NewsBeat

Prince Harry and Meghan kick off surprise ‘royal tour’ to meet Gaza refugees

Published

4 hours ago

25 February 2026

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have started a two-day international trip to focus on their charitable endeavours, while the Royal Family continue with the fallout of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have kicked off a pseudo royal tour in Jordan, while in Harry’s home country, the Royal Family continue to grapple with the fallout of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest last week.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex started their whirlwind trip by sitting down with key figures working to support the humanitarian needs of refugees in the country. Meghan and Harry joined a roundtable discussion hosted by the World Health Organisation with individuals from major leading bodies like the United Nations. The couple travelled to Jordan at the invitation of the WHO’s director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

While their trip is not an official royal visit, given that the Sussexes took a step back from their royal duties in 2020 and relocated to America, they will spend their trip engaging with various charities and philanthropic efforts in the region.

During their two-day visit, Harry and Meghan will meet Jordanian leaders and senior health officials, engage with WHO teams, visit frontline health and mental health programmes and meet World Central Kitchen staff co-ordinating food relief for Gaza from the capital city of Jordan, Amman.

The Duke and Duchess will also visit Questscope at the Za’atari Refugee Camp, home to displaced Syrians, with the aim to further highlight the importance of mental health services, physical rehabilitation, and community-based support for individuals and families affected by war, displacement, and serious illness.

Around the table for the WHO meeting sat senior figures from UN agencies like UNRWA, UNHCR, World Food Programme, Unicef and diplomatic attendees from countries like the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Canada and the EU.

Philip Hall, British Ambassador to Jordan, thanked the Sussexes for travelling to the Middle East, saying: “So I would simply say thank you very much indeed for coming. Your visit, your support, your appreciation of the efforts that the United Nations, including of course, the World Health Organisation, the government of Jordan and others, are making here is enormously appreciated. So thank you for coming.”

A major element of Harry and Meghan’s trip will focus on efforts to support vulnerable communities affected by conflict and displacement, as they will also visit initiatives they have helped fund to medically evacuate children from the war in Gaza to the Middle East nation.

Jordan has received wave after wave of refugees beginning with Palestinians more than 80 years ago, who now number around 2.5 million people, and Syrians who fled conflict in their country until recently ruled by President Bashar al-Assad.

The visit builds on a long-standing partnership with the WHO and follows a joint engagement in London last September, where Dr Tedros and The Duke of Sussex highlighted pioneering research at Imperial College London’s Centre for Blast Injury Studies.

Harry and Meghan’s pseudo royal tour comes just days after Harry’s uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested at his temporary home of Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate.

Andrew was arrested on Thursday morning, spending 11 hours in custody in a Norfolk police station on his 66th birthday. The former prince was released that evening, with Thames Valley Police confirming he is now under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after allegations he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.

On Tuesday evening, Thames Valley Police further confirmed that police searches at Royal Lodge, which had been underway since Andrew’s arrest, have come to an end. Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Officers have now left the location we have been searching in Berkshire. This concludes the search activity that commenced following our arrest of a man in his sixties from Norfolk on Thursday.

“We understand the significant public interest in this case and our investigation remains ongoing. It is important that our investigators are given the time and space to progress their work. We will provide updates when it is appropriate to do so, but this is unlikely to be for some time.” Andrew had vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

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Alton Towers visitors disgusted by increased car park prices

Published

28 seconds ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

Alton Towers visitors disgusted by increased car park prices

That’s because anyone spending time at the popular theme park in Alton has to pay for parking on top of the admission ticket price if they drive there.

On Facebook, the Theme Park Insanity page said the car parking prices are “outrageous” at Alton Towers, sparking a debate with fellow theme park goers.

Theme Park Insanity said: “Are Alton Towers having a giraffe? This is outrageous!!

“As if a day at a theme park isn’t costly enough, the prices for parking have jumped significantly from last season with standard & blue badge parking now costing £13.00, pass holder express costing £20 & non pass holder express now costing a staggering £30!!!

“I’m honestly disgusted! There was a time when parking was free as standard, but monopolising on people’s need to park like this (given it’s in the middle of nowhere & features very limited public transport links, if at all) is greed in it’s purest form!

“Maybe it’s just the Yorkshire man in me, but this is beyond unreasonable #OwMuch”.

Alton Towers car parking fees considered ‘rip off’ by visitors

Along with the post, they shared a screenshot of the Alton Towers website showing the parking options and prices.

This includes standard parking and blue badge parking at £13 each, express parking for annual passholders costing £20 and express parking at £30.

One person shared their thoughts: “It’s called vote with my wallet…

“It’s just another reason to not visit Alton Towers.

“I will go to parks that genuinely care about their customers and invest in exciting new rides and attractions.”

Another commented: “You should not have to pay for parking where there is no viable alternative.

“I queried this once with them and was told that it was for “environmental reasons” and to encourage people to take alternative modes of transport.

“I asked when the rail link was going to be added. Didn’t get a reply to that.”

Someone else considers a visit to the theme park to be “a rip off”: “I always feel like they grab me by the ankles as soon as I arrive, turn me upside down and don’t stop shaking until all my money has fallen out.

“It’s such a rip off now.”

This person commented: “It’s always annoyed me that Alton Towers is in the middle of the countryside with no real way to get there otherwise and they still charge for parking.

“I could understand it if there was a shuttle bus every 30 minutes or a train station, without cars coming they’d have no business.”

This person had a different reaction: “People don’t generally consider parking prices when deciding whether or not to visit, they just moan about them”.

Someone else said: “Have to make there money somewhere”.

Despite this online discussion, Alton Towers Resort says it is “committed to delivering a great value day out” for visitors.

A spokesperson for Alton Towers Resort told Newsquest: “At Alton Towers Resort, we are committed to delivering a great value day out for our guests.

“As with many businesses across the UK leisure and hospitality sector, we regularly review our pricing in line with increases in operational and maintenance costs.

“This includes the significant investment required to manage, staff and maintain our car parking facilities throughout the season.

“We remain focused on providing choice and value for our guests, and continue to offer a range of ticket and pass options, including Annual Passes which include parking benefits.”

Alton Towers unveils huge artwork made from cans of beans to honour new ride

The news comes as the theme park has unveiled a giant portrait of Bluey made from over 11,000 cans of beans to announce the opening date of the world’s first Bluey rollercoaster.

Recommended reading:

The artwork measures 20 by 15 metres and took 18 hours to complete.

Featuring Bluey in her beloved granny disguise, complete with a headscarf, the installation includes 11,494 tins.

Visitors can look out for it on the park’s lawn near CBeebies Land ahead of Bluey the Ride: Here Come the Grannies! officially opening on Saturday, March 28.

What’s your favourite ride at Alton Towers Resort? Let us know in the comments below.

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NewsBeat

Summer festivals at London’s Brockwell Park get the green light despite wave of opposition from residents

Published

8 minutes ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

Summer festivals at London's Brockwell Park get the green light despite wave of opposition from residents

“We’re pleased with the outcome, which recognises the cultural and social value of the Brockwell Live series, alongside the significant economic contribution it makes to Lambeth and Greater London, particularly at a time when night-time and creative economies across the country face increasing pressure.

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What will urban living look like in the future?

Published

15 minutes ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

What will urban living look like in the future?

A new vision for urban living is taking shape, driven by an urgent need to make our cities more liveable, sustainable and resilient. Here’s what the metropolitan areas of tomorrow will look like

Wooden towers rise above the tree canopy, their facades alive with plants and shimmering solar cladding. The hum of traffic is gone. Instead, a quiet feet of autonomous robovans glides along dedicated lanes, linking neighbourhoods in smooth, predictable loops.

It’s a warm summer afternoon in 2037, and shoppers wander under covered walkways inspired by the porticoes of Bologna. Woodland weaves through housing districts, workplaces and civic squares. Streets smell of pine after rain. The skyline is timber and green rather than glass and glare.

Every building generates its own energy through integrated solar and micro wind systems, and collects and recycles water. Lighting, heating and ventilation respond automatically to occupancy and weather, guided by embedded IoT (Internet of Things) sensors. Temperature, humidity, air quality and movement are monitored constantly, optimising everything without residents lifting a finger.

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For the one million residents who have called Forest City 1 home since it opened in 2032, this is normal life. The young professionals priced out of the housing market and bored of identikit commuter estates found opportunities and something fresh in this trailblazing city. A Community Land Trust model ensured affordability, separating land ownership from property ownership, giving local residents control over how their community’s assets are managed. The 350,000 homes that have been built here softened prices nationally, pulling the average UK house price down by 4%.

New energy systems built around solar, small modular reactors and advanced district loops give households energy security. Waste, utilities and much of the transport infrastructure run below ground – all planned and buried before the first flagstone was laid. AI quietly manages water, traffic and energy flows, balancing them across this smart city.

This may sound like science fiction, but Forest City 1 is not a pipedream. It could be built in years not decades. The concept comes from Joe Reeve, founder of the non-partisan political movement Looking for Growth (LFG), and former journalist Shiv Malik. Their vision is anchored in a real site: avast plot on the Cambridgeshire-Suffolk border near Newmarket and Haverhill. The project is gathering support from investors, central government and even local residents.

Artist impression of what Forest City 1 might look like. Image: Forest City 1

Cambridge has the highest density of talent inEurope, and its proximity to London and to Stansted airport makes it an ideal location for the UK’s first new city in more than half a century. “We want a brand new city that is a place that people want to live in, not just commute to and from,” Reeve tells Positive News, from his home in London.

“Cambridge is criminally constrained from growing due to the green belt, and businesses are crying out for more lab space and places for workers to live. We chose this location because half the land is owned by three Lords and a Sheik.”

Private landowners without generational attachments, he explains, are more open to large-scale change. The population density is extremely low. Just 8,000 people live across the site’s 45,000 acres, much of it currently used as farmland.

The model sees new energy systems built around solar, small modular reactors and advanced district loops giving households energy security. Image: Forest City 1

Reeve describes the UK planning system as one that “sucks”. In his view, the current pattern produces ugly new build estates around beautiful villages, without the supporting infrastructure. “Trains and roads get busier but nothing gets upgraded,” he says.

That angers existing residents, disappoints new ones and harms wildlife and local ecology. Meanwhile, local businesses see little benefit because commuters continue to shop and socialise in London. And small-scale development does nothing meaningful for national affordability.

Forest City 1 allocates 12,000 acres – more than a quarter of its total site – to forest alone. Biodiversity would leap thanks to monocultural farmland being replaced with a natural environment that includes plans to create one of the largest redwood forests in the world. But above all, Reeve says, it would create a place where people genuinely want to live.

AI manages water, traffic and energy flows across the smart city

Momentum is real. Investors are circling, government interest is rising, and Reeve is bullish. “We want shovels in the ground before the end of this government,” he says.

But critics such as Jon Reeds, of the campaign group Smart Growth UK, argues that the location of it is wrong. “If they could find a large brownfield site close to major conurbations, so it had good public transport and could make use of existing infrastructure it could be a possibility,” he says. But building on agricultural land, when the UK only produces 60% of what it consumes domestically, is not the right answer, he suggests. Reeds explains that food and water security during times of climate change and global insecurity means we should be expanding our domestic food production land rather than building on it.

“It is fascinating that their proposal uses ‘green’ arguments for building on green land,” says Prof Tony Travers, an expert in local government at the London School of Economics. However, he says “the need for new homes is such that any idea is well worth considering”.

NEOM’s The Line has been put on hold indefinitely. Image: NEOM, The Line

New cities are seductive, but they bring their own complications. NEOM’s The Line in Saudi Arabia is the most extreme example: a 100-mile long, glass-fronted, car-free city initially intended to house 9m people sounded like something out of a sci-fi movie. Although construction began in 2021 promising a fully sustainable, fully digital, fully smart city, the project has been cancelled.

Building a hyper-dense megacity in one of the planet’s hottest, driest regions proved to be extraordinarily complex. Water must be brought in from the Red Sea through colossal desalination plants. Vertical farms must be powered to grow food where nothing grows naturally. The ventilation, cooling and waste systems required for millions of people pressed into a narrow corridor are vast. Now, with delays and budget overruns stacking up, the project has been shelved.

Smartly repurposing existing urban spaces

For most of the world, the future will not be built from scratch. It will emerge from transforming the cities we already inhabit. The shift is already underway.

On Rue de l’Arbalete in Paris, the first thing you notice is the quiet. Gone are the horns and fumes that once defined this narrow street. Now birdsong echoes between buildings, children cycle through planters and benches, and parents chat in dappled shade. A few years ago, this was a choked through-road. Today, it feels like a village square.

Paris has been a global leader in cleaning up and reclaiming its urban spaces. Not only has the Seine become swimmable again thanks to a major clean-up, but more than 300 ‘school streets’ have been pedestrianised and planted since 2020. The results – cleaner air, safer routes, more exercise for children – have landed well with residents. “School streets are a unique way to reclaim public space, and the health and environmental effects are well established,” Mathieu Chassignet, an engineer in sustainable mobility at the French environmental agency ADEME, tells Positive News.

School streets mean cleaner air, safer routes and more exercise for children

Voters agreed. In 2024 they backed the expansion of the model to another 500 streets. Other cities have taken note. “Paris shows how transformative it can be when cities prioritise youth,” says Sabina Sethi Unni, an urban planner at Open Plans, an advocacy group promoting the implementation of ‘school streets’ in New York.

Vienna now has around 140 parklets, low-cost communal areas turning parking bays into mini public squares. Stockholm doubled its summer pedestrian streets in 2018, opening space to cafes, public seating and art. Oslo and Copenhagen have pulled cars out of their centres too. Whilst initially business owners fear removing cars from city centres will dent profits the opposite proves to be true time and again. London, prompted by Covid, witnessed the transformation of nightlife area Soho into an open-air district. Although Soho didn’t remain pedestrianised it inspired many other parts of the capital to become low-traffic neighbourhoods– no longer prioritising cars – and the city’s famous Oxford Street will become fully pedestrianised after overwhelming public and business support.

More than 300 school streets have been created in Paris, removing cars, planting trees and reclaiming public spaces outside schools. Image: Joséphine Brueder/Ville de Paris

City evolution is not only about surface-level change. It is about the systems that keep everything running. Heat that once spewed wastefully from energy-hungry data centres is now captured and channelled into district heating. Public transport systems are electrifying at pace with dynamic charging roads, which wirelessly transfer energy to vehicles as they drive.

Solar-embedded infrastructure is moving from experiment to norm as the buildings of the future will not simply consume fewer resources they will generate and recycle them. Carbon-eating concrete and living-algae walls remove carbon from the air, while vertical forests and vertical farms clean air, regulate temperatures and, most importantly, produce much needed food.

Get spongy

None of this matters if cities cannot cope with water. By 2050, the number of properties in England exposed to fooding is projected to rise from 6.3m to 8m. Flash foods could increase by up to 66%. A climate-driven surge in short, violent rainstorms, combined with decades of paving over natural ground, has turned many cities into hard-shelled drainage machines. That model is failing. A new one is emerging in its place.

“Climate change brings us more extreme weather, and in this case, more extreme rain events within a very short period of time,” says Dutch architect Dirk van Peijpe of De Urbanisten. “We need to be ready for that kind of cloudburst that isn’t just increasing the capacity of our technical infrastructures, as so many cities have.”

Instead of pouring more money into deeper pipes and bigger sewers that will still be overwhelmed, van Peijpe argues for a shift in mindset. “Spend the same sums on creating a public space that can temporarily hold that rainwater,” he says. Because the water never mixes with sewage, it remains clean and usable.

It is combining water management in an urban environment with improving public spaces

“The rain water that we harvest from roofs and parking places and streets and squares around them… can be temporarily stored in this public space, and then, after 24 hours, the water square is emptied into the natural aquifers, in the soil infiltration, and you can actively use it again for other purposes,” he says.

Rotterdam has taken this thinking further than almost anywhere. The old port city, long accustomed to living with water rather than fighting it, has been getting spongier year by year. Across its neighbourhoods, hundreds of new water-absorbing parks, basins and nature-based defences have been completed or are underway. They look like everyday public spaces: skate bowls, sunken lawns, stepped amphitheatres, bright playgrounds. But they have a double life. In a cloudburst, they quietly swallow thousands of cubic metres of water. Some of the largest can hold around 1,700 cubic metres before slowly releasing it back into the ground, boosting groundwater rather than flushing it out to sea.

Van Peijpe has been central to this reimagining of the city. One of De Urbanisten’s flagship projects sits a short walk from the emerging Hofbogen park. “The water square is the first in the world that combined water storage with designing a fine public space,” he says. “It is combining water management in an urban environment with improving public spaces.”

In Rotterdam, the rain captured in the square is filtered, dropped into a closed aquifer system beneath the park, then used to feed vegetation and power fountains and streams. The city gets a public realm feature on dry days and a protective basin on wet ones.

That experimentation continues above street level. The disused Hofplein railway line is becoming an elevated linear park reminiscent of New York’s High Line. Here too, the water cycles through the network. Rain gathered on the roof level is cleaned and channelled back down into an aquifer to create a closed system for Hofbogen park. “The water system feeds the vegetation in the park with rainwater so we don’t need to waste drinking water for the plants,” van Peijpe says.

China – the pioneer in creating sponge cities– has rolled out projects nationwide, integrating wetlands, permeable pavements and green corridors. And New York is also taking note. The Department of Environmental Protection has begun installing seven miles of permeable pavement along curbs in the city’s Borough Park district, to allow water to seep rather than surge during storms.

Cities are evolving fast and are being forced to respond to the same pressures: climate, population, inequality, affordability and the need for healthier lives. It may well be that all new cities are built among forests with timber skylines and streets shaded by trees. Where food is grown vertically, and transport is silent and clean.

Whether it’s retrofitting the medieval cities of Europe with integrated smart tech or building a new city from the ground up, the future city is not a fantasy. It is already under construction. The only question is how quickly we choose to build it.

Additional reporting Alice Kantor and Gavin Haines

Illustration by Andrea Manzati

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First upgraded Voyager train returns to CrossCountry

Published

34 minutes ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

First upgraded Voyager train returns to CrossCountry

Long-distance train operator CrossCountry has welcomed passengers onboard its first refurbished Voyager train – the first in a £75 million investment programme to modernise the fleet.

The first refurbished unit ran between Birmingham and Newcastle, while the new‑look trains will appear on routes serving York as the roll‑out continues over the next two years.

NewsBeat

Council that runs ‘tight ship’ freezes council tax for 13th year

Published

41 minutes ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

The council tax will be the same as it was in 2013 and 2014

A council is freezing its council tax for a 13th year in a row. It’s getting to the time of year where councils discuss council tax rates for the upcoming financial year.

East Cambridgeshire District Council has announced it is freezing its council tax in 2026/27, which will be for the 13th year running. For residents, this means council tax they pay will remain at £142.14 for an average band D property, the same as it was in 2013/14.

Leader of the council, Councillor Anna Bailey said: “We put our success down to an innovative and prudent approach to financing. We run a tight ship at the district council.

“Working with our subsidiary companies – East Cambs Street Scene and East Cambs Trading company – we are able to provide internal borrowing for schemes such as the leisure centre, waste and recycling services and affordable housing.

“This means we are able to avoid external borrowing costs which afflict many other councils.” The council tax has been frozen because the council’s budget is balanced.

As well as the freeze, the council’s budget takes into account an allocation of £50,000. This is set aside as match funding to support parish councils for neighbourhood plans, as agreed at full council in October 2025.

Cllr Bailey added: “This balanced budget places us in an enviable position of our peers, allowing us to continue to provide high quality services to our residents. But significant change is coming, which in future is likely to impact how much residents pay for their council tax.

“Under local government reorganisation existing district and county councils are being replaced with simpler and more efficient unitary authorities. Four proposals have been put forward to national government by different councils across the region.

“In East Cambridgeshire, the district council, together with Cambridge City and South Cambridgeshire councils, is supporting option B, which would see East Cambridgeshire become part of a new unitary council with Huntingdonshire, Fenland and Peterborough.

“I encourage you to find out more on the council website and have your say by completing the government’s consultation which runs until March 26. A final decision will be made by the central government this summer, with the new councils running from April 2028. Whatever option it chooses, we’ll ensure we continue to stand up for residents and deliver excellent services.”

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Investigation after suspected theft at Boots in Bolton

Published

54 minutes ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

Investigation after suspected theft at Boots in Bolton

Police say they believe as much as £836 worth of skincare products was taken from the branch of Boots at Trinity Street retail park in the town centre.

Officers have now released an image of two people, a man and a woman, that they want to speak to in connection with their investigation.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “We are appealing for information following reports of a theft from Boots on Trinity Street in Bolton.

These two were caught on CCTV (Image: GMP)

“The incident occurred on Friday 13 February at around 3pm.

“It is believed that approximately £826 worth of skincare products were taken from the store.

“Officers would like to speak with these people as they believe they may be able to help with their enquiries.”

The image shared by police appears to show a man and a woman inside the branch of Boots, both with faces uncovered and wearing mostly dark coloured clothing.

Anyone with any further information about the suspected theft can call police on 101 quoting log 1763 of 14/02/26.

Alternatively, members of the public can call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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‘Disgraceful’ M&S exit leaves city angry and sad but not surprised

Published

1 hour ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

The store has been a mainstay of Swansea city centre for decades, but M&S has confirmed it will close later this year with 92 jobs now at risk

Claire Elliott and Wales Online readers

12:10, 25 Feb 2026

People have been horrified to hear Swansea is set to lose one of its best known stores after M&S confirmed it will close its Oxford Street branch next year.

The Marks and Spencer store, a long standing fixture in the heart of the city centre, has struggled financially and will shut following what the company has described as sustained underperformance. Around 92 staff were told of the decision on Tuesday, February 24.

A consultation is now underway to explore possible roles at other M&S locations, with no confirmation yet on redundancies. The exact closing date has not been set but is expected in 2026. Ensure our latest news and sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source in your Google search settings

Richard Owen, M&S regional manager, said changing shopping habits and a nationwide store rotation programme were behind the move.

He added that the building faced operational challenges requiring significant investment and that the business needed to focus on long term growth. While acknowledging the store’s decades long presence in Swansea, he said it was no longer viable in its current form.

M&S has not ruled out opening a new full line store elsewhere in the city and said it would continue serving customers through nearby branches and online while it searched for a suitable site. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here

Swansea Council described the news as extremely disappointing for staff and shoppers. A spokesperson said the authority had spent years trying to keep M&S in its current location and would continue working to secure a new site in the city centre.

It stressed that the decision formed part of M&S’s wider national strategy, which had seen around 90 historic stores close, and was not a reflection on Swansea as a retail destination.

The closure is likely to reignite concerns about the health of Swansea’s high street, given the size and prominence of the M&S site in the city’s main shopping area.

Commenter Wjohnthomas1 said: “This is the final demise of Swansea City Centre – Debenhams gone, Mark & Spencer going. Swansea used to be the place to go shopping, not any more, it has to be Cardiff from now on.”

Jazza replied: “Retailers, like any business, have to look hard at the numbers. Rising operating costs, including recent tax increases, inevitably shape long term decisions, not just for this year but years ahead. M&S is a major company and will have analysed the data carefully. If clothing and homeware were underperforming while groceries were stronger in Neath, the decision speaks for itself. From a business perspective, it is simply following demand.”

Jonah17 thought: “This is sad news and will affect footfall in Swansea city centre. However, not really unexpected as the majority of shoppers, of a certain age, are now not travelling into Swansea to shop.”

Micky5 suggested: “The retail section has been looking run down in this store for years. The food hall is always busy so maybe M and S should consider opening a larger more upscale version of this somewhere in the city?”

Kiribati replied: “Sad to see it go. M&S and Next seem to have a preference for relocating to out-of-town retail parks these days where they can provide customers with large free parking areas and have longer opening hours. Next has taken the prime spot at Morfa Park. M&S had a clothes store in Fforestfach, but it closed. So the chances of M & S opening a full store again in Swansea are very slim.”

Swanseye commented: “What Swansea needs is more shops, not the loss of another flagship store. There seems to be more focus on student flats than on attracting shoppers back into the city centre, and it is starting to feel increasingly empty. We have a fantastic foreshore and a historic market that sits at the heart of the community, but if we continue to lose long established stores, we risk hollowing out the city altogether.”

Toast77 wrote: “This is a disgraceful decision by M&S. For many of us it is the go to store, and Swansea city centre is unique. It is not ringed by retail parks and industrial estates but by homes. People, including a large student population, live nearby and walk or cycle in, which is the greenest way to shop. As Wales’ second largest city, Swansea deserves better. M&S should reverse this and keep a full range store in the city centre, not move to a retail park.

“M&S claim the store has underperformed, but a glance at the women’s section recently might explain why. It was dominated by dull beiges, greys and winter whites. A year ago my husband tried to buy a suit there and was told none were in stock. It feels as though the store has been allowed to decline to justify this strategy. This store is worth fighting for. I hope Rob and the council do everything possible to secure another city centre site for M&S.”

Mumblesman agreed: “Perhaps if M&S had invested a little in its Swansea store in recent years making it rather more appealing to the everyday shopper, more customers might have passed through its doors. As it is, it’s looked and felt like a bit of an afterthought to be Mark’s main offering. Dowdy at best, third rate at worst.”

Can Swansea afford to lose another major name from Oxford Street? Have your say in our comments section.

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Farm family’s rescues inspire Great North Air Ambulance fund

Published

1 hour ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

Farm family’s rescues inspire Great North Air Ambulance fund

Hannah Kennedy, 25, from Gilsland, in Northumberland, decided to raise funds for the (GNAAS) by running the Great North Run and organising a breakfast event in her community.

Her support was sparked by two separate emergencies at her family’s remote farm, located near Hadrian’s Wall, where the air ambulance played a crucial role.

Her father, Leslie Kennedy, 75, was seriously injured in February 2023 when a trailer attached to a quad bike slid down a hill and trapped his leg.

The helicopter on scene in Gilsland Feb 2023 (Image: GNAAS)

He said: “I knew my son, who works with us, would be here soon and he eventually came.

“They got the trailer off me and it was obvious that my leg was in a position that it shouldn’t be.

“When he assessed the situation, he said they would need to request the air ambulance because they couldn’t get a land vehicle to me.

“The next thing I knew I was waking up in a helicopter and being taken to the RVI.

“I cannot praise the NHS, the paramedics, the air ambulance, and mountain rescue enough.”

Hannah Kennedy at the Great North Run 2025 (Image: GNAAS)

A paramedic attended the scene after emergency services were called, and Hannah helped transport her father using another quad bike.

Two GNAAS paramedics and a doctor arrived and found Mr Kennedy had suffered an open tibia and fibula fracture.

They gave him advanced pain relief and realigned his leg, which was positioned at a 180-degree angle.

With help from the local mountain rescue team, Mr Kennedy was carried to the helicopter and flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle in around 15 minutes.

He underwent surgery to insert a 30-centimetre steel plate and four screws, and later received 30 stitches.

After ten days in hospital and further treatment for an infection, his leg has since healed.

The family’s connection to GNAAS goes back even further.

Hannah’s brother John, now 28, was also airlifted to hospital when he was younger following a serious quad bike incident that left him unconscious and with a damaged kidney.

Inspired by these experiences and others within her community, Hannah decided to raise funds for the service.

In addition to running the Great North Run, she organised a bucket collection at a local show and helped set up a breakfast brunch, with proceeds split between GNAAS and a ward at the RVI.

She said: “From 10 in the morning until two in the afternoon the big breakfast event was full non-stop.

“There were parents, friends, and people I didn’t even know, all coming together to enjoy a cooked breakfast.

“Gilsland and the surrounding areas are such a strong community, and we were overwhelmed by the amount of people that turned up and gave donations, as well as those who couldn’t make it but still donated.”

The event was supported by local businesses, members of the public, and the Kennedy and Main families, who donated food, time, and even the venue.

She said: “The support we received from our family and local businesses was unreal and it was a lovely thing to be a part of.

“GNAAS are heroes and we think everyone who gave money to our event are also heroes.”

Mr Kennedy agreed, and praised the wider public for their support.

He said: “The public deserve huge praise for supporting services like GNAAS and the RVI.”

Hannah and her father have since visited the GNAAS base in Langwathby, where they presented a cheque and met members of the critical care team.

She said: “We see the air ambulance all the time responding to farmers and walkers and understand how much of a difference they make in rural communities like ours.

“It was nice to meet the crew and see the helicopter and know that this money is going to such an amazing service.”

GNAAS have launched an appeal called Operation SOS: Secure Our Service and need to raise £2.5 million to secure the deposit for a third new helicopter. Find out more on their website.

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NewsBeat

Attract birds to any garden with RSPCA’s ‘easy’ method for spring

Published

1 hour ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

The animal welfare charity has shared advice for people looking to encourage feathered visitors to their garden

Amber O’Connor Money and Lifestyle reporter U35s

11:43, 25 Feb 2026

For homeowners preparing their gardens ahead of spring, few sights are more rewarding than seeing wildlife return. People eager to attract birds to their properties might be interested in an RSPCA-approved tip.

The animal welfare organisation suggests that installing nesting sites in your garden is an excellent way to encourage visitors. Taking to Facebook, the RSPCA offered guidance for anyone wanting to transform their outdoor space into a haven for birds. The post said: “Want to give your garden visitors a place to nest and rest?

“Habitat loss means fewer natural nesting spots, but a bird box in your garden can be a fabulous way to welcome feathered friends. Sizes determine which birds you attract, and placement is key!”

On the RSPCA website, the charity explained that different birds favour different-sized nesting holes. The advice read: “Which birds will use which type of box? That depends on the type of box and the size of the nesting hole”. As a rule:

A 25mm hole attracts smaller birds like blue tits and coal tits.
A 32mm hole attracts birds like great tits and sparrows.
A 45mm hole attracts bigger birds such as starlings and woodpeckers.
Open-fronted boxes attract robins, wrens and pied wagtails.
Specially shaped boxes attract swifts, swallows and house martins.

The RSPCA said to check there’s a suitable spot in the garden before installing a box, reports the Daily Record. The charity explained: “Protect birds from predators as well as sunlight, strong winds and driving rain – find a sheltered spot facing north or east.

“Fix to a tree or the wall of your home – make sure there are bushes, trees or climbing plants nearby to provide cover. Keep boxes away from cats and dogs by putting them two to four metres off the ground.

“Open-fronted nest boxes need to be lower – around 1.5m. Hide them in vegetation like hedges, shrubs or thick creepers, to keep them safer from predators. For woodpeckers, a box in a tree, three to five metres high, is ideal. Make sure there’s a clear flight path to all nest boxes (except open-fronted ones).”

The RSPCA said it’s best to put up a box in autumn or early winter. By doing this, a bird may roost in the box during the colder months and return there in the spring. Spring gardening fans looking to upgrade their gardens ahead of the warmer weather might like to take this opportunity to make their garden bird-friendly.

For homeowners looking for another way to help, the RSPCA also shares instructions for families looking to make their own eco bird feeder, which helps birds year-round. Homeowners can attract birds such as robins, finches, tits, and house sparrows by providing fruit and seeds.

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NewsBeat

Two teenagers killed in Donegal crash as third left seriously injured in hospital

Published

2 hours ago

25 February 2026

NewsAdmin

Two teenage boys died following a devastating car and lorry collision in Co Donegal, with the third victim in a serious condition

Jane Corscadden, Danny De Vaal Reporter and Kirstie McCrum

11:35, 25 Feb 2026

Two teenage boys have tragically died following a horrific road collision, whilst a third remains in a serious condition in hospital.

The crash, which involved a car and a lorry, took place in the St Johnston area of Co Donegal at around 11.15pm on Tuesday (February 24). Gardaí and emergency services attended the scene immediately.

One casualty was pronounced dead at the location, with his body later transported to the mortuary at Letterkenny University Hospital. The second casualty was initially taken to Altnagelvin Hospital, where he sadly died shortly after arrival.

The driver was also conveyed to Altnagelvin Hospital for treatment of serious injuries before being moved to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. The lorry driver is understood to have escaped injury, reports the Irish Mirror, reports Belfast Live.

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Gardaí have confirmed the R236 road remained closed as of Wednesday morning, with a technical examination by Garda Forensic Collision Investigators due to take place.

In a formal statement, the force said: “Gardaí are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision to come forward.

“Road users who may have camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area between 10.45pm and 11.45pm on Tuesday 24th February 2026 are asked to make this footage available to investigating Gardaí.

“Anyone with information is asked to contact Letterkenny Garda Station on (074) 9167100, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.”

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