Mike Land has completed numerous stunts including a world record attempt for pulling a 1.5 tonne van for 24 hours

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A man who woke up in a full body cast after falling 40ft after his bungee snapped has continued to take part in extreme stunts, giving the reason “what’s the worst that can happen?”

Mike Land, 55, has completed numerous stunts including half and full marathons, cross-country cycling races, and a world record attempt for pulling a 1.5 tonne van for 24 hours. All of these have raised tens of thousands of pounds for charitable causes as reported by Manchester Evening News.

His next challenge is taking part in the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton bike ride for the second time. Going back years however, it was March 1993 when then 22-year-old Mike decided to take part in a charity bungee jump held near his home in Swindon.

His friends signed him up for the jump from a 170ft crane because, he said: “out of the group of us, I was the only one that was stupid enough to do anything”.

When his name was called and he was strapped into his harness at the top of the crane, Mike said he asked the instructor for “the scariest option available”.

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Mike said: “He said, what we’ll do is I’ll hold your harness, and you lean out of the crane on your tiptoes, and then I’ll push you so you don’t have to jump, you’ll go out backwards. And he said: If you swan dive backwards, you won’t see any ground until it comes into view.”

Memories from that day include the instructor counting down from five before pushing him from the crane. Based on accounts from onlookers, Mike later learned that “at the full stretch, the rope snapped out of the crane”.

“But the momentum was still carrying me back up… so I was floating up as my rope was getting whipped to the floor, and people said time stopped still,” he said.

Mike fell nearly 40ft to the ground, landing on his head and neck. He recounts: “I dropped to the floor, hit the ground. The rope luckily missed me, because it could have taken my arm off. And I woke up in Princess Margaret Hospital in Swindon.”

Mike remembers waking up in a full body cast and being X-rayed, as doctors believed he could have broken his back and his neck, among other serious injuries. He remained in traction, an orthopaedic treatment where weights and pulleys are used to immobilise injuries, for three days.

However he was told that “somehow, luckily”, all he had was a hairline fracture on the right side of his pelvis, damaged ribs on his left side, and a gash on his chin. He recalls being examined at an Army medical centre, and being told that “because you were so relaxed, not understanding what was happening, you just bounced and flexed”.

“He said, if you had tensed up and were screaming, you could have done a lot of damage.”

After being discharged, he had to use crutches for a few months, but was otherwise unharmed from his catastrophic fall. He has suffered some amnesia, losing memories of his school days and childhood and enduring short-term memory loss for around a month after the incident.

“The 10-year school anniversary came round, and everybody was like: Mike, do you remember me? And I’d be saying I do remember some faces, but I can’t remember anything we did. I can’t remember going to school, I can’t remember trips, I can’t remember parties and all sorts,” he explained.

“They would give me little stories and say: ‘Mike, you do realise you’ve always done stupid things – we jumped off a railway bridge into the Trent and all that kind of stuff’.

“So I said: ‘Well, okay then, that says it all really, I was always stupid!’”

During his recovery from his accident, Mike noticed he’d gained some weight from being less mobile, so he decided to begin working out to shed some pounds.

In his friend’s garage gym, he would follow VHS workout videos and started getting fitter. Then, one day, a colleague asked if he fancied doing the Stroud Half Marathon.

“I thought, well, yeah, I’ve never run a half marathon before,” he said. “It took me forever,” he added of the race itself.

“They were closing up by the time I got in.” Mike decided he’d like to get better at running, so joined a local run club and “got the bug”.

“I ended up doing a 10k after a couple of months, and then I did two half marathons two months later, and a cross-country marathon within six months of joining the club. Now, it’s 40 half marathons later, nine marathons, I’ve done Ride London, London Classics (which recognises those who have completed the London Marathon, the RideLondon 100 and the two-mile event at Swim Serpentine), Tough Mudder… You just get hooked, don’t you?”

Aside from working in a gym and helping others reach their fitness goals, Mike continues to race, and has done several races in costume, including the Great North Run and the Berlin Marathon dressed as Captain America. In 2025, he attempted to break the Guinness World Record for pulling a van to raise money for Wiltshire Air Ambulance.

He pulled a 1.5 tonne van, unassisted, around an empty warehouse for 24 hours for the record attempt, covering 27 miles total and raising over £17,000 for the charity. However, he fell short of the Guinness World Record for the farthest distance pulling a vehicle in 24 hours by an individual, which is 32 miles.

This year, Mike is taking on the British Heart Foundation’s London to Brighton bike ride for the second time, a 54-mile ride from Clapham Common to Brighton Seafront that covers the gorgeous countryside south of the capital and some gruelling hill climbs. He hopes to add to his growing fundraising total for various charities through his physical challenges as, he said, with “any charity, charity people are so amazing. So yeah, why not?”

Grace Howarth, event lead at the British Heart Foundation said: “Whatever the reason, the money raised by our London to Brighton Bike Ride goes into helping fund the next medical breakthroughs for the 7.6 million people in the UK currently living with heart and circulatory conditions and brings us closer to our vision of a world where everyone has a healthier heart for longer.

“We wish Mike and all our riders the best of luck for the day.” While his list of challenges is ever-growing, there’s one in particular that he’d like to tick off in 2026 – jumping out of an aeroplane.

Even after all he’s been through, he’s not deterred by the prospect of skydiving. “What’s the worst that can happen?”, he smiled.

Mike is taking part in the London to Brighton Bike Ride in June to raise money for British Heart Foundation.

Visit www.bhf.org.uk/l2b to sign up.

Wilby was caught with items like meat and desserts

A man who stole hundreds of pounds of items including meat from a Peterborough shop has been jailed. Edward Wilby, 36, went to a branch of M&S at the BP garage off Bretton Way seven times from January 27 to February 16.

Each time, he stole items from the shop by putting them in a bag and walking out without paying. On February 17, he went to Aldi in Flaxland, Bretton, where he stole meat worth hundreds of pounds.

With effective communication between stores via Disc, the police were able to arrest Wilby. Disc is an information sharing platform from Peterborough Positive, the city’s Business Improvement District.

Wilby was found by the Spree Offender Team carrying some of the stolen meat. Wilby, of no known address, admitted to eight counts of theft from a shop.

At Peterborough Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, February 18, he was jailed for six months. He was also ordered to pay £549.70 in compensation.

PC Rebecca Risebrow, from the Spree Offender Team, said: “Wilby persistently stole from the same shop, taking hundreds of pounds worth of stock.

“He simply strolled in, filled a bag with what he wanted and walked out again.

“This kind of behaviour is incredibly frustrating for retail staff. We’re working closely with businesses to identify offenders and bring them before the courts.”

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Ms Campbell KC questioned the officer on the use of CCTV in the missing person investigation, including the need for immediate trawls for footage, seizing key images quickly, how this material  fitted in with other lines of inquiry and ensuring that the timings on the material was accurate.

Manchester United are out to tighten their grip on a top four spot away to Everton this evening.

Michael Carrick’s winning run came to an end last time out against West Ham United with Benjamin Sesko rescuing a dramatic draw in east London.

United have had 13 days without a game since and face a stern examination tonight at the Hill Dickson Stadium having lost to a 10-man Toffees in the reverse fixture in November.

David Moyes’ side are flying high in eighth place but haven’t registered a home win since 6 December.

Metro’s LIVE matchday blog will bring you all the build-up, confirmed team news and starting XIs, goal updates and minute-by-minute coverage.

MORE: Jamie Carragher admits he was wrong about Arsenal signing after Tottenham win

MORE: Liverpool told to sign £58m Chelsea flop to replace Mohamed Salah

MORE: Michael Carrick pinpoints important decision Man Utd must get right this summer

Duke’s win against Michigan has propelled the Blue Devils to a familiar perch: No. 1 in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll.

The Blue Devils climbed two spots to top Monday’s poll, marking the 148th appearance at No. 1 to add to what was already the record for any program. Duke (25-2) claimed 56 of 61 first-place votes to supplant Michigan (25-2) after Saturday’s 68-63 win against the Wolverines in Washington.

That win came in a matchup of the top two teams in the NCAA men’s selection committee’s preliminary top 16 seeds for March Madness, released hours before the game. The Blue Devils enter this week with a national-best 12 Quadrant 1 wins, along with nine wins against AP Top 25 teams.

And now the latest such win has pushed the Blue Devils back to a No. 1 ranking for the second straight season under fourth-year coach Jon Scheyer. Last year’s Final Four team sat atop the last two polls entering the NCAA Tournament, the first time Duke had reached No. 1 since Scheyer took over for retired Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski in 2022.

Arizona rose two spots to No. 2 after beating BYU and winning at Houston, and secured the other five first-place votes. Michigan fell to No. 3 as its first appearance at No. 1 since January 2013 turned into a one-week stay, followed by a pair of Big 12 teams in Iowa State and Houston.

The top tier

UConn fell one spot to No. 6 after a week that included a home loss to Creighton, while reigning national champion Florida leapt five spots to No. 7 to return to the top 10 for the first time since late November. The Gators were ranked No. 3 in the preseason and spent a week among the unranked in early January. They have won seven straight and 12 of 13.

Purdue, Gonzaga and Illinois rounded out the top 10.

NCAA selection committee vs. AP Top 25

The selection committee had Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Iowa State as the No. 1 seeds in Saturday’s reveal of the preliminary top 16 seeds. The Cyclones edged UConn and Houston for the fourth 1-seed, with the Huskies’ loss to Creighton and then Iowa State’s head-to-head win against Houston to start last week swinging the vote to T.J. Otzelberger’s squad.

Monday’s poll largely aligns with the committee’s reveal, starting with the same four teams at the top in a shuffled order — with Iowa State moving up two spots even after Saturday’s loss at now-No. 19 BYU.

In addition, the AP Top 25 and committee align on 15 teams being ranked among those top 16 seeds. The outlier is St. John’s at No. 15 in the AP poll, taking a slot that went to Vanderbilt — with the Commodores seeded 15th overall by the committee Saturday but sliding to No. 25 in Monday’s poll.

Rising

Alabama had the week’s biggest jump, rising eight spots to No. 17 after a thrilling double-overtime home win against Arkansas and a win at LSU pushed the Crimson Tide’s win streak to six games.

Florida had the week’s second-biggest gain, while BYU rose four spots after the Arizona loss and Iowa State win.

In all, 11 teams moved up from last week’s ranking.

Sliding

No. 14 Kansas joined Vanderbilt with the week’s biggest slide of six spots. The Jayhawks are coming off a 16-point home loss to a Cincinnati team that was reeling in early February but has won four straight.

The Commodores lost at Missouri and at home to Tennessee last week, falling to 5-6 since a 16-0 start that carried them to a No. 10 ranking as of mid-January.

Saint Louis tumbled five spots to No. 23 after last week’s loss at Rhode Island ended an 18-game winning streak, while 11 teams fell from last week but remained in the poll.

Status quo

Illinois and No. 20 Arkansas were the only two teams to hold their position from last week.

Coming and going

Tennessee was the lone new addition at No. 22, with the Volunteers beating Oklahoma and Vanderbilt last week to push its winning streak to four games. This starts a third stint in the poll for Rick Barnes’ Volunteers, who fell out for two weeks in mid-January, returned for a week at No. 25 to start February, then were unranked again for the past two weeks.

The Vols replaced Wisconsin, which fell out from No. 24 after last week’s loss at Ohio State.

Conference watch

The Big 12 led all conferences with six ranked teams, while the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference each had five. The Atlantic Coast Conference was next with four, followed by the Big East with two.

The West Coast Conference, Mid-American Conference and Atlantic 10 each had one ranked team.

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Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Lord Peter Mandelson has been arrested after the former Labour minister was accused of leaking Downing Street emails to paedeophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while he was business secretary.

The peer was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, said the Metropolitan Police, after officers attended his home in London on Monday afternoon. The 72-year-old was taken toa London police station for questioning, the force added.

The former US ambassador is alleged to have passed on market-sensitive information to Epstein when he was business secretary.

As part of the so-called Epstein files published by the United States Department of Justice, emails from 2009 appear to show Lord Mandelson sent on an assessment by Gordon Brown’s adviser of potential policy measures including an “asset sales plan”.

He also appeared to discuss a tax on bankers’ bonuses and confirm an imminent bailout package for the euro the day before it was announced in 2010.

The arrest comes after police searched two of Lord Mandelson’s properties in connection with the allegations.

In a statement confirming the arrest, the Met said: “Officers have arrested a 72-year-old man on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

“He was arrested at an address in Camden on Monday, 23 February and has been taken to a London police station for interview.

“This follows search warrants at two addresses in the Wiltshire and Camden areas.”

Just minutes before confirmation of Lord Mandelson’s arrest, MPs were told the first tranche of documents related to Lord Peter Mandelson’s appointment as US ambassador is expected to be released “very shortly in early March”.

However, the publication of some correspondence between Downing Street and the peer will be delayed “because of the Metropolitan Police interest”, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said.

Sir Keir Starmer has faced considerable criticism over his decision to appoint Lord Mandelson to the position despite his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

In a statement to the Commons on Monday, Mr Jones said: “The Government intends to publish documents in tranches instead of one publication at the end of the process, given that we are unable to confirm how long that process will take.

“On that basis, the Government expects to be able to publish the first tranche of documents very shortly in early March.

“I should, however, inform the House that it remains the case that a subset of this first tranche of documents is currently subject to the ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation.

“This includes correspondence between number 10 and Lord Peter Mandelson, in which a number of follow up questions were asked.

“Because of the Metropolitan Police interest in this document, we are unable to publish it in early March in the first tranche, but will release it as soon as we are able to do so in consultation with the Metropolitan Police.

“There is also a small portion of that material which engages matters of national security or international relations, and thus the role this House has envisaged for the Intelligence and Security Committee, we are working with the committee to establish processes for making this material available to them, and we’re very grateful to the committee in advance of their important contribution to reviewing these documents.”

The Conservatives accused the Government of acting “with the urgency of a tired sloth on a bank holiday Monday” in releasing documents related to Lord Mandelson’s appointment as the US ambassador.

Addressing the Commons on Monday, Mike Wood said: “Careful work must not become a euphemism for managed delay.

“It is time the Government stopped treating Parliament like an inconvenient interruption to their schedule, stopped giving every impression that they have priorities working out who’s back to cover, and started providing some actual answers so that we can start to get to the bottom of this murky matter.”

Mr Jones responded that the Government was trying to manage a criminal investigation, and “I’m sure the House would not want us to inadvertently interfere with that process”.

Heading to a park is an easy and cost-effective way of keeping the whole family happy

As the weather starts to improve, you might want to try and get your family outside and enjoying the fresh air. Going to a playground or park is an easy and cheap way to keep your children occupied when the weather is nice.

Cambridgeshire has plenty of green spaces and parks that are worth visiting throughout the spring and summer whether you are looking for somewhere to take a nice walk or for the kids to run around in. From large themed playgrounds to places with paddling pools perfect for children to cool down in, there are many reasons why a park might be your family’s favourite to spend a day together.

It might just be the quality of the facilities or the onsite café that keep you coming back to a park. If there is a park or playground that stands out to you, we want to know about it.

CambridgeshireLive is asking you to tell us what the best park in Cambridgeshire is. You can nominate your favourite place to go to get your children to let off some steam through our survey below.

If the survey does not appear for you, you can open it in another tab.

According to Gibson, some mattresses are better for managing back pain than others. “The main thing is to get roughly medium-firm support, which is best for lower back pain sufferers because it keeps the back in neutral alignment,” he says. “Keeping the spine, neck and mid-back aligned theoretically means your muscles are going to relax.”

Soft mattresses, he warns, may worsen the pain by allowing the spine to dip out of alignment. At the right firmness, both pocket sprung and memory foam mattresses can be effective. “What you really need is good support from springs or foam, and which type you choose is a personal preference,” says Gibson.

Cushioning at pressure points such as the shoulder and hips are also important, especially for those with discomfort in these areas. Finally, Gibson advises against sleeping on your front as it often makes lower back pain worse.

Consult our guide on how to choose a mattress for more tips.

Reform will face down any “progressive outrage” from protesters opposing the party’s plans for mass deportations, the party’s home affairs spokesperson has said when asked whether the party was prepared for US-style standoffs.

Zia Yusuf, speaking at a press conference in Dover where he joined Nigel Farage to unveil a new draconian immigration policy, which has been denied that his plans for a Deportation Command were the same as Donald Trump’s ICE but warned “we will never flinch” in the face of unrest.

He suggested that there would not be similar violence as has been seen on the streets of Minnesota where ICE agents have clashed with and killed protesters, because “policing is done by consent” in the UK.

However, asked about sanctuary cities such as Cardiff and Sheffield which protect asylum seekers from deportation in the UK, Mr Yusuf suggested that he would be prepared to confront protesters and authorities there.

Responding to a question from The Independent, he said: “If your question is, ‘do we have the resolve to stand up to progressive outrage against perfectly different enforcement of the law in this country?’ Then the answer is, we will never flinch.”

Under a Reform government, the party would set up the unit to “track down, detain and deport” people in the country illegally, aiming for up to 288,000 people each year.

He said: “So you know this notion that we’re going to have the same issues that come sharply into focus internationally as a result of Trump’s Ice programme – it’s just not true, we would not expect UK Deportation Command to carry weapons. It’s not going to be the case.

“But I also want to be clear that if you’re in this country illegally, they will detect you and they will detain you and they’ll deport you.”

He added: “If your question is: are we going to have the kind of situation that we saw in Minnesota in Britain as a result of our deportation programme? No.”

The plans have been met with fury, with charities warning they will tear families apart.

Dr Dora-Olivia Vicol, CEO of the Work Rights Centre, criticised Reform’s deportation plans, adding that retrospectively stripping people of their settled status in the UK would be “callous” and would “actively hurt our economy and public services”.

Speaking about Reform’s deportation proposals, she said: “This is a sadistic vision of UK families and communities being ripped apart, money being wasted, and the government turning against its own people.

“These are proposals designed purely to grab headlines and stoke anger. They are cruel, economically self-defeating, and offer no solutions to the real problems facing people in Britain: poverty and exploitative work.”

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesperson Max Wilkinson had said Reform’s “Trump-inspired plans for an ICE-style force will only bring chaos and disorder to Britain’s streets, not the order and control our immigration system needs”.

Amnesty International UK also warned the UK does not “need or want” a British version of ICE and such proposals to mirror the US “risk unleashing a system built on fear, aggressive raids and discrimination, where enforcement operates with sweeping powers and little accountability.”

In Dover on Monday, Mr Yusuf said the UK is being “invaded” by migrants as he pitched Reform’s mass deportation programme as the biggest in UK history.

The party has also said it will impose “visa freezes” on Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria if the countries refuse to take back migrants with no legal right to stay in Britain.

Reform has said it would expect to deport more than 600,000 in its first term in government.

Defending his choice of language, Mr Yusuf told a press conference in Dover: “I know many in the establishment gasp at that word.

“They may well clutch their pearls in the television studios, but the dictionary definition of invasion is an incursion by a large number of people in an unwanted way.

“Make no mistake, as home secretary I will end and indeed reverse this invasion, because the patience of the British people is now exhausted.”

Mr Yusuf also said the rights of British citizens are being placed “beneath those of criminals” because of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The party has pledged to leave the treaty.

Mr Yusuf listed what he said were examples of judges blocking the deportation of illegal migrants who had committed crimes.

“How many more people must die at the hands of those who should never have been in our country in the first place?” he said.

“How many more victims’ families must be devastated in this way when their rights are placed beneath those of criminals?

“The answer is none. Vote Reform. We will leave the ECHR and end this madness.”

Reacting to the speech, shadow home secretary Chris Phlip said Mr Yusuf has “nothing new to offer beyond copying and pasting Conservative plans”.

The hidden Manchester bar Project Halcyon was named one of the UK’s top 50

A secret Manchester bar has quietly closed its doors after confirming it has poured its last cocktail. The team behind Project Halcyon announced the news via social media earlier this month.

The hidden speakeasy-style bar was created by Zymurgorium Distillery, a craft gin distillery owned by Aaron Darke in early 2020. After the pandemic, in 2022, they re-opened the concept at Department Bonded Warehouse, the refurbished 1800s red brick building on the Old Granada Studios site, beneath the original cobbles of the Coronation Street set.

Featuring a seasonal cocktail menu, using craft spirits and liqueurs actually produced on the site of the distillery, and a dedicated absinthe bar, it became known as one of Manchester best hidden drinking spots. It was previously named one of the UK’s top bars alongside a number of esteemed city centre venues.

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Within the site, a series of passageways leads to the bar, and the dedicated absinthe room called the snug, an in-house distillery and laboratory where they create all of their spirits, liqueurs, tinctures, ferments, cordials, syrups and shrubs.

However in a post shared on Instagram, the team said it was with ‘sincere regret’ that they had closed their doors. The post read: “Project Halcyon has poured its last cocktail.

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“It was with sincere regret that due to unexpected challenges at the ownership level we must close our doors for the foreseeable. Though we say goodbye, the memories live on. Thank you to everyone who shared in our craft, our community, and our story.”

The post prompted a number of comments from customers that had been to the venue over the years. “Wow you made this place absolutely incredible and really excelled the drinks better than ever before,” wrote one person.

Another added: “Manchester lost one of its finest! Had the pleasure of working with a few of these guys across the years and can’t wait to see what they do next.” And a third wrote: “Sorry to hear this, we loved you offer. I loved the banana martini you did too!”

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However, in the comments of the post some claimed that staff members have not been paid. The Instagram account, which is run by the bar team, responded directly in the comments.

They wrote: “We sincerely hope that anyone who may be owned by the owners of Project Halcyon – past and present team included – receives what they are owed. We are not deleting comments and have no interest in doing so.

“We also cannot control how Instagram manages comment threads. This page is run by the team, not the owners.”

Responding to the claim about staff payment, owner Aaron Darke told the Manchester Evening News: “Currently at the moment it’s with a restructuring advisement team and they are looking at what the next steps are to be taken.”