North Yorkshire Police said the two “out-of-area offenders” travelled to Northallerton early on Saturday (September 12) and stole a suitcase full of whisky from a local shop.

“When officers arrived, the pair attempted a last-minute costume change by shedding items of clothing as they made off. Sadly for them, changing outfits doesn’t make you invisible,” a police spokesperson said.

They said both men were arrested in connection with the theft and were recalled to prison, “where we’re confident their opportunities to stockpile whisky will be significantly reduced for the foreseeable future, meaning their next drinks will be enjoyed at His Majesty’s pleasure rather than from a suitcase”.

AA Traffic news has reported delays of up to 27 minutes in the area due to the crash that spans miles of the M4.

It states: “Severe delays of 27 minutes and delays increasing on M4 Prince of Wales Bridge eastbound between junction 23 M48 and junction 22 M49. Average speed five mph.”

The passenger train had a near miss with the telehandler at the Hopperton Old Station crossing, between York and Knaresborough, shortly before 8.30am on Thursday, August 27.

There were no injuries reported and no damage was caused, a report by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said.

But RAIB said a “collision was only narrowly avoided” at the crossing, equipped with gates and telephones at either side.

Read next:

It added that the driver of the telehandler had phoned the signaller and obtained permission to use the rail crossing before the near miss happened.

RAIB said it has undertaken a preliminary examination into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

“Having assessed the evidence which has been gathered to date, we have decided to publish a safety digest [rather than carry out a full investigation]. The safety digest will be made available on our website in the next few weeks,” the report said.

. (Image: Dave Hamilton)

ROCK CUT TOMBS, HEYSHAM

There is a local legend that, after being shipwrecked, St Patrick was washed ashore and set up the first chapel at Heysham sometime in the fifth century. Considering St Patrick was also supposed to have been shipwrecked on the Isle of Man and Anglesey, unless he was the world’s unluckiest sailor, there may be some doubt about this story. Regardless of how factually accurate this tale is, during the eighth century a chapel was built in honour of the saint. The remains of this chapel still stand, along with eight rock cut tombs that may also date to the same era. You’ll find six of the human-sized holes cut into the rock on the west side of the chapel and two more to the east.

How to get there: A589/Heysham road north into Heysham, turn left at the Coach House onto Longlands Lane. Continue to Main Street and park in the village car park. Walk across the roundabout from the car park, following Main Street past The Royal to the churchyard. The tombs are at the back. Regular buses run from Morecambe to the village.

Clougha Pike. (Image: Dave Hamilton)

ANDREW GOLDSWORTHY’S CHAMBERS, CLOUGHA PIKE

Andrew Goldsworthy’s artworks tend to be site-specific structures. They utilise whatever materials come to hand. In some cases these are branches or leaves, giving the sculptures a more transient nature. In others, like the three chambers, the works are made from stone and last little longer. In a remote spot like the top of Clougha Pike, this had the added benefit that he didn’t have to hike up the steep path carrying his raw materials. They were built over a three-year period between 1999 and 2001, with the artist focusing on one each year. The Duke of Westminster’s Abbeystead Estate funded the project, and it has drawn walkers to the area ever since the sculptures were installed.

If the weather turns, there is enough room for three hikers to sit and have their lunch undercover while a fourth questions their choice of friends. Opposite the car park below you’ll find Jubilee Tower, built for Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee by James Harrison, a wealthy Liverpool shipbuilder. The tower has some great views over the local area, and you might just spot Blackpool Tower in the distance.

How to get there: Take the Wyresdale Road east from Lancaster, remain on the road through Quernmore and pull into the left when you see Jubilee Tower. The path up to the chamber starts at the back of the car park. It is both straightforward and confusing, especially if the weather changes, so a map and compass/navigation apps are useful. Head up the path to the brow of the hill and go over the stepladder to your left. Remain on this path, heading towards the sea. After approximately 800 metres you should see the geometric shapes of the sculptures and a path that will lead you to the chambers.

Pendle Sculpture Trail. (Image: Dave Hamilton)

PENDLE SCULPTURE TRAIL, BARLEY

Pendle will always be synonymous with the story of the Pendle Witches. In 1612, during a time of great superstition, religious zealotry and paranoia, 10 Lancashire women and two men were tried for witchcraft. Ten of the 12 were subsequently hanged, and one was acquitted. The final woman, Elizabeth Southern, died before the trial began after being kept in terrible conditions in Lancaster Castle’s Well Tower. Many of the ‘witches’ were healers or women dealing in herbs, and, rather tellingly, some of those reporting the ‘crimes’ seem to have been herbalists in the area who may have had competing practices. Others were tried for petty crimes that appear to be nothing more than personal vendettas between neighbours rather than any practising of the dark arts. Pendle-based Philippe Handford created the trail along with fellow artists Steve Blaylock, Martyn Bednarczuk and Sarah McDade. The trail was made to tell the story of the witches and contains different elements of the tale, such as the witches themselves, the tower where Elizabeth died, and other supernatural or ‘spooky’ carvings, such as unicorns, bats and owls.

How to get there: Park at 53.877727 -2.271122 and follow the lane south. Continue south on the footpath to Lower Black Moss Reservoir. Take a left here, then a right into the woods.

The Atom. (Image: Dave Hamilton)

ATOM, COLNE

Designed by Peter Meacock, Andrew Edmunds and Katarina Novomestska of Peter Meacock Projects, Atom’s structure is made from glass-fibre reinforced concrete, which has been coated in bronze. Due to the shape of the structure, it serves as a welcome place to escape from bad weather as it closes in across the hills. The artwork forms part of a satisfying walk around Wycoller Country Park, taking in the ruins of Wycoller Hall, thought to be the inspiration for Ferndean Manor in Charlotte Brontë’sJane Eyre.

How to get there: From Colne take the A56 east to join A6068 Keighley Road. Continue to the Emmott Arms and turn right down School Lane. Take the next right down Carrier’s Row, then left at the T-junction and left again to the car park. Walk into Wycoller and then take the path behind the public toilet to Atom.

Singing Ringing Tree. (Image: Dave Hamilton)

SINGING RINGING TREE, BURNLEY

High on the moors, overlooking Burnley, the Singing Ringing Tree is a sound sculpture harnessing the power of the wind as it blows through a series of galvanised steel pipes. The work was part of an ambitious series of four sculptures commissioned by the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network and collectively known as the Panopticon. It accompanies the Halo and the Atom along with Colourfields in Blackburn, created by artist Sophie Smallhorn, who integrated it into a former cannon battery in Corporation Park. The pieces were made as a symbol of the area’s regeneration, and it was hoped they would become 21st-century landmarks that would stand the test of time.

The Singing Ringing Tree was created by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu and stands three metres tall. The pipes are a mix of structural and visual elements, along with pipes tuned to various pitches over a range of different octaves. The result is a strange, somewhat discordant harmonic as the wind blows through the pipes.

How to get there: Take the A682 south, go over A682 and take a left at the brown sign ‘Tree Panopticon’. Keep on this road as it bends; eventually, you will meet a semi-circular car park on the left. You should see the Singing Ringing Tree down the winding path from here.

HALO, HASLINGDEN

Halo is another in the Panopticon series commissioned by the East Lancashire Environmental Arts Network. Resembling a fire pit or UFO, it is an 18-metre-diameter steel lattice structure on a tripod, with a series of fairy lights positioned across the underside. It occupies a commanding position on the top of Top o’Slate, a former landfill site above the town of Haslingden in the Rossendale Valley. The ‘fairy lights’ consist of low-energy blue LED lights powered by a turbine, making Halo visible at night for those approaching from the A56.

Designed by John Kennedy of LandLab, there are footpaths leading from the sculpture out to Cribden Hill and over to Rawtenstall in the east.

How to get there: From the Co-Op on St John’s Street, Haslingden, take a right onto Regents Street, left onto Church Street, left onto High Street, right onto Higher Lane, then a right onto Cribbden End Lane. You’ll come to a pull-in and Halo will be above you.

RIVINGTON TERRACED GARDENS, HORWICH

Once the grounds of William Hesketh Lever, this was one of the grandest gardens in the country during the early 20th century. Lever could be considered the Richard Branson or Jeff Bezos of his era, a self-made millionaire who made his fortune as the co-founder of Lever Brothers/Unilever, a company that still exists today. He set up the business with his brother in 1884, initially as a soap manufacturer, and quickly started exporting to both sides of the Atlantic. Although the gardens are a shadow of their former grandeur, there are still echoes of their past. There is a trust in place that is slowly bringing the gardens back to life, but it is a slow and costly process. This is part of Rivington’s charm as it retains a lost quality.

How to get there: Head off the M62 at junction 6 and go west into Horwich. Go past the Aldi on Chorley New Road, then take the fork between the two pillars on the right onto Lever Park Avenue. Follow the road to Great House Barn and Go Ape, then take a right-hand turn to park in Rivington Hall Barn.

ANOTHER PLACE, CROSBY

From a distance, it’s impossible to distinguish the 100 cast iron figures that make up Antony Gormley’s Another Place on Crosby beach from real people. Once your eyes adjust to them and you realise what they are (and that they all look the same and never move), they take on an unsettling beauty. The scale of the artwork is vast, spanning over two miles between Waterloo and Blundellsands. Adding to the disquieting nature of the work, depending on the level of the tide some of the figures can be fully submerged or completely exposed, being revealed and hidden as the sea rises and falls. In a move that some may deem narcissistic but Gormley insists is more egalitarian (we are all the same under our clothes), all the figures are based on his naked body. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the figures have had a mixed reception, with the coastguard being the most vocal. Their main concern was not coming to the aid of a statue but rather visitors being cut off on sand flats as the tides came in.

How to get there: There is parking on the seafront near the Coastguard Office, L23 8TA, or you can take the Merseyrail train to Hall Road and walk to the seafront. The figures stretch from Blundellsands in the north to Waterloo in the south.

ORMSKIRK PARISH CHURCH, ORMSKIRK

Ormskirk Parish Church, along with St Andrew’s Church in Wanborough and St Mary’s Church in Purton (both in Wiltshire), is one of only three churches in England to have both a spire and a tower. However, while the other two have distinctly separate towers and spires, St Peter and St Paul’s Church is uniquely unusual, with its tower and spire appearing to be joined together. There is an apocryphal tale that explains why the church has both, and indeed why the town is called Ormskirk. It is said that Orme, a Viking settler, wanted to build a kirk, or church, in his new settlement. His two sisters (in some stories, his daughters) quarreled over whether it should have a tower or steeple. After a protracted argument, Orme decided he would appease both siblings by building both. While there may have been a Viking called Ormr who settled here, the story about the two sisters is completely fictional.

How to get there: Easily found in the centre of Ormskirk at the junction of Derby Street West and the A570.

Park in Finnegan’s Square car park on Southport Road..

Weird Guide, published by Wild Things Publishing (Image: Wild Things Publishing)

Andy Burnham has previously completed the iconic half marathon as mayor of Greater Manchester

Andy Burnham has confirmed he will become the first sitting Prime Minister to take on the Great North Run.

The PM, who returned to the House of Commons as Labour MP for Makerfield in July, has previously completed the iconic half-marathon on several occasions during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Mr Burnham will be running in support of homelessness and housing charity Changing Lives, and has urged people to consider making a donation towards their vital work.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

This year’s Great North Run celebrates its 45th anniversary and is set to welcome more than 60,000 participants, including the Prime Minister himself.

The PM said: “I’m running the Great North Run for Changing Lives because I’ve seen the difference they make with my own eyes.

“A few weeks back I visited Alex’s Place in Newcastle to launch our drive to offer everyone a route off the streets by Christmas. I sat down with residents over a cup of tea and heard what it actually takes to rebuild a life once you’ve lost everything – not just a roof, but people who stick with you while you find your feet again. That’s what Changing Lives does.”

At Alex’s Place, the Prime Minister and housing secretary Angela Rayner said that a “relentless” push to end rough sleeping could get everyone off the North East’s streets for good.

Ending rough sleeping was the first pledge Mr Burnham made after coming into Downing Street in July, reports Chronicle Live.

Ahead of the Great North Run, he added: “Tackling homelessness is a moral mission for me. It’s why I promised to end rough sleeping on my first day as PM, and why I’m proud to pull on a Changing Lives shirt today.

“If you can spare a few quid, please chip in and support them.”

By JACK DILLON

Published: 10:35 BST, 13 September 2026 | Updated: 10:35 BST, 13 September 2026

Down by the beach in Cefalu, a charming seaside town 40 miles east of Sicily’s capital, Palermo, disaster struck.

My girlfriend Charlotte and I – relishing our holiday that we had saved up for with part-time jobs at university – had gone for a swim, entrusting our possessions to a respectable-looking young couple sunbathing nearby on the golden sand.

When we returned, however, the young couple had gone, as had all our valuables. No cards or cash. No digital camera. No phones.

Panic kicked in. We were miles from our Airbnb in Palermo with no access to money and unable to speak Italian. So, we went straight to the local police, who were entirely unhelpful and instructed us to go to another police station in Palermo.

Advertisement

Which we did, thanks to lovely staff on the train who allowed us to travel back for free.

This was how we found ourselves walking around in the scorching heat in Palermo asking locals for directions, eventually finding the correct police station, where we completed a property loss report. 

Then we called our parents to tell them the situation, and went back to our Airbnb.

Advertisement

Jack Dillon and his girlfriend Charlotte went on holiday to Cefalu in Sicily in the summer – and fell foul of criminals lurking on the beach

The pair’s valuables were stolen whilst they enjoyed a quick dip in the sea close to Cefalu, where they were staying

Luckily, I discovered I had in fact left my debit card in our apartment. Using this, I withdrew enough cash for the rest of the holiday. And then something dawned on us: we could not access the internet.

This was, we immediately realised, incredibly strange for both of us.

Advertisement

After our first ever dinner uninterrupted by looking at our phones, we set out to watch the FIFA World Cup final in a sports bar.

Normally, we would have used Google Maps to find a suitable place, but instead had to ask strangers in the street.

The next day we travelled by bus to Mondello beach. Yet this turned out to be stressful too as we were so used to following every step of a journey on our phones, we were worried we would miss our stop.

It was fine in the end, and we enjoyed a day on the beach reading books, talking and swimming. No need to worry about our non-existent valuables.

Advertisement

In the days following we purchased a map – something completely alien to us. 

The incident turned out to be the best and worst thing to happen to the couple

Initially, it was a chore trying to navigate Palermo’s chaotic streets but we soon began to love it. Yes, we got lost endlessly, but we were struck by the sense of adventure as we explored the food markets and tourist sights.

It was great. We had no worries of the outside world, no friends or family messaging us or to send message to – no need to post anything on social media. 

Advertisement

Charlotte and I talked non-stop and began playing games such as chess and completing crosswords for entertainment. And we soon found we were truly enjoying the city for what it was, noticing the splendid architecture, intriguing art galleries and cosy cafes.

As the holiday went on, we became experts at navigating the city by map, and it was simple travelling back to the airport (fortunately, we had printed boarding passes prior to being robbed).

Losing our phones was one of the worst things ever to happen to us on holiday… but also, unexpectedly, the best, too.

• Travel facts: Stansted-Palermo returns from £44 in October (ryanair.com).

CS Trickett takes the reigns in Ayrshire from previous incumbent Suzanne Chow.

The region’s new top police officer has welcomed a reduction in violent crime across East Ayrshire.

Local Policing Commander for Ayrshire, Chief Superintendent Conrad Trickett, appointed in June, says “focused work” and “robust action” by his officers is making a difference.

CS Trickett, takes the reigns in Ayrshire from previous incumbent Suzanne Chow.

And he was on hand to deliver Police Scotland in Ayrshire’s Q1 performance report, from April 1 to June 30 2026.

The report shows that violent crime has decreased by 4.2 per cent compared to the previous year to date, which is a 6.8 per cent decrease on the five-year average.

There have been no homicides or attempted murders recorded within the Q1 period, according to the report.

Serious assaults decreased by 33.3 per cent within the Q1 period with 12 crimes recorded. Common Assaults have, however, increased by 5.8 per cent, though these remain four per cent down on the five-year average- an increase of 17 crimes compared to the previous year to date.

CS Trickett said in his report: “Violent crime has shown a decrease due to focused work around town centres, licensed premises and robust action leading to quick arrests of those who conduct acts of violence.

“The increase in robberies remains a focus and a trend has been identified within this increase whereby people are using violence or threats of violence to recover suspected drug debts. Often these incidents are reported to the police but the victim does not co-operate with the police investigation.”

In his report to East Ayrshire Councillors CS Trickett said it was “an honour and a privilege” to serve as the new Divisional Commander.

He said: “I want to thank Ch Supt Suzanne Chow for her leadership during her tenure here. The Division and Local Authority are in a good place with strong partnerships and performance. I look forward to building on this success to reduce crime and build safer communities.”

CS Trickett also revealed that the force will soon deliver their new ‘National Policing for our Communities’ model in Ayrshire.

He added: “This model aims to deliver a nationally recognisable, sustainable operating model for local policing that meets the needs of our local communities.

“As part of this change, we will engage with partners and elected members to keep them updated on this positive move.”

All three women appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday evening

Three women have been arrested at US President Donald Trump’s Doonbeg golf resort since Friday evening.

On the night of Friday, 11 September, a woman in her 20s was detained for trespassing on the golf links at the Co Clare venue, which is hosting the 2026 Irish Open.

Gardaí have also confirmed that two further women, aged in their 30s and 40s, were arrested on the golf links on charges of public order offences on Saturday, 12 September.

All three women appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday evening, with no further arrests having been made.

President Trump touched down in Ireland aboard Air Force One on Saturday morning, meeting with Catherine Connolly, Micheál Martin and Simon Harris in Dublin, before making his way to Co Clare to attend the Irish Open at his Doonbeg resort, reports the Irish Mirror.

A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána said: “A significant Policing and Security Operation will continue in County Clare tomorrow Sunday 13th September 2026 in Co. Clare for the visit of the 47th President of the United States of America, Mr. Donald J. Trump.

“This is a significant policing and security operation and members of the public can expect ongoing restrictions on traffic and movement in West Clare, particularly in the environs of Doonbeg and Trump International Trump International Golf Links and Hotel.”