for actress Maria Bakalova who recently shot American science fiction survival thriller Override alongside Frank Grillo in Belfast.

No Way Off is written by Gaby Hull, and produced by Matthew James Wilkinson of the UK’s Stigma Films, and Jamie Harvey.

Laura Rister is executive producer through her company Esme Grace, which is financing the film alongside Head Gear Films, Northern Ireland Screen, OnSight and Altitude. Head Gear Films packaged the project, with Phil Hunt, Compton Ross and Charlie Kemball as executive producers.

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On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Police said “initial inquiries into these specific allegations have begun” regarding protection officers after concerns from one unnamed officer that some turned a “blind eye” to Andrew’s visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James, in the US Virgin Islands.

The tenth season of Cambridgeshire crime drama Grantchester comes to an end tonight

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The tenth series of Grantchester has been captivating ITV audiences in recent weeks, but it’s due to conclude tonight (Thursday, February 19).

The British crime drama first aired in 2014 and centred on Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers (James Norton), who probed a series of enigmatic misdeeds in his quaint Cambridgeshire village. Sidney embarked on his detective escapades alongside Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green).

Over the years, Geordie has teamed up with several vicars, including Reverend Will Davenport (Tom Brittney), and most recently, Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair).

Geordie and Alphy launched into several new investigations when the show made its return to ITV for its tenth series last month. In addition to cracking cases, there have also been some poignant revelations, including Alphy tearfully reading a letter penned by his mother when she put him up for adoption, reports the Mirror.

READ MORE: Inside ITV Grantchester’s ‘pretty’ filming locations and when season 10 is setREAD MORE: Grantchester fans need to watch ‘triumphant’ period drama hailed as ‘best ever’

These heart-wrenching scenes moved viewers to tears, with one individual posting on X (formerly Twitter): “What another brilliant, heartbreaking and heartwarming episode of #Grantchester. Top performances from all the cast. I’m absolutely broken.”

Another chimed in: “I’m in absolute bits. Absolutely broke me,” whilst others have lauded the cast’s compelling performances.

One viewer praised: “Once again, Robson Green knocking it out of the park tonight,” whilst another commented: “Honestly #Grantchester is up there with the best on TV with great performances. I have no idea why @ITV @itvstudios @masterpiecepbs are ending it.”

Grantchester has captivated audiences each week and will undoubtedly leave a significant void when the final episode broadcasts at 9pm this evening. Ahead of the last series airing next year, ITV executives have revealed what will replace Grantchester in the Thursday evening slot.

The opening instalment of True Crime Presents’ second series, Murder on a Knife’s Edge, is scheduled to commence at 9pm on Thursday, 26 February.

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It will focus on the case of Wayne Coventry, who pursued romance following 18 years with his childhood sweetheart, but the 37-year-old father-of-three became embroiled in a destructive relationship, and was tragically killed in October 2019.

The debut series of True Crime Presents aired last year, delivering compelling and perceptive contributions from victims and witnesses about a series of devastating murders.

The original ten episodes examined numerous harrowing cases, including the deaths of EastEnders actress Gemma McCluskie and 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed.

Since its release, the show has been lauded by fans. One IMDb user commented: “Quite a decent documentary series. Experts and witnesses given an in-depth analysis on five different murders… The stories are all engaging, some you may know quite well, while others may be new to you.”

Murder on a Knife’s Edge: True Crime Presents premieres at 9pm on Thursday, February 26 on ITV1, while Grantchester is available to stream on ITVX

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With Metal Gear Solid 4 finally leaving the PlayStation 3, GameCentral names the other games that should follow suit and get a proper re-release.

During the recent State of Play, Konami announced the long awaited follow up to its Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1. The second volume includes re-releases of PlayStation Portable game Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, the little-known Game Boy Color spin-off Metal Gear: Ghost Babel and, most importantly, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots.

That last one is significant because Metal Gear Solid 4 only ever released for the PlayStation 3, in 2008, and has otherwise been unavailable ever since. As the finale to the entire Metal Gear Solid saga (at least chronologically), fans have demanded a re-release for years and come August, their patience will be rewarded.

But this has us thinking what other PlayStation 3 exclusives could do with a re-release, especially ones from Sony itself, many of which are already in danger of being forgotten.

Sony does have a sizable list of PlayStation 3 games available through its PlayStation Plus service, but only via cloud streaming, which isn’t ideal if you don’t have an optimal internet connection. It also doesn’t include all the games below and is only rarely updated.

God Of War: Ascension

It’s going to be a long time until those God Of War remakes come out and while fans do have Metroidvania prequel Sons Of Sparta to whet their appetites, it’s not exactly a traditional God Of War experience.

A God Of War: Ascension re-release would be a smart follow-up since it’s chronologically the next game after Sons Of Sparta and sets up the original trilogy, with a decently interesting story about Kratos’ attempt to free himself from his bond with god of war Ares, after he was tricked into killing his family.

It’s also just a very solid action game and though its gory violence can be tasteless, it’s one of the best-looking PlayStation 3 games, having launched towards the end of its lifecycle.

inFamous 1 and 2

Sucker Punch is unlikely to ever go back to inFamous when samurai games Ghost Of Tsushima and Ghost Of Yōtei have been far more financially successful, but it wouldn’t hurt to make the original PlayStation 3 games more readily available, alongside the PlayStation 4 sequels.

There are admittedly better superhero games out there, but the first two inFamous games are still enjoyable to play and double as supervillain power fantasies if you’re tired of goody-two-shoes heroes like Spider-Man.

Protagonist Cole McGrath is too much of a boring grump for our liking, although not necessarily any worse than the unfunny and overly enthusiastic Delsin from inFamous: Second Son.

Killzone Trilogy

Guerrilla Games is far too busy pumping out new Horizon games (including the new multiplayer spin-off) to ever revisit Killzone. That only makes it more surprising that only PlayStation 4 entry Shadow Fall and the PlayStation Portable spin-off are on PlayStation Plus.

Re-releasing the Killzone Trilogy compilation from 2012 would prevent the original PlayStation 2 game from being left out. That said, it is the weakest of the bunch and one you could probably skip in favour of its two PlayStation 3 sequels.

Killzone 2 is most fan’s favourite and it’s the only one that has something close to a memorable character, in villain Colonel Radec. The one downside is that any re-releases would obviously lack the online multiplayer.

MotorStorm Apocalypse

If Gran Turismo is like a sophisticated, professional race car driver, who can land sponsorships and cut a winning smile for photo opps, MotorStorm is its grungy cousin, that isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty.

For a series that is now all but forgotten there are an awful lot of entries, with MotorStorm Apocalypse being the best of the bunch. We’d take MotorStorm: RC as well, which launched for the PlayStation Vita and is the best Micro Machines game never made.

At the very least, a MotorStorm re-release would be a nice throwback, since developer Evolution Studios is long gone, having joined Codemasters in 2016, who themselves aren’t in a good place nowadays.

Puppeteer

Even if they weren’t always successful, you could count on Japan Studio to craft some memorable and unique video games, which is why it was so tragic to see Sony gut the studio in 2021.

Of all its PlayStation 3 releases, Puppeteer was one of their best, if only for its phenomenally whimsical puppet show presentation. The combat wasn’t particularly impressive, but it had plenty of interesting gimmicks to make up for it, such as the magic scissors that let you fly as long as you had something to cut through.

It might have fared better if Sony had held it back for the PlayStation 4 (maybe even as a launch title) as it’s arguably the most forgotten, but highest quality, game on this list.

Ratchet & Clank Future trilogy

Considering its status as one of the main PlayStation franchises – one that has lasted since the days of the PlayStation 2 – it’s surprising Sony hasn’t made more of an effort to make the older Ratchet & Clank games readily available, beyond cloud streaming.

When it comes to the first three games, most fans would probably prefer the original PlayStation 2 versions than their PlayStation 3 remasters, but the Future trilogy of games made specifically for the PlayStation 3 still hold up well and, tonally, would be a hit with newer fans who joined the series with Rift Apart.

Playing Tools Of Destruction, Quest For Booty, and A Crack In Time back-to-back would risk being exhausting, given how similarly they look and play, but they have some amusingly unique weapons and solid platforming. New fans would also appreciate the interconnecting storyline, with some plot threads continued in Rift Apart.

Siren: Blood Curse

The tonal opposite of the aforementioned Puppeteer, Japan Studio’s Forbidden Siren series has quite the pedigree, having been directed by Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama long before he set up his own studio and released the far inferior Slitterhead.

Unlike that game, the Forbidden Siren series is pure horror through and through. All three entries are of similar quality so, frankly, all of them deserve a second lease at life, and stand to thrive thanks to how popular survival horror games are at the moment.

Since this is a list about PlayStation 3 games, we must highlight Siren: Blood Curse, which is essentially a reimagining of the original game, but with a reworked story structure and gameplay improvements from the second game.

SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs

SOCOM always seemed like a good fit for Sony’s live service games obsession, given it was a series of tactical shooters and one of the company’s first attempts at running online multiplayer.

The series saw two entries on PlayStation 3, but if one were to come back, it’d have to be SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs as the other – SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Confrontation – was a purely online game and Sony’s not going to establish new servers for a nearly 20-year-old title.

Multiplayer was a big part of SOCOM, but SOCOM 4 at least has an enjoyablesingle-player campaign, that should appeal to those nostalgic for the older Call Of Duty campaigns.

Tokyo Jungle

Although it’s not entirely a first party game, since it was a joint project between Japan Studio and a little-known studio called Crispy’s, Tokyo Jungle is still seen as one of Sony’s cult classics from the PlayStation 3 days.

Its premise is certainly novel, being set in a post-apocalyptic Tokyo devoid of human life. Rather than some grizzled wanderer, you play as a wide variety of different animals – from Pomeranians and chickens to lions and even dinosaurs – and struggle to survive as long as you can.

Tokyo Jungle makes the most of this premise and what it lacks in graphical flair, it makes up for with an entertaining gameplay loop, some interesting survival mechanics, and a tongue-in-cheek tone that keeps it from being too morose.

White Knight Chronicles 1 and 2

We wouldn’t blame you for not remembering this, but Sony really wanted White Knight Chronicles to take off and pushed it hard as one of the PlayStation 3’s big exclusives. Obviously, that didn’t work, but it was still a competently made action role-player with some neat ideas.

Like Tokyo Jungle, this was another Japan Studio joint project, although the main developer was Level-5, better known nowadays as the studio responsible for Professor Layton and the Yokai Watch series.

White Knight Chronicles 2 also did the Mass Effect thing where you could carry over your character from the first game, along with all your money and equipment, creating a welcome sense of continuity. Not only were there two games but also a PSP spin-off, and yet the franchise never made it out of the PlayStation 3 generation.

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The Thursday letters page is unsurprised God Of War: Sons Of Sparta was unremarkable, as one reader is enamoured by fan remakes of Pokémon Red/Blue.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Console apocalypse
So, um… all this stuff about memory and electronic components getting bought up by AI companies seems pretty bad, right? Like, really, really, bad? This guy talking about potentially a decade of problems presumably knows what he’s talking about, given his position, and that is going to be a nightmare for gaming. Never mind smartphones and everything else.

Do we even know if Sony and Nintendo are safe? They’re not gigantic companies like Microsoft and electronics is pretty much all they do beyond games. Maybe all three will go third party at the same time! I’m not really sure what companies he’s hinting at that could go under, as I’m not sure who counts as a smaller business, but it’s clearly not good news, no matter what happens.

There’s so much going wrong with the games industry, and the world in general, at the moment and yet it seems like it could still get much worse and very quickly. In the worse case scenario you’re talking about consoles, and gaming PCs, being impossible to manufacture for several years.

Whether that would last for a whole decade I don’t know but that’s an industry ending problem. I hope you’re all into retro games, because that might be all we have soon!
Oz

Monkey paw
So I guess one of the big victims of these memory shortage problems is going to be all those PC handheld gaming devices from companies I’ve never heard of. If even Steam Deck has only sold a few million I hate to think what some of these others are pushing. Even the Xbox Ally one, which I have literally not heard mentioned again even once since it came out.

That’s going to affect the rumoured Xbox portable and the PlayStation one too, to the point where they might just cancel them completely, because I imagine they involve a lot of custom chips – even more than if it was just a home console.

I’m sure no one but them knows the full details but this is all very bad news and yet… if you didn’t want there to be a next generation so soon your prayers have been answered. But you know the problem with being careful what you wish for, since now the PlayStation 6 might not arrive until 2036!
Korbie

Next in line
Like a lot of readers I’m looking forward to hearing abut the third Final Fantasy 7 remake game but I’m also wondering what might get the remake treatment after that is all finished up with. Do they even consider Final Fantasy 7 Remake to be a success is the first big question and I’m not sure what the answer is, other than there’s a good chance it might be ‘not really’.

They definitely seemed to have cooled on the idea of a Final Fantasy 9 remake, as there were rumours like crazy around that for a while. That was only meant to be a lower budget remake too, so that might be an indication they’ve already had it with triple-A remakes.

For me the obvious choices for Final Fantasy are 6 or 10, although personally I’d prefer 12. Final Fantasy 6 would require a completely new game, so I don’t think that will get the treatment. 10 is going to be a big job too, so I’m not honestly sure any of them will get remakes.

I’d love Chrono Trigger, but I think that’s the same problem as Final Fantasy 6, and so I think maybe the most likely is Kingdom Hearts, especially with a new game coming up to promote. Or maybe the answer is none of them. If a big budget Final Fantasy 7 remake only sells okay, what chance does anything else have?
Ochreblue

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Fan suggestion
I agree that this year is Game Freak’s big chance to turn around Pokémon in terms of the quality of the games and the technology behind them. I don’t know how likely it is, but if they don’t try this time I’m not sure they ever will.

Although most people imagine some kind of amazing high-tech open world I prefer the idea of something closer to the HD-2D style, that’s a mix between modern and retro graphics. There have been a lot of fan mock-ups with this idea over the years and while I don’t think any of them are perfect I’d rather go with something like this but keep it more of a top-down view.

Unless Nintendo is going to spend GTA 6 style money on it I don’t think there’s any point making Pokémon 3D. It’s got to be stylised and it’s got to be more like the wonder of the original Game Boy games. We might get that for a future remake but I’m afraid the next mainline game will just be another low-tech, janky knock-off.
Taylor Moon

You can dig it
Great Reader’s Feature about A Game About Digging a Hole at the weekend. I instinctively knew I would get some form of enjoyment out of it. Digging, collecting ore, selling it, upgrading equipment, and digging deeper? Absolutely all over it for £3.64.

Spaced out on Tramadol for a back issue last night, played for over two hours and it was an almost religious experience. Well not quite, but highly recommended to all other readers, especially for the price.
Whiskeyjack11

Fighting multiverse
RE: Lee Dappa. The closest you’ll get to playing all versions of Street Fighter 2 in one place, as one game, is not on the 30th anniversary collection of Street Fighter 2 but actually on the 35th anniversary collection labelled as Capcom Fighting Collection.

This release features Hyper Street Fighter 2: The Anniversary Edition. You can choose fighters from all versions of the Street Fighter 2 editions in one package.

Choosing World Warrior Ken from the original will give him extra strength, no super move, and he will be a palette swap of Ryu. Choosing Ken from Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Hyper Fighting will give him his longer range dragon uppercut and air whirlwind kick and still no super move.

Choosing Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s Ken will give him his flaming dragon punch but less damage, and thus more reliant on combos. But he will have his super move to use and the power bar for it at the bottom of the screen. This would apply to all characters across the games so you can have World Warrior E. Honda vs. Street Fighter 2 Turbo’s version of Blanka, for instance.
Nick The Greek

Online ban
I always wondered why companies don’t just lock a game out until the day it’s released, to avoid all these leaks you always get. It’s literally every game but they never seem to care. But surely it could just work like pre-loading, where you have the game but you’re not allowed to start playing it until the right time.

I guess you could buy the disc and then purposefully keep the console offline, and get around it that way, but who wants that much trouble? And besides, most games don’t seem to work without a day one patch anyway. At the very least a timer would cut the problem down, but the companies don’t even seem to try.
Flint

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What it looks like
I know they say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but God Of War: Sons Of Sparta was an out of the blue shadow drop, it had what looked like terrible graphics, and it immediately looked inferior to about a 100 other Metroidvanias you could get instead. And as a bonus it was by some developer I’d never heard of, who’s biggest game was a Five Nights At Freddy’s spin-off.

I feel you have to be very optimistic given all that, to the point where I could probably sell you some magic beans. It’s not a question of whether it’s rubbish or not but if you want to spend a fair amount of money and a lot of time beating it, and I definitely don’t want to. Talk is cheap but time is not and at the moment I haven’t time for 10/10 blockbusters, let alone deeply average Metroidvanias.

I feel there’s plenty of interesting things an indie dev could’ve done with a low budget God Of War game and a 2D Metroidvania with Young Kratos seems like the absolute least exciting option. You could’ve had a game where you played as one of the Valkyries, you could have had a literal god game where you’re populating Midgar with humans, you could’ve had an archery thing with Arteus, heck you could’ve had a sledding simulator and it still would’ve been more interesting that what we got.

I know it was the safe option, but when the best option was probably not making a spin-off at all there’s no point going for the boring and obvious choice.
Campbell

Inbox also-rans
So Highguard has outlasted Concord, but by the sound of it it’ll be lucky see the weekend, so it’s really only going to beat it by a matter of days.
Goops

I really hate that Microsoft switched the buttons round on their controller compared to Nintendo’s. Why do so silly a thing and make it so difficult to switch (no pun intended) between the two consoles. I can never remember which is which way round.
Mobert

GC: They were copying Sega, who they were very cosy with in the initial years of the Xbox.

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The annual event is designed to show support to patients, families, and the paediatric team

The halls of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children were filled with appreciation, treats, and gratitude this Valentine’s Day as a “love train” made its way through the wards.

It was part of the annual ‘Hearts Across the Hospital’ event hosted by charity Little Heroes on February 13. Designed to show patients, families, and the paediatric team the immense support of the local community, the event delivered joy and much-needed recharge moments to those on the front line.

A “love train” made its way through the paediatric wards, bringing smiles to patients and staff alike, as the team handed out toys, teddies, and 500 “prescriptions of appreciation” – special gift bags filled with treats to mark the day.

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The hospital was buzzing with activity, including a recharge station pop-up hosted by Neighbourhood Cafe, offering a dedicated space for staff and parents to take a breather with a coffee or tea.

To encourage everyone to share the love, an appreciation station was set up, inviting everyone in the hospital to write personal notes of thanks and encouragement to one another.

Attendees were treated to a mini pancake station from The Waffle Bar and a custom cake bar provided by Bellatorta NI, while singer Karen Maisie Mullan provided a beautiful acoustic backdrop to the day’s celebrations.

Wellness and relaxation were also a priority, with Yumi Ash from Nagomi Wellness providing hand massages and Gerard from Balanced Living offering Reiki sessions, both of whom generously donated their time to support the well-being of parents and staff.

Aoife Hunter, head of marketing and communications for Little Heroes, said: “We wanted to show the paediatric team, the parents, and the families exactly how much the community stands behind them.

“From the ‘Love Train’ on the wards to the singers and the pancake bar, the energy was incredible. We are so grateful to our partners—from those providing the logistics like Agnew Leasing to those providing the treats like Tayto and Musgrave—for helping us show this appreciation in such a unique and meaningful way.”

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The final episode of Grantchester’s tenth season is set to air tonight, with another show set to replace it.

The tenth season of Grantchester has been delighting ITV viewers over recent weeks, but it’s set to come to an end tonight (Thursday, February 19).

The British crime drama was first broadcast in 2014 and followed Anglican vicar Sidney Chambers (James Norton), who investigated a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small Cambridgeshire village. Sidney undertook his sleuthing adventures alongside Detective Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green).

Geordie has partnered with several vicars over the years, including Reverend Will Davenport (Tom Brittney), and most recently, Alphy Kottaram (Rishi Nair).

Geordie and Alphy embarked on several new investigations when the show returned to ITV for its tenth season last month. As well as solving cases, there have also been some emotional revelations, including Alphy tearfully reading a letter written by his mother when she gave him up for adoption.

The heartbreaking scenes left viewers in tears, with one person writing on X (formerly Twitter): “What another brilliant, heartbreaking and heartwarming episode of #Grantchester. Top performances from all the cast. I’m absolutely broken.”

Another added: “I’m in absolute bits. Absolutely broke me,” while others have praised the cast’s compelling performances.

“Once again, Robson Green knocking it out of the park tonight,” one person wrote, with another adding: “Honestly #Grantchester is up there with the best on TV with great performances. I have no idea why @ITV @itvstudios @masterpiecepbs are ending it.”

Grantchester has had viewers gripped every week and will likely leave a gaping hole when the last episode airs at 9pm tonight. Ahead of the final season airing sometime next year, ITV bosses have confirmed what will takeover from Grantchester on Thursday nights.

The first episode of True Crime Presents’ second season, Murder on a Knife’s Edge, is set to begin at 9pm on Thursday, February 26.

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It will centre around the case of Wayne Coventry, who sought love after 18 years with his childhood sweetheart, but the 37-year-old father-of-three was involved in a toxic relationship, and was sadly murdered in October 2019.

The first series of True Crime Presents aired last year, offering thought provoking and insightful input from victims and witnesses on a series of shocking murders.

The initial ten episodes explored several heartbreaking cases, including the death of EastEnders star Gemma McCluskie and 17-year-old Shafilea Ahmed.

Fans have praised the show since its release, with one IMDb user writing: “Quite a decent documentary series. Experts and witnesses given an in-depth analysis on five different murders… The stories are all engaging, some you may know quite well, while others may be new to you.”

Murder on a Knife’s Edge: True Crime Presents premieres at 9pm on Thursday, February 26 on ITV1, while Grantchester is available to stream on ITVX

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The Met Office has issued a yellow level warning for snow across several parts of the United Kingdom

National Highways has shut a busy road in the Peak District as adverse weather is expected overnight.

The A628 Woodhead Pass is closed in both directions between the A616 (Flouch) and the A57 (Hollingworth) late on Wednesday, February 18 and into Thursday, February 19. National Highways said the closure is a result if forecasted adverse weather conditions overnight.

The busy route links Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire.

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National Highways has advised road users to use the M60, M62 and M1 as alternative routes.

“Road users are also advised to allow extra time for their journey. Plan ahead, you may wish to re-route or even delay your journey,” National Highways said.

The Met Office has issued a “yellow” level snow warning for both Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire on Wednesday and into Thursday. Several other areas across the United Kingdom are also under the warning.

Between two to five centimetres of snow could accumulate quite widely above 150 to 200 metres, the forecaster said. Between 10 to 15 centimetres is possible in parts above 250 to 300 metres in mid and southeast Wales, as well as Herefordshire, Shropshire and the southern Pennines.

The Met Office said some small accumulations of snow, typically less than two centimetres, are possible to lower elevations. This is most likely from later Wednesday evening into the early hours of Thursday morning.

I compared sirloin steaks from seven supermarkets and was shocked by the difference in quality, price and flavour.

Steak is a real treat in our household, reserved only for special occasions and celebrations.

In the run-up to Valentine’s Day, I decided to purchase sirloin steaks from seven supermarkets to see if they all measured up equally.

I bought individual steaks from Asda, Tesco, M&S, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons and I was surprised by the variation in quality, price, size and taste, reports Birmingham Live.

I asked my family to help me sample the steaks and here’s what we discovered.

Tesco

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Tesco Sirloin Steak costs £6.50 for 227g, which works out to £28.63 per kilo.

It was 21-day matured British beef, had the Red Tractor logo for certified standards and was described as a ‘tender prime cut matured for extra flavour’.

Per 100g, it contained 21.6g of protein, had a 12-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This appeared to be very red with a good marbling of fat running through it when it was raw in the packet.

However, once it was cooked, the texture was quite fatty and it was very chewy. We gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Morrisons

Morrisons Sirloin Steak costs £7 for 227g, which works out to £30.84 per kilo.

Twenty-one day matured British beef, it also had the Red Tractor logo.

Per 100g, it contained 21.6g of protein, had a 16-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This looked like a big chunky steak in the brown cardboard packaging.

It had the least amount of fat along the length and none of the end. In fact, it appeared somewhat processed compared to the others, as it was a very smooth cut and there wasn’t much visible marbling of fat and very little blood once opened.

Upon cooking, it was chewy and a bit dry, it needed mustard to make it enjoyable. We gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Sainsbury’s

Sainsbury’s Sirloin Steak costs £6.50 for 225g, which works out to £28.89 per kilo.

I couldn’t spot the Red Tractor logo on this one, just the union flag to show it was slaughtered in Great Britain, but it said it was ‘expertly matured for 21 days for tenderness and reared by our trusted farmers. ‘.

It had a 12-day shelf life and was freezable.

Per 100g, it contained 27.6g of protein, had a 16-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This one appeared to have a large chunk of fat on the end and all along the rim. It meant we had to trim a fair bit off once it was cooked.

However, the steak that remained was succulent, tender and bursting with flavour. We gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Lidl

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Lidl Sirloin Steak costs £5.49 for 195g, which works out to £28.15 per kilo.

Again, 21-day matured British beef, it had the Red Tractor logo.

Per 100g, it contained 23.5g of protein, had a 12-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This was the bloodiest of all the steaks upon opening the plastic packaging.

To me, it appeared the most appetising when raw but I suppose that depends on how you like your steak. There was a narrow strip of fat running along the length and at the end with excellent marbling throughout.

And it didn’t disappoint. It was packed with flavour and so delicious, it would have been a sin to add mustard.

We gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

Aldi

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Aldi’s Ashfields Sirloin Steak costs £5.49 for 195g, which works out to £28.15 per kilo.

It was 21-day matured British beef and had the Red Tractor logo and was said to be reared on ‘trusted British farms to assured welfare standards’.

Per 100g, it contained 23.5g of protein, had a 14-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This was the most vibrant red of all the steaks once the white cardboard packaging was opened.

It appeared the most succulent too with a modest amount of fat along the length and the end and really excellent marbling throughout.

And it tasted as impressive as it looked – tender, juicy and bursting with flavour. We gave it 5 out of 5 stars.

M&S

MandS Sirloin Steak costs £7.75 for 227g, which works out to £34.14 per kilo.

It was 21-day matured British beef and didn’t have the Red Tractor logo but said ‘MandS is the only national retailer who can trace all our beef back to every farm and animal. Always British’.

Per 100g, it contained 21.6g of protein, had a 13-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This appeared like a substantial chunky steak in plastic, recyclable packaging.

It had a strip of fat along the top and a portion of fat at the end. Compared to the others, this piece of meat appeared pale and there wasn’t much blood upon opening.

Once cooked, it was tender, not at all sinewy or chewy, but it wasn’t as flavoursome as some of the others. We gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Asda

Asda Sirloin Steak costs £6.97 for 227g, although it says it costs £6.64 online, which works out to £29.25 per kilo.

Described as ‘hand selected and matured for 21 days, a flavourful and tender cut’, this was British beef and carried the Red Tractor logo.

Per 100g, it contained 24g of protein, had a 10-day shelf life and was suitable for freezing.

This steak appeared nicely marbled with fat when raw and it was tender and flavoursome once cooked.

There was however a large chunk of meat that was inedible because it was just fat, which was somewhat disappointing as the rest tasted good. We gave it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Overall verdict

The steak with the highest protein content was the one from Sainsbury’s, which stated on the label ‘healthy choice, high in protein’ but it wasn’t the tastiest.

The priciest was M&S followed by Morrisons but, again, they weren’t our favourites.

For us, the best by far were the Aldi and Lidl sirloin steaks – and they were the cheapest per kilo too.

The Lidl one was slightly more flavoursome so that was probably the best overall but we’d definitely purchase either of them again.

Plans have been approved by Huntingdonshire District Council to turn an old water tower into a four-bedroom home.

A “redundant” water tower on the edge of a Cambridgeshire village is set to be converted into a family home.

Huntingdonshire District Council has granted planning permission for the Perry Water Tower, in Crow Spinney Lane, Perry, to be turned into a four-bedroom home.

Timothy Matthews, who submitted the application, said he and his wife Lydia Dearden want to turn the old water tower into their new home.

He said: “We are hoping to convert the redundant water tower to become our family home. We are both retired and want to create our new shared family home in Perry.

“The water tower has been redundant for several years and has not been maintained by the previous owner who purchased the property from Anglian Water approximately three years ago.

“We believe the [proposed] design is of high quality and will enhance the street scene, specifically we have not increased the height and we have not included any windows on the elevations that overlook our three neighbours to ensure their privacy and avoid any light pollution.”

The plans proposed to create four-bedrooms, as well as building a single-storey extension to the back, and the creation of a standalone double garage.

The floorplans submitted to the district council show how rooms are proposed to be created within the old water tower, with main rooms in the centre of each floor, and smaller rooms around the edge.

Two balconies are also proposed to be created on the first floor of the water tower. The plans also show how a spiral staircase and a lift are proposed to be installed.

A planning officer at the district council who considered the application said the current water tower is a “stark concrete structure”.

They said the materials proposed to be used as part of the conversion would be acceptable and that the “scale, bulk and design of the development would not harm the general character of the area”.

The district council granted planning permission for the work subject to conditions, including that work must start within three years.

For more planning notices in your area visit publicnoticeportal.uk .