Wear Wheels is launching the sessions across Sunderland this May to help people build confidence on two wheels, supported by funding from Sunderland City Council through Active Travel England’s Consolidated Active Travel Fund 2026.

Peter McIntyre, executive director of economy and place at Sunderland City Council, said: “These new sessions will make a real difference for people across Sunderland.

These sessions offer residents the chance to enjoy the health and wellbeing benefits of cycling. (Image: Archant)

Mr McIntyre added: “Whether someone is learning to ride, getting back on a bike after years away, or simply looking for a healthier way to travel, Wear Wheels is giving residents the support and confidence they need.

“It is fantastic to see a community led project helping more people feel safe, active and connected as they explore our city on two wheels.”

The sessions are ideal for anyone new to cycling, returning after a break, or unsure about navigating routes on their own.

Wear Wheels, delivered by the Sunderland Community Action Group, is running the programme from May to August.

It includes fully funded cycle maintenance sessions and led rides.

The scheme is designed to help residents stay active, build confidence and enjoy safe, supported cycling around the city.

Led bike rides will take place from the St Peter’s cycling hub and are guided by friendly instructors.

Each two-hour session offers a gentle, social way to exercise while exploring Sunderland’s cycling routes.

Participants will be supported in building their cycling skills and confidence in a relaxed group environment.

Bikes are not required to take part, as Wear Wheels will provide recycled bicycles for those who need them.

The programme also includes free cycle maintenance sessions to help riders keep their bikes road-ready and safe.

In addition, funding will support Wear Wheels’ ongoing recycled bike scheme, which provides refurbished bikes to residents who do not have their own.

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Richy Duggan, project manager at Sunderland Community Action Group, said: “This funding allows us to reach more people than ever before.

“Whether someone is completely new to cycling or looking to build their skills, these sessions offer a welcoming and supportive way to get involved.

“Every recycled bike and every ride help build stronger community connections.”

Last season’s FA Cup victory earned Palace a place in the Europa League, Europe’s second-tier competition, but UEFA retrospectively demoted them to the Conference League — and saw Nottingham Forest take their place — over multi-club ownership concerns relating to their former co-owner John Textor.

Future king William could not contain his joy as his beloved Aston Villa thumped Nottingham Forest to secure a place in the Europa Cup final with at 4-0 victory

Prince William celebrated wildly after Aston Villa hammered home four goals to see them through to the Europa Cup final.

The future king leaped from his seat and punched the air in sheet delight after his beloved Aston Villa moved closer to reach their first European final in 44 years. Villans’ fan William, 43, was seen celebrating as Aston Villa took an early lead.

William’s wild celebrations were a far cry from the nervy demeanour he cut before kick-off. Villa went into tonight’s crunch fixture one goal down yet they fired home four goals against Nottingham Forest, winning 4-1 on aggregate.

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Stakes for the game were high, as the Europa League winner will secure a place in next season’s lucrative Champion’s League. The royal could not hold back the joy as he celebrated one of Villa’s goals as his fellow fans celebrated their side’s stellar performance.

William has been a keen Villa’s supporter for many years and has often been spotted at Villa Park. In 2015, he clearly laid out why he decided to follow the Claret and Blue over other more famous sides.

“I was looking around for clubs,” he told Gary Linekar. “All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams.

“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments. Aston Villa’s always had a great history.”

Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn heaped praise on manager Unai Emery following the win, telling TNT Sports: “He’s experienced a lot more European semi-finals than us. In the Conference League semi-final we probably went a little bit too gung-ho, but today we managed it.

“He’s been amazing, but so have all the managers I’ve played under. Steve Bruce gave me the confidence to play in England, Dean Smith gave me the confidence to play in the Premier League, Steven Gerrard taught me how to be a leader.”

Emery has won the Europa League four times and will secure his place as a Villa legend should he help bring back a trophy to Birmingham with a win in Istanbul, Turkey.

While Villa lost their previous chances at silverware with Emery at the helm, they will be buoyed by their performance tonight.

Voters in Southampton have had their say in the 2026 local elections.

Seats on Southampton City Council were up for election in the wards of Banister & Polygon, Bargate, Bassett, Bevois, Bitterne Park, Coxford, Freemantle, Harefield, Millbrook, Peartree, Portswood, Redbridge, Shirley, Sholing, Swaythling, Thornhill, and Woolston.

A total of 18 out of 51 seats were up for grabs on Southampton City Council, with one councillor elected in each ward. Elections for the council take place three out of every four years, with a third of the seats elected each time.

Southampton City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government services such as education, social care, highways, transport, planning and recycling.

Ahead of the election, the Southampton City Council was controlled by Labour, who had 32 seats in the council chamber. Due to ongoing local government reorganisation, this will be the final election to Southampton City Council before it is abolished and replaced

Polls closed at 10pm on Thursday, May 7, with the count able to take place overnight. Results are expected from 6.30am on Friday morning.

In total, more than 5,000 council seats were up for grabs across 136 local authorities in England on election day. Mayoral elections also took place in six areas.

Below you can see the full results for every seat up for election in Southampton. You can select your ward from the drop-down list.

The UK Foreign Office has warned that deadly hantavirus is now a health concern in Argentina after the MV Hondius departed from that country before being hit by an outbreak

The Foreign Office has advised British travellers that hantavirus has emerged as a serious health risk in Argentina. The alert was triggered by a suspected outbreak aboard the MV Hondius cruise liner, which has seen five of eight suspected infections confirmed and resulted in three fatalities.

Argentinian authorities suspect a Dutch couple, regarded as the primary cases, caught the deadly virus during a birdwatching excursion. While their travels included Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay before they joined the cruise, the ship’s departure from Argentina has led investigators to focus their search for the infection’s origin there.

In a fresh development, a missing Briton who departed the vessel early has been located but remains overseas. While this individual has been traced, they have not yet arrived back in the United Kingdom, The Mirror reports.

The cruise ship is currently voyaging towards the Canary Islands after a previous scheduled stop at Cape Verde. The vessel remains at the heart of the ongoing health investigation as authorities continue to track the spread of the virus.

Under the health section of its travel advice for Argentina, the UK Foreign Office states: “Hantavirus is present in Argentina. Read more information about hantavirus in Argentina on TravelHealthPro. Further guidance on hantavirus is available from the UK Health Security Agency and Argentina’s Ministry of Health (website in Spanish).”

Tests have confirmed that at least five people who were on the ship were infected with a hantavirus found in South America, called the Andes virus.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the WHO, said that while the risk to the public is low, there could be more cases due to the incubation period of the Andes virus.

“Given the incubation period of the Andes virus, which can be up to six weeks, it’s possible that more cases may be reported,” he said. “While this is a serious incident, WHO assesses the public health risk as low.”

He added: “I would also like to thank the ship’s operator for its co-operation, and the passengers and crew who are going through a very difficult and frightening situation.

“I’ve been in touch with the ship’s captain regularly, including this morning. He told me morale has improved significantly since the ship started moving again.”

Manchester United have ruled out a blockbuster summer move for unsettled Chelsea star Cole Palmer, according to reports.

Palmer has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge following a frustrating season both for him and the Blues.

The 24-year-old has been a revelation since his £40m move from Manchester City in 2023, winning the Premier League Young Player of the Year award at the end of his first season in west London.

Palmer had a staggering 42 goal involvements that season and scored a further 18 goals last term as Chelsea qualified for the Champions League and won the Club World Cup and Conference League.

The England international has also hit double figures this season but failing to hit his top form has raised doubt over his place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for this summer’s World Cup.

Reports have suggested Palmer is unsettled at Chelsea and the Daily Express say he would ‘welcome’ a move to Manchester United, the team he supported growing up, after they qualified for the Champions League.

The report adds that Palmer has been ‘impressed’ by United’s revival under Michael Carrick, who is in pole position to get the job on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

United have been strongly linked with a move for the Chelsea talisman but it is claimed Old Trafford bosses have ruled out a summer move.

While the Red Devils admire Palmer, they do not view him as a ‘primary objective’ and will instead focus on the signing of at least two central midfielders and two defenders.

Should Manchester United change their mind, the Daily Express say Chelsea would want around £90m to part ways with Palmer.

Even if United’s interest in Palmer has faded, it still appears unlikely that the playmaker will see out his contract with Chelsea, which runs until 2033.

Ex-Chelsea midfielder Andy Townsend has suggested Palmer will need to leave Stamford Bridge to ‘rediscover his game’.

‘First and foremost, Cole Palmer needs to rediscover his game,’ Townsend told BetVictor. ‘From where he was a year ago, compared to where he is now is chalk and cheese.

‘He needs something. I get the impression with Cole that he’s looking around the team and saying: “Who’s inspiring me? Who’s getting me going? Who’s really there to carry the fight with me?”

‘There aren’t too many at Chelsea. I think Joao Pedro is a real talent. His performance at Villa Park earlier this season was one of the best I’ve seen from a striker anywhere this season. It was terrific.

‘Enzo [Fernandez] looks like he’s already laying the foundations for getting out, with what’s been said and done recently.

‘So with Cole, the problem might be at a club like Chelsea when so much traffic comes and goes, he might eventually think he’s the one that has to go.

‘If you’re going to keep seeing better players come in and then go, or the best young talent being sold for profit, then sometimes after a while it can frustrate you.

‘It wouldn’t surprise me at some point if things don’t rapidly improve, that he turns around and says: “I think I might have to go elsewhere.”‘

Chelsea are just ninth in the Premier League ahead of their trip to Anfield to face reigning champions Liverpool on Saturday.

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Explosions have been heard in cities around the Strait of Hormuz, but a US official insisted it does not mean fighting has resumed.

Fear is growing over the fragile ceasefire in the Iran war after reports of fire in the region and across Iran.

Iran’s state broadcaster described explosions in the Strait as an ‘exchange of fire’ between Iranian forces and the ‘enemy.’

Blasts were heard in the ports of Qeshm Island and Bandar Abbas port.

An unnamed American official told NBC News that the US carried out strikes on at least two locations in Iran.

They did not constitute the restarting of major fighting against Iran, the official insisted.

The US Central Command said in a statement: ‘U.S. forces intercepted unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes as U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers transited the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, May 7.

‘Iranian forces launched multiple missiles, drones and small boats as USS Truxtun (DDG 103), USS Rafael Peralta (DDG 115), and USS Mason (DDG 87) transited the international sea passage. No U.S. assets were struck.

‘U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) eliminated inbound threats and targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking U.S. forces including missile and drone launch sites; command and control locations; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance nodes.

‘CENTCOM does not seek escalation but remains positioned and ready to protect American forces.’

In the capital Tehran, air defences are said to have been activated, Iran’s IRIB broadcaster said.

Earlier today, Tasnim news agency with links to the regime, said Iranian forces clashed with the US Navy following an attempted attack on an Iranian oil tanker.

The US Central Command has declined to comment on the claims.

Meanwhile, talks to end the conflict are meant to continue between the US and Iran.

Pakistan, which has been a mediator in the peace talks, put out a statement today through its foreign ministry, saying it expects an agreement to be reached ‘sooner rather than later.’

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A man has been charged following an incident near Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s home.

Officers were called shortly after 7.30pm yesterday following a report a man was behaving in an intimidating manner in the village. Officers attended, and the man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and possession of an offensive weapon. He was taken to King’s Lynn Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

Alex Jenkinson, aged 39 and of Stowmarket, Suffolk has since been charged with two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to harass someone or cause alarm or distress and failing to provide a specimen of blood in custody.

He has been remanded into custody and is due to appear at Norwich Magistrates Court tomorrow (Friday 8 May 2026).

“I am concerned over the council’s park summer programme as it looks to be very juvenile in nature and appeals only to families with children. I wouldn’t go.”

A Northern Ireland council deputy mayor has criticised a summer entertainment programme for being for families with children.

Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council’s communities committee heard calls this week for the authority to copy its neighbours Ards and North Down over “juvenile” concerns.

The annual ‘Park Life’ programme provides family fun events throughout July and August according to the Lagan Valley website, but its deputy mayor wants more jazz like shows for more mature tastes.

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Deputy Mayor Hazel Legge said: “I am concerned over the council’s park summer programme as it looks to be very juvenile in nature and appeals only to families with children.

“I wouldn’t go. But, perhaps we could look at the likes of how Ards and North Down bring in tribute acts with singers on a pleasant July afternoon. Can we start putting meat on the bones of who will play?

The council website describes its previous ‘Park Life’ 2025 programme as a summer of “free family fun” across five of the district’s public parks over the school summer holidays.

It reads: “The Park Life Summer Programme is bursting with exciting children’s activities and imaginative themed days.

“With something happening every week throughout the summer, the Park Life Programme 2025 is the perfect way to enjoy free fun, fresh air, and family time.”

In chambers a council officer responded: “The programme for this year is due to go out next month. We have different types of music such as Jazz and various others.

“I would be delighted to get feedback from members. We will have communications going out by the end of the month.”

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