Failure to follow strict rules can lead to the loss of a licence but it is free to do

Older drivers have been put on notice that they risk losing their right to drive if they fail to act. The number of motorists born before 1956 who are still taking to the roads has been on the rise.

The DVLA has now issued a reminder that drivers must renew their licence every three years once they hit 70. Reaching that milestone doesn’t mean hanging up the car keys for good, but their standard driving entitlement does expire – and they must renew it, confirming they still meet the required vision standards, if they wish to continue driving.

The DVLA confirms the process is completely free and can be done online, with a replacement licence typically arriving within a week. The rule has been in place since 1976, when the Government overhauled the licensing system so that standard driving licences would remain valid until the age of 70, rather than requiring everyone to renew every three years.

Beyond that age, three-yearly renewals were kept in place given that advancing years can bring health and fitness changes that may impact a person’s ability to drive safely.

The Department for Transport states that the renewal process serves as a regular prompt for older motorists to reflect on their health, including their eyesight, and to declare any medical conditions that could have a bearing on their driving, reports Wales Online.

What happens when you turn 70?

The DVLA will ordinarily dispatch a D46P renewal form roughly 90 days before the driver’s 70th birthday. Alternatively, motorists aged 70 or over, or within 90 days of their 70th birthday, can complete the renewal process online.

The online application asks drivers to confirm they satisfy the minimum eyesight standards and aren’t barred from driving for any other reason. They can also refresh their licence photograph while renewing.

A separate procedure exists for Northern Ireland.

What older drivers must do

The crucial point is that turning 70 doesn’t trigger an automatic driving prohibition. However, motorists must ensure they:

• Renew their licence at 70 and every three years afterwards.
• Meet the legal eyesight standards.
• Tell the DVLA about medical conditions which could affect their ability to drive.
• Continue to meet those standards between renewals — drivers have an ongoing legal responsibility to be medically fit to drive.
• Wear glasses or contact lenses when required.
• Check that their licence remains valid rather than assuming it automatically continues.

The legal eyesight standard includes being capable of reading a number plate from 20 metres and possessing the necessary level of visual acuity and field of vision. Drivers who neglect to renew cannot simply presume they’re entitled to keep driving indefinitely.

There are situations in which someone may continue driving while a renewal application is being handled, though stringent conditions apply, including having held a valid licence and satisfying the other criteria outlined by the DVLA.

Why eyesight has become a big issue

The three-year renewal system faces renewed examination due to worries about ageing motorists and declining eyesight. The Government initiated a consultation in January 2026 on whether drivers aged 70 and above should face a compulsory eyesight test when renewing their licence.

Currently, older motorists essentially self-certify that they meet the eyesight benchmark. The consultation highlighted that eyesight deterioration is a natural consequence of ageing and conditions including glaucoma and macular degeneration become more widespread in later life.

The Government is yet to make eyesight tests compulsory for drivers. A Department for Transport evidence review, published in 2025, concluded there was relatively limited concrete UK evidence directly connecting visual impairment with the risk of collisions or casualties.

Nevertheless, it established that cataracts were clearly linked to considerably higher rates of motor vehicle collisions. The statistics in this area are striking.

A roadside vision screening exercise carried out in 2024, involving 3,010 drivers and riders, revealed that 1.7% failed the number-plate test. The failure rate was considerably greater amongst the oldest road users, with 10.2% of drivers aged 81 to 90 falling short. In total, 1.4% of those pulled over had their driving licence revoked, including 38 immediate revocations.

The same Government review references a study of police data conducted by the College of Optometrists, which found that uncorrected defective eyesight was recorded as a contributing factor in 77% of a substantial sample of collision reports involving people aged over 60. However, this figure warrants careful interpretation. It is drawn from a specific sample of police collision reports and does not indicate that 77% of all crashes involving older motorists are caused by poor vision.

Older drivers and road deaths

Official statistics reveal why the Government is scrutinising older motorists more closely, though they don’t confirm that poor eyesight was to blame for those deaths or injuries. In 2024, 115 older car drivers lost their lives and 1,109 sustained serious injuries in reported crashes. Overall, there were 4,669 casualties among older car drivers.

Older drivers represented roughly 24% of all car-driver fatalities in 2024, despite forming a considerably smaller share of all drivers. Crashes involving at least one older car driver led to 239 deaths and 3,061 serious injuries throughout the year.

The statistics also demonstrate that the danger isn’t solely about causing accidents. Older motorists face greater vulnerability to serious injury or death when crashes happen due to the impact of frailty.

The Department for Transport states that KSI – killed or seriously injured – casualty rates per billion miles are elevated for male and female drivers aged 76 and above compared to nearly every other age bracket, except for drivers aged 29 and younger.

There were approximately 6.3 million full driving licence holders aged 70 and over in Great Britain in 2025, representing a 60% increase from 3.9 million in 2012. Roughly 2 million over-70s renew their licences annually.

A woman who accidentally used her hosepipe during a ban was left “shocked” by the “stern” reaction of her neighbour, as 23 million people across the UK face hosepipe bans amid a drought

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A woman who inadvertently used her hosepipe during a ban described feeling “shocked” by her “busybody” neighbour’s “stern” response. England and Wales have just had the fifth heatwave of the year, with drought conditions gripping large parts of both nations.

More than 23 million residents are subject to hosepipe bans and temperatures peaked at 38C on Thursday. Both Cambridge Water and Anglian Water, the two main providers of water to Cambridgeshire, enforced the rules last month.

Parched grassland, shrivelled plants and dwindling rivers paint a stark picture of just how arid the UK has become. While the temptation to reach for the hosepipe may be strong, it’s essential to check local restrictions first – a lesson one London resident learnt the hard way.

Sarah, from Uxbridge, was unaware of the ban in her area when she began watering with her hose, prompting her neighbour to appear over the fence requesting proof of an exemption.

She told The i Paper: “I was using my hose, but I genuinely hadn’t realised it had come into force in our area, as this was the first or second day. I’ve stopped using it since. I know it’s the right thing to do.”

“But I was also quite shocked that she asked me for proof, and then was really stern with me. We’ve not lived here long and I sensed she was a busybody – now I know for sure.”

Following Anglian Water’s hosepipe ban, their head of strategic asset planning Dr Geoff Darch explained the reasoning behind it.

He said: “Every day of sustained hot weather increases the challenge of balancing supply and demand, and we are now at the point where we need to ask customers to help by hanging up the hosepipe, letting lawns go brown, cars go dirty and using water even more wisely to help protect the environment and ensure water remains available for all customers.

“Implementing a Temporary Use Ban for our customers has been a very difficult decision to make and one which we have not taken lightly but protecting supplies to our customers and protecting our region’s precious environment in the face of such unusually hot conditions and high demand means doing everything we can to limit our non-essential water use as much as possible. We are grateful for everyone’s support.”

Under the terms of the ban, there will be a small number of exceptions to protect jobs, livelihoods and those who are most vulnerable. Customers can still water their gardens and grow their own fruit and vegetables if they use a watering can instead of a hose or sprinkler.

Brittan said she had previously been offered compensation for another data breach by the Met, after they disclosed sensitive information about her first police interview by mistake to two people in Australia.

Speaking about the latest breach, the 61-year-old told the BBC: “It’s very shocking because they were meant to have learned all lessons and it would never happen again.

“And although the first one was far more egregious because it was very sensitive data that was sent to Australia, I was promised that they had learned and the same thing couldn’t happen again.

She added that many of Al Fayed’s alleged victims would be distressed by the breach, saying: “For me, it’s more of the same, really, and deeply re abusive, to be honest. It’s unbelievable.”

Jen Mills and Lindsay Mason, co-chairs of the Justice for Fayed and Harrod Survivors group – which represents a number of survivors – have demanded more explanations from the Met.

“For decades, survivors of Fayed had to carry what happened to them in silence, and every woman who eventually spoke had to find the courage to do so.

“Handing that over to the police is the hardest thing many of them have ever done, and this week they learned that information identifying them had been exposed to people they had never chosen to share it with.

“It is appalling, and the Met needs to explain how it happened.”

The organisation has also asked the Met to address how survivors’ information and privacy is being better protected since the incident, it said in a statement.

Dame Jasvinder Sanghera, an advocate for survivors of alleged abuse by Al Fayed, told the BBC: “I have had so many contacts today from survivors who have told me that they feel violated by the police in a space where there is already a lack of confidence in the police investigation.

“They said they received an insipid apology five hours later and, I am sorry, it is just not good enough.”

Brittan first reported allegations to police in 2017.

According to correspondence previously supplied to the BBC, she alleged she was sexually abused by Ahmed Obaidly, a former United Arab Emirates diplomat and associate of Al Fayed, after working for a company linked to the UAE royal family in the early 1990s.

The Met has said the original report, made to Devon and Cornwall Police in 2017, was transferred to London because the alleged offending took place within its jurisdiction. It said the case was initially investigated as a rape allegation against Obaidly, who died in 2015.

The force has also said criminal allegations concerning Mohamed Al Fayed were made in 2024 and now form part of Operation Cornpoppy, which remains ongoing.

In correspondence previously provided to the BBC, the Met said: “The live investigation into those who could have facilitated or enabled Mohamed Al Fayed’s offending continues.”

The force added that victim-survivors remained its priority and said it was committed to providing updates to those involved in the investigation.

The latest incident comes shortly after the ICO took enforcement action against the Metropolitan Police over two unrelated data breaches.

In a decision published on 5 August, the watchdog issued the force with a reprimand and enforcement notice after concluding it had failed to put in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information.

The ICO said its investigation had uncovered “serious and ongoing shortcomings” in data protection training.

It also found wider weaknesses in policies, procedures and assurance arrangements for handling sensitive personal data.

One breach involved an officer disclosing a stalking victim’s new address and telephone number to her alleged stalker.

As part of its enforcement notice, the ICO ordered the Metropolitan Police to improve its data protection training compliance, monitoring and governance arrangements.

More than 170,000 Canadians have signed a petition demanding the removal of U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, after months of boycotting American goods and canceling trips in response to escalating trade disputes and talk of annexing the country.

Submitted on July 21 by a Calgary resident, the parliamentary petition urges the Canadian government to declare Hoekstra persona non grata under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. It also calls for a parliamentary committee to investigate “U.S. diplomatic interference in Canadian domestic affairs.”

Under Canadian parliamentary rules, online petitions require only 500 validated signatures to earn a formal presentation on the floor of the House of Commons.

Because this filing far exceeded that threshold, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May is expected to bring the matter forward for parliamentary debate when lawmakers return this fall, The New York Times reported. Once presented, the federal government is required to lay a formal response on the table within 45 calendar days.

The petition follows a decline in relations between the two countries. A Pew survey released in June indicated that 35 percent of Canadians viewed the United States as a reliable partner, down from 82 percent in 2022. Canadian leisure travel to the U.S. has dropped by more than a quarter over the last year, while Canadian consumers have increasingly turned away from American products.

Tensions have been high between the U.S. and its neighbor since President Donald Trump returned to office. He blasted the country and its trade with the U.S., threatened new tariffs and even talked about Canada becoming the “51st state.”

“If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100 percent certain that they’d become a state,” Trump said early in his term.

After the U.S. administration imposed fresh tariffs on Canadian goods, Prime Minister Mark Carney warned at the World Economic Forum in January that global alliances faced “a rupture, not a transition.”

Tensions escalated further over Canadian objections to U.S. rhetoric regarding Greenland, as well as an Ontario-funded advertising campaign against tariffs that quoted former President Ronald Reagan.

Military cooperation has also faced strain. Following discussions regarding Canada’s procurement of American F-35 fighter jets, Hoekstra warned that changes to Ottawa’s purchase plans could affect North American Aerospace Defense Command operations.

“NORAD would have to be altered,” Hoekstra told CBC News.

The petition accuses Hoekstra, a former Republican representative from Michigan and former ambassador to the Netherlands, of harming bilateral relations and normalizing rhetoric regarding the annexation of Canada as a “51st state.” The petition also highlights social media posts by the ambassador referencing these annexation remarks, as well as statements dismissing Canadian public concern as “emotional.”

The filing also alleges that Hoekstra engaged in improper political involvement by meeting with Alberta separatists, raising questions regarding U.S. positions on Canadian unity. The petition further cites his acquaintance with the developer of a voter ID application used by Alberta separatist groups. Hoekstra has denied allegations of improper engagement with separatist entities.

Despite the controversy, representatives from the cross-border business community have defended Hoekstra’s work. Rick Tachuk, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Canada, stated that Hoekstra remained accessible to business leaders and focused on trade relations, The New York Times reported.

“He at times can be blunt, but, in many respects, that is an advantage for us because he helps articulate the view of the president, and helps us understand what the challenges are,” Tachuk said.

No U.S. ambassador has ever been declared persona non grata by Canada, though foreign envoys have been expelled globally during historical diplomatic crises.

Canadian officials have not formally summoned Hoekstra, but other U.S. envoys in Europe — including those to France and Belgium — have recently been called in by host governments over comments about local affairs.

Rob Bennett, an experienced runner,with no known health problems, went for a run near his home in Swansea and suffered a cardiac arrest the day before his 57th birthday.

Kev Morgan and Rob Bennett were running buddies as well as brothers, but their plan to run an ultra marathon together never came to fruition.

Last year Rob, an experienced runner of decades, who was apparently fit and healthy, went out for his usual weekend run and had a cardiac arrest. It was the day before what would have been his 57th birthday and all his cards and presents were ready for him at home.

Despite the efforts of a member of the public, who called emergency services, Rob, never regained consciousness. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

Rob, a married father of three teenagers, from Swansea, was kept on life support in Morriston Hospital for several days, but tests confirmed that loss of oxygen had left no brain activity, said Kev.

Rob, who worked at the DVLA, had been apparently fit. A healthy weight, he had run regularly for decades and did not suffer from diabetes or known high cholesterol.

But hospital tests revealed a blood clot that had caused the cardiac arrest that killed him, said Kev.

“He was just out on a 10 mile run, which was quite normal for him – we are both road runners. We did not expect it. The year prior we ran a marathon together in Pembrey. He was tired but fine after that and no signs he was in distress, but they found a partial blockage in one of his arteries in hospital.

“Rob started running in his 40s and ran four or five times a week ranging from six to 10 miles. He was really slim and fit and it was an absolute shock.”

Kev admits that for about a month after the tragedy in May 2025 he was too frightened to run himself, but soon he was back training.

This summer he completed the gruelling 100km ultra-endurance challenge across the Bannau Brycheiniog in memory of Rob and to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Cymru

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Kev completed the brutal Brecons Way Ultra 100km in a 23 hours and nine minutes, saying thoughts of Rob kept him going over rough terrain and through hours of dark, light and rain along the challenging route.

He said Rob’s sudden and unexpected death rocked the family, but he could have died whether he had been running, or not.

Rob’s wife was alerted almost immediately because her husband’s runner’s heart rate monitor was connected from his phone to hers. When it bleeped and she saw Rob must have collapsed she raced to the scene to find an ambulance crew already there.

“We’ll never know how long Rob was without help, or whether a trained passer-by or a nearby defibrillator could have saved him — but it’s possible. And that possibility was the driving force behind this Brecons Way Ultra 100k challenge,” says Kev.

“My brother and I had always talked about doing an ultramarathon one day, but it was one of those things we never got around to. This was my way of doing it for him.

“It was a tough day, and the race left me questioning my life choices at times, but I’m really proud to have finished the race.

“Raising more than £2,000 along the way for BHF Cymru is an added bonus. I ran the ultra to raise awareness of how vital CPR training and quick access to defibrillators can be. With greater CPR awareness and wider access to defibrillators, another family’s story could have a different ending.”

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Kev said long-distance running has also help him to process his grief at suddenly losing Rob, who, at 10 years older, was a father figure.

“He wore a heart rate monitor like a lot of runners do, it was connected to his watch and alerted his wife that there had been a cardiac event because it was also connected to her phone.

“His wife drove to the location and paramedics were there. They have three children, twins aged 18 and a 15 year -old. It’s really terrible for the family.

“It is crazy to think we ran the Great Welsh Run only the year before, We were always talking about one day doing an ultra marathon together. That was a running conversation that never came about.

“Initially it had a massive effect on my running. I did not want to do it. I really relate what happened to him to running. That was how I processed it.

“But we don’t know whether it was his running that was the catalyst. it could have happened when he was sitting at work.

Kev, who works for The Foster Care Charity, runs several times a week on routes ranging from five to 30 miles. He said Rob became a male role model as well as a brother after his father died.

Kev lost his father aged 12 to a brain haemorrhage and when his mother married again Rob became his half brother.

“He was a bit of a male role model all my life as he is older than me.”

Kev, who has an 18 month-old daughter Layla with his partner Jessica Samuel wants to honour Rob’s memory by running and raising awareness and money for BHF Cymru.

“The ultra marathon was crazy. It took me a year’s training to get ready and when I did it I was thinking about my brother all the time. That helped a lot.

“I set off at 12pm on the Saturday and was back on the Sunday 23 hours and nine minutes later. It was a really tough race and I was determined to do it, for Rob, before the 24 hour cut off time.

“Running has helped me come to terms with losing my brother. It’s given me the time and space to think, and to focus on doing something positive in his memory. If this challenge helps even one person understand CPR or find a defibrillator in time, then it will be worth it.”

For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here.

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Some ominous news out of Ukraine this week in the form of an air defence assessment from Ukrainian intelligence official, Major-General Vadym Skibitsky. Skibitsky reported that Russia is rejigging its defence industry to prioritise the production of ballistic missiles. This, he said, would mean a concerted campaign of strikes against Ukrainian energy infrastructure ahead of the coming winter.

Ukraine has already depleted its stocks of air defence systems. It was getting most of these systems from the US, initially directly in the form of military aid and more recently via its other allies which have been buying them from the US to supply Ukraine. But all reports indicate that the six-month US air campaign in Iran has left the US very short of Patriot and Thaad interceptors, which are most effective against Russia’s ballistic missiles.

Matthew Powell, who researches air power at the University of Portsmouth, writes that Ukraine is already struggling to protect its cities against Russia’s missiles. Now, he believes that with Kyiv’s European allies also labouring to source enough air defence systems for their own security, Ukraine is bracing for what national security experts fear could be the harshest winter of the war so far.

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That’s not to say that Ukraine’s success with its strategic use of drones has been anything less than remarkable. Kyiv has of late been targeting Russia’s energy infrastructure including oil refineries and oil storage depots. And in recent weeks it claims to have struck 218 Russian shadow fleet vessels, including 134 in the Sea of Azov and 84 in the Black Sea.

Now Ukraine’s campaign of drone strikes targeting warehouses run by e-commerce giant Wildberries, Russia’s version of Amazon is bringing the war home to consumers, writes economist Yerzhan Tokbolat, of Queens University Belfast. And not just consumers – as Tokbolat notes, Wildberries also allows small businesses to use its online marketplaces to sell their products. So the loss of their inventory, with little or no compensation, is hitting them hard too.

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Ukraine assault on Russian retail giant Wildberries brings war home to consumers and retailers

Ukraine’s nimble and innovative use of drones has been a feature of its stubborn defence against the Russian onslaught. More recently, the development of more powerful unmanned aerial vehicles with much longer ranges has enabled it to strike at targets deep inside Russia.

Ukrainian military drones use modified Xbox controllers and “play” for a system of bonuses where operators can score points for hitting a range of targets. Under the Army of Drones Bonus (ADB) programme, a Russian (or quite often a foreign fighter recruited by the Russians) is worth 12 points, while you get 20 for damaging a tank and up to 50 for destroying a mobile rocket system.

Points can be exchanged for money and so far, military equipment worth over US$5 million (£3.7 million) has been “won” for the war effort. It’s part of the “gamification” of war, write Azmeary Ferdoush and Sarah Mills, of Loughborough University.

It’s tempting, in light of the misery imposed on the people of Ukraine by Russia’s four-and-a-half year war of aggression, to applaud the lateral thinking behind programmes like this. But, our the authors remind us, “whether gamified or not, the lives that are lost are very much real”.

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How warfare has been ‘gamified’ in Ukraine

Meanwhile, if you want do something personally to support Ukraine, you should try buying its books, writes Lauren Warner-Treloar of Kingston University. Ukrainian writers are helping to keep their country’s distinct cultural identity alive against Putin’s insistence that Ukrainians are really the same as Russians.

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An ‘Islamic Nato’?

To Riyadh, where a recent defence and security pact concluded without huge fanfare – in the west at least – was signed between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. Not unexpectedly, it was greeted – particularly by Israel’s media – as an “Islamic Nato”, which would be likely to pose a threat to their country’s security.

Waqas Haider, however, believes that designation misses the mark. Haider, a doctoral researcher in international relations at Lancaster University, thinks this agreement is far more likely to reflect their growing concerns over Washington’s reliability when it comes to their security.

One thing the Iran war has shown up has been that, despite all the US bases throughout the Gulf, the American security umbrella hasn’t protected Gulf states from Iranian missile attacks. But it’s not so much of a divorce as a diversification, writes Haider. The pact will not supplant the need for US security in the Gulf. What it does mean is that normalisation of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia is unlikely any time soon, given the antipathy towards Israel in Ankara and Islamabad.

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Gaza: why history give little cause for optimism

Rather predictably, Benjamin Netanyahu rejected the Board of Peace roadmap for Gaza sponsored by the US president, Donald Trump. As always seemed likely, the Israeli prime minister is refusing to pull his troops out of the Palestinian enclave before Hamas completely disarms. And while Hamas has agreed on a staged decommissioning process, it stipulates as a condition that Israel withdraws.

So the long-suffering people of Gaza remain trapped in a deadly Catch-22 situation.

The word “long-suffering” is used advisedly here. As Anne Irfan writes, Israel has had designs on Gaza for pretty much its entire existence. Founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion proposed annexing the Strip as long ago as 1949 at a conference in Lausanne to discuss the Palestine question.

Irfan, a historian of the modern Middle East at University College London, has recently published a book: A Short History of the Gaza Strip. She walks us through repeated Israeli occupations of Gaza, beginning in 1956 and continuing through decades of settlement until then prime minister Ariel Sharon pulled Israel out in 2005.

Now Israel’s electorate has moved much farther to the right on Palestinian issues. And, with defence minister Israel Katz planning to build three military outposts in the 65% of Gaza occupied by Israeli troops – of the sort that often precede the building of settlements – you could be forgiven for thinking that Israel may be planning to stay for the long haul.

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Dawn McKay, 51, has dropped from a size 22 to a size 12 and says the impact on her confidence, health and happiness has been nothing short of life changing.

An East Calder woman who once felt at her lowest point is celebrating an incredible transformation after losing an amazing 7st 4lb with Slimming World.

Dawn McKay, 51, has dropped from a size 22 to a size 12 and says the impact on her confidence, health and happiness has been nothing short of life changing.

Although she had attended Slimming World before, Dawn says this time was different.

“I was determined to make a change because I simply couldn’t carry on the way I was,” she said. “I was struggling with pancreatitis, constant pain in my legs, plantar fasciitis and the menopause.

“I’d also been told I was borderline diabetic. I felt exhausted, uncomfortable and at a real all time low.

“I was drinking cider regularly and I knew it was having an impact on my wellbeing.

“Deep down, I knew something had to change. I wanted to feel better and get my life back.”

After joining Sue Scorer’s Slimming World group in East Calder, Dawn committed to making small, sustainable changes and quickly discovered she didn’t have to give up the foods she loved to lose weight.

She said: “One of the biggest surprises was realising I could still enjoy meals like spaghetti bolognese, curries and family favourites. It never felt like a diet because there were no foods I was banned from eating. There was always a healthier choice available and I never felt deprived.”

Week by week, Dawn began to see the scales move and her confidence grow.

Today, she has lost an incredible 7st 4lb, wears a size 12 and feels like a completely different person.

She said: “I absolutely love my new figure, but the biggest change is how I feel. I’ve got so much more energy and confidence. As a support worker, I’m on my feet all day and everything feels easier now.

“I can do so much more without feeling exhausted.

“I rarely drink alcohol now, but I still enjoy going out with family and friends. I’ve learned how to make choices that fit around my lifestyle rather than feeling like I’m missing out.

“I honestly couldn’t have done it without the group. They’re like family to me.

“Everyone understands what you’re going through because they’ve been there too. We encourage each other, celebrate every achievement and pick one another up when things don’t go to plan.”

Sue Scorer, who runs the East Calder Slimming World groups, says Dawn’s achievement is inspiring everyone around her.

She said: “I’m incredibly proud of Dawn and everything she’s achieved. Like many people, she had tried to lose weight before, but this time she focused on making changes she could maintain for life and the results have been remarkable.

“What makes Dawn’s story so inspiring is that so many people will recognise how she felt when she first walked through our doors.

“She wasn’t looking for a quick fix. She wanted to improve her health, regain her confidence and feel happier again. Through her determination and the support of the group, she’s achieved exactly that.

“Dawn is always encouraging other members and showing them that no matter how much weight they’d like to lose, it is possible to achieve their goals. She truly is an inspiration.”

Dawn hopes her story will encourage others who may be struggling with their weight to take that first step.

She added: “If you’re thinking about joining, I’d say just do it. Walking into group was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

“Everyone is so welcoming and supportive, and you never have to do it on your own.”

Anyone interested in finding out more about Slimming World can visit one of Sue’s local groups in East Calder Bowling Club on Tuesdays at 3.30pm, 5.30pm and 7.30pm or Wednesdays at 9.30am and 11.30am.

Sue also runs groups in Geddes House, Livingston on Thursdays at 7.30am and 9.30am. For more information, call or text Sue on 07803 520781.

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The real mistake, however, is not that she is performing a show at the Fringe, but that the show, entitled Cartwheel, is billed as a comedy. It is in the comedy section of the programme and the press notes talk about Knox’s current career in stand-up comedy. But while it is punctuated by laughs, the show is essentially a spoken word monologue. And at times a compelling and moving one.

Actor Hayden Christensen can be seen returning to his Star Wars role as Anakin Skywalker in a new trailer for the second season of Disney’s Ahsoka.The trailer, which was released at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Experience, shows the 45-year-old appearing as a force ghost of the jedi who goes on to become Darth Vader in the film franchise, to his apprentice Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson.In the clip, he tells her: “Tell me Ahsoka, what troubles you? I’m always walking by your side.”The trailer also shows a series of gun battles, lightsaber duels and starship battles.Anakin later adds: “This is your trial Ahsoka, are you a jedi, or not?”According to Disney, the new series will see Ahsoka “confronting what it means to be a jedi, while the galaxy faces a formidable opponent in Grand Admiral Thrawn”, as she travels home with her own jedi apprentice Sabine Wren.Ahsoka takes place after the events of the film Return Of The Jedi (1983).The series will be released on January 20, 2027.D23 also saw a teaser trailer for the upcoming Star Wars: Starfighter film starring Ryan Gosling, Matt Smith, Mia Goth, and Aaron Pierre screened exclusively for those in the audience.A Disney synopsis for the film reads: “When a cynical rogue is confronted by his mysterious past, he is hurled into a dangerous adventure across the galaxy that puts him on a crash course with destiny.”Star Wars: Starfighter, directed by Shawn Levy, will be released on May 28, 2027.