Emile Cairess has been ruled out of this year’s London Marathon – where he was expected to challenge Sir Mo Farah’s British record – with a calf injury.

The 28-year-old finished third in 2024 but, after placing fourth at the marathon in the Paris Olympics, was also forced to miss last year’s race in London because of an ankle tendon issue.

Cairess was troubled by the calf problem earlier this year and it has continued to hamper his training.

“I am gutted to be withdrawing from the 2026 London Marathon,” he said.

“After missing the 2025 race, I was so excited at the prospect of returning this year, but out of respect to both the race and the distance, I only want to be on the start line if I’m in the best possible condition.

“Unfortunately, the calf issue I sustained earlier in my training block means I am not currently where I need to be.

“I’ve done my best to be on the start line but, unfortunately, I have to make the tough decision to withdraw. I wish everyone taking part the very best of luck and hope to be back at the London Marathon next year.”

Speaking in January, Cairess, who has a marathon best of two hours six minutes and 46 seconds, said he has felt in shape to beat Farah’s mark of 2:05:11 for the past two years.

On Tuesday, world champion Peres Jepchirchir withdrew from the women’s race after her build-up was affected by a stress fracture.

This year’s London Marathon takes place on Sunday, 26 April.

Renewable energy company Statkraft has released further details of its proposed Mylen Leah Solar Farm, a scheme expected to generate around 500MW of electricity – enough to power the equivalent of 180,000 homes.

If approved, the development would be located between the villages of Seaton Ross, Melbourne, Laytham, Ellerton, East Cottingwith and Foggathorpe, on land on and around the former airfield at Melbourne.

Recommended reading:

The solar farm would be connected to the national grid at Thornton Substation via an underground cable.

Developers say the scheme would play a key role in strengthening the UK’s energy security by reducing reliance on imported fossil fuels, particularly at a time of global instability and rising energy costs.

What do you think?

Write us a letter. Please write no more than 250 words and you must provide your full name, address and mobile number. Send your views by email to: letters@thepress.co.uk

Matt Simpson, senior solar project manager at Statkraft, said the company was keen to engage with the community as plans progress.

He added: “We’re pleased to have the opportunity to share further details about Mylen Leah Solar Farm and look forward to speaking to local people as we finalise our proposals.

“In addition to delivering greater energy security and helping stabilise electricity bills, Mylen Leah Solar Farm would also offer tangible benefits, including opportunities for businesses in the area to register as local suppliers.

“Statkraft is also committed to delivering a community benefit fund for investment in local projects and initiatives, which would be open for applications once the project becomes operational.”

A statutory public consultation on the plans will run from Thursday (April 16) to Thursday (May 28), during which local residents, businesses and community groups will be able to view the proposals and provide feedback.

A series of in-person and online events is planned, including the following:

• Holme-on-Spalding Village Hall – Thursday (April 30) from 1pm till 8pm;
• Melbourne Village Hall – Wednesday (May 6) from 1pm till 8pm;
• Bubwith Sports and Leisure Centre – Thursday (May 7) from 12pm till 6.30pm.

Statkraft said: “All comments received during the statutory consultation will be carefully reviewed and analysed to identify key themes and issues, and to inform the further development of the proposals.

“An application for a Development Consent Order will then be submitted to the Planning Inspectorate in late 2026.”

More information about the project can be found here.

“So I think we can be pretty confident, quietly confident, that that will be alright. I think if the changes are around strengthening advice to duty bearers, that’s a positive, because businesses and service providers will be looking for examples that they can use day-to-day.”

Joann Carver, 73, claims she was refused baptism at a Cambridgeshire church

A woman has alleged her church refused to baptise her due to her being transgender. Joann Carver, 73, became a member of her local church in April 2022, and requested baptism in June 2024.

However, despite completing a pre-baptism ‘alpha’ course, Joann claims she was informed in June 2025 that she could not be baptised at the Lighthouse Church in Ely, Cambridgeshire.

A week afterwards, Joann’s partner, Hannah Davis, 57, alleges a pastor told her Joann could receive baptism if she ‘wore trousers and grew a beard’.

A spokesperson for the church told the Metro ‘we do not recognise the characterisation of the pastoral conversation’.

Joann and Hannah have subsequently joined the community at Renew Inclusive Church in Cambridge, where Joann was baptised on 26 October 2025.

Joann, from Ely, Cambs, an actor who has appeared in The Bill, Holby City and Doctors, said: “Lighthouse Church have made me feel inhuman, and ashamed to be me. That was one of the lowest points of my life: I went home in floods of tears. I felt like I’d had a sledgehammer hurled at my head.”

Joann said she recognised from an early age that she was female: she didn’t enjoy boys’ games and wished to wear girls’ clothing. She came out in spring 2017, and changed her name by deed poll from John in October.

Twelve months later, she began hormone therapy and underwent gender-affirming surgery in February 2022.

Joann and Hannah, a member of the Lighthouse Church for 21 years, met on the Pink Cupid app in December 2021. Joann, who shared her account via Sell Us Your Story, said: “I was agnostic before my operation. Hannah prayed for me throughout the procedure, and when I woke, I felt no pain, so I knew her prayers had been answered, and that’s how I found God.”

Joann was invited to attend the pre-baptism course and said she felt ‘really hurt’ when the other five participants received baptism at its conclusion.

She volunteered for baptism in June 2025, when the church called for volunteers, and the head pastor requested a private conversation, she said. Joann alleged the pastor told her she was living in sin as a woman with Hannah.

A church spokesperson said: “As a Christian community we affirm the historic and biblical teaching that sex is biological and a good gift from God,” the Metro reported.

The pastor said he hadn’t witnessed sufficient change in Joann, she said. A week later, Hannah enquired what change would be necessary, and the pastor responded that Joann would need to wear trousers and grow a beard, Joann alleges.

She said: “I had a tough life believing I was mad, and it was such a relief to come out. The Lighthouse Church do such a lot of great work.

“I just hoped they’d extend some of their generosity to me, but they’ve left me feeling really, really hurt. I’ve barely been able to leave the house since they told Hannah I’d have to wear trousers and grow a beard.

“For over two years, they made me feel welcome, and within a week made me feel like dirt.”

Joann and Hannah departed from the Lighthouse Church and became members of the Renew Inclusive Church. Joann was baptised at Saffron Walden Baptist Church on October 26.

“It feels fabulous: I’m still buzzing from it”, she said.

The Lighthouse Church has been contacted for comment.

In a previous statement to The Metro, a Lighthouse Church spokesperson said: “In accordance with our calling as Christians and belief in biblical truth, Lighthouse Church welcomes all people and is committed to treating everyone with love, dignity, and respect as humans made in the image of god.

“We are aware of the concerns raised, but we do not recognise the characterisation of the pastoral conversation as described. Our leaders acted in good faith and with sincere pastoral intent throughout.”

It’s a risky business bringing a brand new clan en-masse to a soap. Family is the foundation to the genre, but we fans have pretty high standards when it comes to appreciating newcomers.

So to have a whole bunch of unknowns at once can feel unsettling and, while they spend time getting embraced into the community (or like the Battersbys, totally shunned), our opinions are already formed and it’s often a difficult task to win us round.

A family needs to be crafter with stories in mind, relationships planned out, defined personalities and, most importantly, a clear bond and chemistry between the actors.

Sometimes it can be cliche – dodgy dad, feisty mum, hearthrob son, troubled teen daughter – it generally fits a formula a lot of the time.

My hopes were quite high for the Keanes in Hollyoaks, I just didn’t expect them to make the instant impact that they did.

I had my doubts about making them central to a massive stunt in their very first episode. Are we meant to really invest in the fates of characters we don’t even know? While we’re panicking four our beloved Frankie and Vicki, what reason do we have to be on edge about whoever the heck these van folk are.

Within moments, I was glad to eat my words with a side helping of relief. It turns out that it was an inspired decision to explode them onto our screens in such a spectacular way rather than having them in the background for a few months before their first big story.

Involved in a car crash (Charlie, what on EARTH were you doing, mate?) saw Caleb lobbed through the windscreen with him having taken off his seatbelt momentarily to retrieve his phone.

It was a terrifying moment and any parent’s worst nightmare. Given the relatability of fearing for the safety of your children, our hearts were instantly with Jonah and Beth – as well as in our throats.

The performances as frantic parents fearing the worst were solid, with Rebecca Ryan in particular stealing the show in such an impeccable way that she has already proven what a huge coup she is for Hollyoaks.

In scenes that followed, the parents discovered Caleb may never walk again and the anguish was palpable.

Don’t miss a Soaps scoop! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal Metro Soaps reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for stories. We have all the latest soaps news, spoilers, videos, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Advertisement

Finding out that Charlie (honestly, what WERE you doing? Seriously!?) was responsible for the accident, the scene of the week showed Beth’s horror and fury leave us on a cliffhanger for the next episodes.

She’s instantly a lioness for her family, full of heart and fire, and I can’t wait to see her – and the Keanes – tackle their life-changing ordeal.

Giving a topical story to a new family is a masterclass in how to make us instantly care. The way that it was done, it threw the Keanes into direct conflict with established characters, and set them up for emotive scenes that show them navigate their terrifying future.

I’m invested, truly.

Not only that, but linking Beth to the icon that is Jack Osborne – she is his daughter – further embeds her into one of the biggest clans.

A well established mistake in soap is a family being isolated and in their own bubble for ages, not really blending them with many characters and seeing them either stand out like a sore thumb or forced into random encounters that lack authenticity.

Now we have a major story for Jack – never a bad thing – and some truly intriguing interactions, bonds and showdowns to come.

The Keanes have landed with a bang – and they’ve already made their mark. Long may they continue to do so!

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

MORE: Asylum seekers ‘posing’ as gay reminds me of my own immigration ordeal

MORE: Jamie Dornan is a stroke of genius The Lord of the Rings reboot needs

MORE: I’m A Celebrity producers should have stepped in to stop David Haye

Air New Zealand is launching an innovative way for economy passengers to sleep on long-haul flights with bunk beds on board.

The airline will open bookings next month for its “Skynest” seats, which will allow economy class passengers to lie flat on flights.

These will debut on select ultra-long-haul flights between New York and Auckland, on sale 18 May with travel from November.

Beds on planes are nothing new – almost every airline that operates long-haul journeys provides upper-class passengers a seat which can be adjusted into a bed.

While bunk beds existed in various forms on flights in the early days of air travel, Air New Zealand will be launching a more modern approach that is not limited to upper-class travellers.

The six lie-flat pods in a bunk-style layout will be introduced on the airlline’s new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that will take flight in November.

The pods will provide a private space with full-length mattresses, bedding, ambient lighting, a privacy curtain and charging ports.

Unlike upper classes, these pods will only be available in four-hour sessions, allowing for a mid-flight nap rather than a sleep that spans the entire journey.

Customers who book economy or premium economy seats will be given the option of adding on a four-hour session.

Initially, two rounds of sessions will be offered on each flight, priced from $495 NZD (£215) per session.

Water will be the only drink allowed in the nests, and snacks are not permitted.

Alongside a bedding change between each session, passengers will also receive a “nestcessities” kit including an eye mask, earplugs, socks and Aotea skincare.

Skynests are only available for passengers aged 15 and over, and people will need to be able to get in and out of the bunk by themselves, which may involve bending, kneeling, crawling or climbing.

Air New Zealand chief executive Nikhil Ravishankar said that “by giving more people the chance to properly rest on ultra long-haul flights, it helps make travel to and from New Zealand more manageable”.

He added: “For a country as remote as New Zealand, the journey matters. Tourism is a $46 billion NZD industry, but growth depends on travellers’ willingness to spend long hours in the air to get here.

“Skynest is designed to help make that easier. It reflects the practical innovation New Zealand is known for, and shows how thoughtful design can improve the travel experience.”

Read more: Police investigate ‘sudden death’ of woman on 17-hour Qantas flight

Retired pharmacy currier Edwin Morrison chose his elderly victim who he believed would be vulnerable and having previously delivered medicines to her during his former job.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Morrison had already been diagnosed with incurable cancer when he tricked his way into the woman’s home in Little Hulton on January 27 this year.

Judge Peter Horgan said: “Your involvement in this serious offence beggars belief, but this will be no comfort to your victims.”

Morrison, who wore a plain grey top and a hearing aid in the dock, kept his head tilted right up to the glass separating him from the rest of the court to hear his sentence being passed.

The case was heard at Manchester Crown Court (Image: Phil Taylor)

Judge Horgan set out how Morrison’s crime began with him “scoping out” the area, where he could find a vulnerable victim he could remember from his currier days.

He said that the 95-year-old woman “was a lady who had very kindly tipped you the princely sum of £2” for making deliveries during Morrison’s former role.

Morrison lied his way into the woman’s home by claiming to be there about the dust bins before putting his arms around her neck, telling her to shut up and give him her money.

Judge Horgan said: “In plain English, you were strangling her.”

Morrison then tied the woman up with cable tie he had brought with him to the house but was interrupted by a hairdresser who had arrived to cut the elderly woman’s hair.

The hairdresser then shut a glass door keeping Morrison out of that part of the lounge before would-be robber shut both of the women in the house as he ran off.

The police were called and Morrison was arrested the next day, responding “I did it? Who said that?” but from then on answered “no comment” to the questions put to him.

Morrison, of Manchester Road, Walkden, eventually pleaded guilty to attempted robbery when brought before the court last month.

Judge Horgan said that he had left his elderly victim scared to go outdoors.

He said: “She was trying to enjoy the bit of life she’s got left, you ruined that.”

But despite claims earlier that he committed his crime in a bizarre bid to pay for his own funeral Robert Smith, prosecuting, said Morrison’s ex-partner said this was not the case.

Mr Smith said: “Conversations with her confirmed to police that the arrangement had already been paid for.”

He said that Morrison’s ex-partner had produced a receipt to prove this.

Nick Clarke, defending, said it was always the case that Morrison had intended for the money to go to his ex-partner.

He said that Morrison’s actions were “meant to be altruistic” despite the fact he was aware he was “reaching for the quotation marks” in making this claim.

Judge Horgan said he was “afraid I do not agree” that there could be anything altruictic about Morrison’s behaviour.

He reminded him he had targeted a “frail and vulnerable” elderly woman who had been “alone in her home”.

Judge Horgan jailed Morrison for seven years and made him subject to 10 year restraining orders against both the elderly woman and the hairdresser.

He told Morrison, who had spoken only twice during the hearing to confirm his identity and that he could hear, that he was “very likely to pass away serving that sentence”.

Speaking after the hearing, Detective Inspector Paul Davies, from Greater Manchester Police’s Salford district, said: “When this job first came in, we were all shocked by the very nature of it, and we immediately launched a full investigation into the circumstances.

“It was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and Morrison’s actions of targeting a woman in her own home were shocking.

“Her resilience and strength following this vile crime have been truly inspirational and I am glad that the investigative team have been able to get her the justice she deserves.

“I also want to commend the brave actions of her hairdresser who arrived as the crime was happening.

“She prevented Morrison from doing anything further, got him out of the living room, and called 999 straight away.

“This investigation has seen countless of hours of work, from initial response to CCTV checks to door-to-door enquiries, from the start, the entire team have done their utmost best which has seen Morrison put behind bars today.”

CPS senior district crown prosecutor Rob Lancaster said: “Edwin Morrison tricked his way into the woman’s home and subjected her to a terrifying ordeal.

“He tied her up, strangled her and demanded money with no thought for the effect such an attack would have on her.

“Without the support of the victim and the woman who bravely intervened, the situation could have escalated, and Morrison may not have been brought to justice.

“I hope the fact that Morrison has been prosecuted within three months of committing this appalling offence reassures the victim, and wider community, that the CPS takes these types of cases extremely seriously.

“The strength of the prosecution case, including forensic evidence and CCTV from the surrounding properties, meant Morrison had little option but to admit his guilt at the first hearing.”

This month marks the 50th anniversary of a much-revered classic of American cinema, All The President’s Men.

The 1976 movie starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman was an adaptation of Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s 1974 book of investigative journalism detailing their two-year unravelling of the Watergate conspiracy. The shocking scandal brought down a president and profoundly shook Americans’ trust in government.

On June 17 1972, operatives working for President Richard Nixon’s Committee for the Re-election of the President (often satirically referred to as CREEP) were caught breaking into the Democrat party’s national headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington. The subsequent attempted cover-up eventually led to the resignation of Nixon and many in his administration going to jail.

The book and film led to several words and phrases entering the popular lexicon, including “deep throat” as shorthand for informants, the expression “follow the money” and of course the use of the word “gate” tacked on at the end of a word to denote a scandal. The film is probably the most famous movie about journalism ever made and helped shape the public’s view of who journalists were and how they functioned.

In many ways it’s strange to see an America where the media were so trusted. At the time a significant majority of Americans held the view that if the Washington Post or New York Times printed something, then it must be true. This is in contrast to today where trust in the US media is at an all-time low.

Woodward and Bernstein’s success was partly helped by the fact that the news cycle was a lot slower. Newspapers only went to print once or twice a day, so journalists had valuable time to check sources, look at records and discuss what they were doing with colleagues and editors.

Crucially, if they weren’t sure of the merits of a story, it was easier to shelve it for the next day. The current 24-hour news cycle makes this much more difficult. Journalists are under constant pressure to publish as soon as possible, leaving far less time for verification and reflection. Speed is rewarded over accuracy and the competitive scramble to be first can mean stories go out before they are fully formed.

The funding model is also fundamentally different. Many local newspapers were owned by families who lived in the cities where they were based and had been there for generations (in the case of the Washington Post with Katherine Graham). They often had a personal stake in the community.

There were still press barons, for instance William Randolph Hearst. The Orson Welles film Citizen Kane was based on his life story. But even at their most powerful, these proprietors operated within a media ecosystem where credibility was the currency that kept readers buying.

The media was funded by sales and advertising, giving journalists the freedom to work on a story. Today, by contrast, there is a focus on chasing clicks with articles either made up of lists or with clickbait headlines designed to be shared across social media.

How the press shaped the national agenda

The early 1970s was a world where the press were just as important – if not more so – than TV in shaping the national agenda. While commentators and columnists such as Walter Winchell had always been celebrities, the film established the idea of journalists as household names in their own right.

This has arguably been problematic in some ways as it could be claimed that it encouraged a more ego-driven approach to reporting, where the journalist-as-hero narrative risks making the story about the person covering it rather than the subject itself.

It was also an environment where the media still focused on the idea of reporting the news rather than making it. Today many media platforms explicitly market themselves as investigative journalism and see their role as setting the agenda. More traditional outlets see this as the media becoming too activist and ideological. There are proponents on both sides of the debate; All The President’s Men seems to take the view that the media report the news and the public decide how to interpret it.

However, the film’s very existence complicates that position. Woodward and Bernstein did not merely report events – they led the debate. The question of whether the press should be a mirror held up to power or a force that actively shapes political outcomes is still ongoing.

It’s worth noting that 1976 also saw the release of Network. This movie was entirely fictional and told the story of a broadcaster, played by Peter Finch, who has a mental breakdown live on air. He becomes “the mad prophet of the airwaves”, telling his audience to shout out of the window: “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!”

While All The President’s Men served as a monument to what the press had achieved and what it could and should be, Network, though billed as outrageous satire at the time, has proven a significantly more accurate prediction of the future.

In the film the TV network is owned by a vast corporation with financial interests in several other areas. While Woodward and Bernstein are professionals doing their job, they do it largely without animosity. Their goal is to uncover the truth of the Watergate conspiracy, not to bring down the president. Network predicted a world where profit is everything and media and politics are fundamentally adversarial, with reporters aiming to make their audience as angry as possible.

Fifty years on, the question is not which film got it right (all the evidence suggests Network). It is whether the world All The President’s Men celebrated was already vanishing, even as audiences and critics were praising it.

North Yorkshire Police is investigating an incident of criminal damage that occurred in The Boat Yard, Bawtry Road, Selby.

It happened at about 11pm at the Boat Yard when unknown offenders causing “significant damage” to the front passenger side window of a white Bentley.

Recommended reads:

Man arrested near York park on suspicion of possessing weapon and Class A drugs

Popular North Yorkshire shop up for sale after nearly two decades

Why York and North Yorkshire will be one of the top places for music this summer

Police are appealing for information of any suspicious activity or CCTV covering this area at the time in question.

Anyone with information to help the investigation is asked to email Molly.grace@northyorkshire.police.uk

Alternatively, you can call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and ask for Molly Grace or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via their website.

Please quote reference 12260066858 when passing on information.

Over 200 young people and 24 staff performed to audiences of over 300 people across two nights at Inveralmond Community High School in Livingston before the Easter break.

Talented musicians from schools across West Lothian hit all the right notes at the annual Spring Concert Series.

Over 200 young people and 24 staff performed to audiences of over 300 people across two nights at Inveralmond Community High School in Livingston before the Easter break.

The number of West Lothian schools represented increased to 33 this year, with the number of student performers also increasing.

Bands performing included the West Lothian Schools Big Band, West Lothian Schools Brass Band, West Lothian Schools Junior and Senior Pipe Bands, West Lothian Schools Concert Band, West Lothian Schools Wind Ensemble and the West Lothian Schools Junior and Senior String Orchestras.

READ MORE: Councillors agree to sale of ten acre site in the heart of West Lothian town

Both shows featured fantastic performances from all our young musicians, and lots of really positive feedback from the delighted audience.

The finale of each concert was joint performances of all the ensembles performing together, with the Brass Band, Big Band and Pipe Bands performed Carnival de Paris by Dario G on the first night, and the Wind Ensemble, Concert Band and String Orchestras coming together for Viva La Vida by Coldplay.

Rehearsals will begin again in September, and parents/carers of current ensemble members should look out for an email early this term asking them to complete an existing members registration form for next session.

Any instrumental pupils not currently in an Area Ensemble should talk to their instructor if they are interested in joining one next session.

The Area Ensembles are open to any young person living in West Lothian who plays an instrument to the required standard for the ensemble. Please contact ims@westlothian.gov.uk for more information.

READ MORE: Affordable watersports for children on ‘West Lothian Riviera’

Don’t miss the latest news from the West Lothian Courier. Sign up to our free newsletter here.