There was joy in Whitefield after the lucky winning postcode landed a cash prize, with every ticket in the winning postcode area receiving £1,000.

The winning postcode was M45 7HP, which covers Linksview Court.

The postcode was among 20 winning postcodes announced in the lottery’s daily draw.

Players living in the winning area who held a valid ticket for their postcode received £1,000 for each ticket they owned.

The Postcode Lottery supports a range of charities across the UK, with a minimum of 33 per cent of ticket sales going to good causes.
Every day, 20 postcodes across the country are selected to win £1,000 for every ticket in the postcode.

The Postcode Lottery also manages society lotteries on behalf of a number of charities and says it supports a wide range of charitable organisations and community projects in Britain and around the world.

To date, players have helped raise more than £1.7 billion for thousands of charities and good causes.

Princess Andre wowed in a semi-sheer corset gown as she led the stars at the UK Hair and Beauty Awards in Manchester on Saturday.

The TV star, 19, was joined by ex Corrie star Helen Flanagan, who brought the glamour in a one-shouldered black dress at the glitzy bash held at the AO Arena.

Princess dressed to impress for the evening, teaming her sleek black ensemble with pointed black heels and simple jewellery.

As it was a night celebrating all things hair and beauty, Princess made sure her look was on point, with her poker straight platinum locks and glowy make-up.

The teen was joined by older brother Junior Andre, 21, who looked dapper in a textured black co-ord and trainers.

Singer Junior later posed with his PR influencer girlfriend Jasmine Orr, who looked stunning in a brown mini dress. 

The TV star, 19, was joined by ex Corrie star Helen Flanagan, who brought the glamour in a one-shouldered black dress at the glitzy bash held at the AO Arena

Meanwhile, new mum Sophie Kasaei, 36, enjoyed a child-free night out, with the TOWIE star looking radiant in an embellished black halter neck gown. 

While Jake Quickenden scrubbed up well in a white blazer paired with a black T-shirt and black trousers.   

Princess’s night out comes after she recently announced a new business venture as she teased the launch of her makeup brand, By Princess.

Last month, she told fans that she has been working on it ‘for so long’ in an Instagram post.

Just days after celebrating her 19th birthday, Princess got to work to advertise her exciting new products at a special preview event.

She looked incredibly stylish in a white corset top and capri leggings, while displaying her glowing complexion. 

‘@byprincess.x Preview Launch, so excited to share with you all what I’ve been working on for so long,’ she wrote on Instagram.

While Princess is happy to enhance her looks with make-up, it seems that she’s more reluctant to follow in her mother’s more extreme footsteps, judging by her reaction to Katie Price’s recent procedure.

In a scene from her reality show The Princess Diaries last month, the teen asked her mother ‘what have you done?’ after she showed off her huge swollen lips after corrective surgery.   

Princess was shocked when Katie turned up for filming just 24 hours after having the procedure because her ‘butterfly’ lip filler had migrated and caused scarring and lumps. 

The former glamour model emerged with her hand covering her mouth, prompting Princess to ask why she was doing so.

Katie replied: ‘Yesterday, I went to Brussels and they did it while I was awake, they numbed my face, cut all under my nostrils again and burnt out all scar tissue underneath. I could smell the flesh burning, it only took 45 minutes.

The teen was joined by older brother Junior Andre, 21, who looked dapper in a textured black co-ord and trainers

Singer Junior later posed with his PR influencer girlfriend Jasmine Orr, who looked stunning in a brown mini dress

Meanwhile, new mum Sophie Kaseai, 36, enjoyed a child-free night out, with the TOWIE star looking radiant in an embellished black halter neck gown

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Jake Quickenden scrubbed up well in a white blazer paired with a black T-shirt and black trousers

‘They said I’d be swollen, but I didn’t think I’d be this swollen’.

While Princess told her: ‘I don’t know if I want to see’, Katie removed her hand to show off her huge lips. 

Shocked, she said: ‘What the hell?’ 

Later, Princess tells the camera: ‘It is quite bad, I don’t know why she did that. It’s actually a bit “eurgh.”

‘I don’t think mum would ever stop getting surgery and like, as much as I don’t think mum needs it. I feel like as long as she’s happy, I’m happy.

‘But I don’t think mum needs any more.’

 Katie shares Princess and her brother Junior, with ex Peter and Jett, 12, and Bunny, 11, with ex Kieran Hayler. Her eldest child Harvey’s father is Dwight Yorke, yet the former footballer has no contact with the 24-year-old. 

The glamour model was married to Peter from 2005 to 2009, Alex Reid from 2010 to 2012 and Kieran from 2013 to 2018. She tied the knot with Lee in January just weeks after meeting, before holding a second, legal ceremony in February.

Eastbourne Borough Council lead member for tourism and place, Jenny Williams, said “We understand many of our residents and airshow visitors will be disappointed, however, this decision has been taken in the interests of public safety and in ensuring we do not place further pressures on emergency services at this already busy time.”

It is the start of her last big fanfare before she withdraws from public life indefinitely in September.

And as she walked on stage for the first of a 10-show run at London’s O2 Arena, international pop sensation Ariana Grande sent the crowd wild. 

Two weeks ago, the 33-year-old singer shocked fans when she announced on stage at a Chicago concert of her Eternal Sunshine tour that she was stepping back from the spotlight to ‘set boundaries’ and said ‘human beings need a break sometimes’.

Ariana’s schedule has been nonstop for the past five years, with the star filming both parts of Wicked, promoting the films, shooting Focker-in-Law and releasing two albums – Eternal Sunshine and Petal before beginning the tour.

Her shock break has come amid a roiling online outcry over her new music video Petal, in which her figure was strikingly thin.

Despite her frail frame, the former Disney child star looked as calm and confident as ever as she kicked off the show with Yes, And? 

Two weeks ago, the 33-year-old singer shocked fans when she announced on stage at a Chicago concert of her Eternal Sunshine tour

Surrounded by dancers, the singer stood out in a black lace corset dress and thigh-high custom Christian Louboutin boots and performed a racy number, The Boy Is Mine, with a cat mask on and whip in hand. 

The songstress returned in a pink ballerina custom Alexander McQueen outfit.  

Ariana’s concert runs for around two hours and is divided into five acts. The stage design is centred around a destroyed house, seen throughout the promotional visuals for Eternal Sunshine, which becomes overgrown with flowers as the concert progresses.

Filming notices at the event entrance stated the show would be professionally filmed, amid rumours of a special concert film being released.  

Each ticketholder is allowed to carry just one transparent bag made from clear plastic, vinyl or PVC, with no colour tints, prints, patterns or logos. They were also encouraged to only bring essential items.

There was a high police presence on site and extra security checks, resulting in long queues and wait times to enter the venue. 

This is a tragic consequence of her 2017 tour when Manchester Arena was targeted by an Islamist terrorist bomber, killing 22 audience members and leaving Ariana ‘broken’.

Much to the devastation of her adoring fans, these O2 shows will be the last they will see of her publicly in what has been forecast as a year.

So drastic will her pull-back from the spotlight be that Ariana’s team has even cancelled her commitments in November for the Focker-in-Law press tour.

There was a high police presence on site and extra security checks, resulting in long queues and wait times to enter the venue, with concert-goers dressed up in Ariana-themed outfits

Two donned Ariana’s signature bunny ears 

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Ariana sparked concern with her thin frame in her latest music video (pictured) 

Grande is pictured in 2018, which she claims was an ‘unhealthy’ time for her 

The star will appear opposite Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Owen Wilson in the latest of the Meet the Parents franchise.

Another major work commitment that has been affected by the shock hiatus, was her upcoming role in a Barbican production of Sunday In The Park with George: Stephen Sondheim’s legendary 1984 musical about Georges Seurat and his mistress Dot.

Jonathan Bailey, Ariana’s co-star in the Wicked franchise, will still fulfil his obligations as the 19th-century French painter, but the singer was forced to cancel.

Her casting had been a major coup for producers – and a triumph for the London venue.

Ariana and Jonathan were, of course, two stars of the Wicked films, by far the most successful cinematic adaptations of Broadway musicals ever, grossing more than $750million [£550million] at the box office and garnering ten Oscar nominations [including one for Grande as Best Supporting Actress].

For over a decade Ariana had repeated in interviews that playing the Glinda the ‘good witch’ was her greatest ambition and so when she landed the part in 2021 she waxed lyrical about how it was her ‘dream role’.

But it was a character that took an emotional and physical toll on the then-28-year-old star.

Intensive rehearsal schedules, singing live, and performing stunts alongside British co-star Cynthia Erivo were all-consuming.

It was then that conversations about Ariana’s weight began, as fans shared their concern when she appeared noticeably thinner while promoting the film.

Speculation around Ariana’s altered appearance – some concerned, some prurient and some simply cruel – has dogged her for a long time.

While the Thank U, Next singer has always publicly insisted that she is perfectly healthy and has never directly addressed concerns about her dramatic weight loss.

In April 2023, she addressed the speculation publicly with a post on TikTok, saying: ‘I think we should be gentler and less comfortable commenting on people’s bodies,’ adding it was hard ‘to be paid this close attention to [sic]’.

But the release of the music video for her new single Petal only served to inflate speculation surrounding her appearance.

Ariana surely hoped that it would attract attention for its feminist closing scene, in which she attacks a group of rude and dismissive male music executives with a chainsaw, ending up drenched in blood, like a horror film.

However, although the Petal video swiftly racked up millions of views, the reaction focused almost entirely on her strikingly thin appearance.

The British actress and Left-wing activist Jameela Jamil – who has survived an eating disorder – weighed in online, claiming that Grande was ‘possibly dying in front of us’ and wondering why her team had chosen to release such a ‘damaging image for young fans’.

Jamil later deleted her crass remark but insisted: ‘My point stands. This is deeply irresponsible.’

Finally, as the row approached a crescendo just two days after the videos release, Ariana’s team were forced to issue the bombshell statement.

Her spokesman told People magazine that the singer would ‘be taking a step back from visibility after she completes the Eternal Sunshine Tour’, adding: ‘She looks forward to … taking a much-deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless, ongoing public scrutiny.’

In January this year, Ariana admitted a career break ‘would be healthy’, telling Vogue Japan: ‘These past few years have been pretty non-stop. And by few, I mean 15.’ She added that she was searching for more ‘balance’ in the years to come.

Trouble began for Ariana in 2017 when there was the horrific suicide bombing of her Manchester Arena concert by the Islamist of Libyan descent, Salman Abedi.

He murdered 22 people, many of them children, and injured more than 1,000 others.

Inevitably, the atrocity deeply affected Ariana, who said she was ‘broken’ and couldn’t find the words to describe how devastated she felt at the time.

A year after the attack, she said: ‘People are permanently affected by this stuff. It changes everything.’ She added that she was coping with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Many lesser artists would have retired then and there – and she hardly needs the money, being worth around £200million – but Ariana bravely organised the benefit concert One Love Manchester to support victims and their families.

Then, in 2018 – just a year after the Manchester attack – her rapper ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, another child star who had burst on to the music scene as a 15-year-old, died from an accidental drug overdose.

He was just 26. Ariana had first met him when she was 19, and the pair were together for almost two years, breaking up some four months before he died.

‘I can’t believe you’re not here any more,’ she wrote online at the time. ‘I don’t know what to do. You were my dearest friend.’ In an interview the following year, she said her grief over his death was ‘pretty all-consuming’.

Shortly afterwards, she embarked on a brief, whirlwind relationship with actor and comedian Pete Davidson – a former boyfriend of Kim Kardashian – with the couple getting matching tattoos. Davidson presented her with a $93,000 engagement ring, and the couple even bought a pet pig together, named Piggie Smalls – before they broke off the engagement after spending just five months together.

Ariana went on to find brief happiness with Dalton Gomez, an estate agent for luxury properties, whom she married in 2021. However, their divorce was finalised three years later.

She also had a near-three-year relationship with actor Ethan Slater while filming Wicked, before they split up this summer. Slater is thought to have left his ex-wife and newborn baby after meeting the star.

She is now thought to be back in a relationship with Ricky Alvarez, whom she previously dated in 2015.

But amid her turbulent love life, her career has only gone from strength to strength.

Her sellout Eternal Sunshine Tour – and screaming fans – have been proof of that.

The Regional Government of Andalusia has issued advice to residents in areas impacted by the earthquake amid fears of further aftershocks.

Residents have been warned to not run out of buildings and instead take cover under a sturdy table or next to a secure structural element, and “hold on until the shaking stops”.

The advice adds: “Stay away from windows, lamps, shelves, and any objects that could fall. If you are outdoors, move away from building facades, cornices, balconies, walls, poles, power lines, and windows.

“If you are traveling in a vehicle, stop in a safe place, without obstructing traffic, and remain inside until the shaking stops. Once the earthquake has ended, use the stairs and never the elevator.”

Eleven people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, authorities say, in one of the deadliest days of attacks since an agreement aimed at reducing hostilities was announced in June.

Lebanon’s prime minister said seven people were killed in a strike on a house on the outskirts of Ansar, 70km (43 miles) south of the capital, Beirut. State media reported three children and two women were among the dead.

Israel’s Defense Forces (IDF) said it had killed a commander of Hezbollah – the Iran-backed Shia militia – following an attack against Israeli soldiers.

The commander’s family “who he used as human shields” were present and “harmed”, it added.

Later on Saturday, another round of strikes hit the town of Deir al-Zahrani, killing four and wounding five others, the Lebanese ministry of health said.

Lebanese authorities say the strike in Ansar at around 04:30 (01:30 GMT) occurred where displaced families were living. Footage on social media shows large plumes of smoke permeating through the streets of the village as sirens ring out.

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam condemned the attacks, saying the seven civilians killed were not “military infrastructure”.

“Israel must halt this escalation,” he said. “For the security of our people and their right to life on their land are not subject to negotiation or bargaining.”

The IDF said the incident that prompted its strike on Ansar had taken place in the Ali al-Taher Ridge, a strategic high ground overlooking much of south-eastern Lebanon and one of the war’s most fiercely contested positions.

A later IDF statement said Ali Samir al-Haj Hassan, who it described as a Hezbollah battalion commander in the Radwan Force unit, had been killed.

“Alongside him, several additional terrorists who were involved in advancing terror attacks against IDF soldiers were eliminated,” it added.

“The strike was specifically directed at Hassan, who was a lawful target under international law, not at his family members who he used as human shields – hiding alongside them inside the military HQ,” the IDF said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also issued a statement, defending the IDF strike.

It said the Hezbollah attack had seriously injured three soldiers and the response had struck “the Hezbollah terror headquarters which ordered the attack”.

“Only later did the IDF learn that Hezbollah deliberately put civilians in that military compound,” the statement added, before saying “Hezbollah is willing to do anything, including using its own civilians as human shields, to falsely accuse Israel of deliberately targeting civilians, which the IDF clearly did not”.

Hezbollah dismissed Netanyahu’s “false claims” and said Lebanese civilians “were deliberately targeted in their homes, many of whom were reduced to human remains, followed by claims that the locations were military sites”.

Moroccan police arrested nearly 300 people on Saturday as they thwarted a fresh attempt to enter Spain‘s North African enclave of Ceuta following calls on social media for another mass crossing.

The attempted surge came two weeks after more than 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta, leaving at least 96 people dead and sparking tensions across Europe.

Morocco’s Le360 media outlet reported that 294 people were arrested, 46 of them Moroccan and the rest from sub-Saharan Africa.

Moroccan police used tear gas to disperse groups of migrants gathered on hills around 3km (1.9 miles) from the border, according to Spanish news agency EFE.

Reporters later saw hundreds of officers, some in riot gear, returning from the hills outside Fnideq.

EFE and Spanish state broadcaster TVE said Morocco’s Interior Ministry ordered their journalists to leave Fnideq immediately, without providing an explanation.

In Ceuta, Spanish soldiers guarded supermarkets while police heavily patrolled the enclave’s main streets. The city was calmer than in the days after the deadly crossing attempt on July 30.

The incident took place in a mountainous area on the outskirts of Castillejos, south-west of Ceuta, Moroccan security forces have said 

Sub-Saharan African and Sudanese migrants gather near Fnideq (Castillejos), Morocco, as they attempt to enter the Spanish city of Ceuta, 15 August 2026

Migrants play with a ball as they wait to enter a short-stay migrants centre CETI at Trampolin beach in Spain’s north Africa’s Ceuta enclave on August 15, 2026

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Migrants rest under a makeshift shelter as they wait to enter a short-stay migrants centre CETI at Trampolin beach in Spain’s north Africa’s Ceuta enclave on August 15, 2026

A Spanish military vehicle arrives at the border with Morocco, following the mass crossings

Migrants are pictured taking shade beneath a tree as temperatures are set to reach 32C on Saturday, as authorities stand watch

Moroccan security forces monitor dozens of sub-Saharan migrants who have gathered on the outskirts of the border town of Fnideq, Morocco

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Moroccan security personnel secure the beach on the border with Spain in Ceuta, on Saturday

A heavy police and army deployment prepare at the border between Morocco and Spain today, after fresh social media calls for people to attempt the crossing

Madrid has since installed a maritime barrier and deployed more than 500 additional police from mainland Spain, raising the total in Ceuta to more than 1,600. The Interior Ministry said the reinforcements would remain for as long as needed.

‘We’ll continue to deploy whatever personnel are necessary to restore normality as soon as possible and prevent events like those of July 30 from happening again,’ Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said on Thursday.

About 5,000 migrants remained in Ceuta, the minister said. Reuters saw hundreds sheltering from scorching heat under makeshift bamboo shelters on the urban beach of El Trampolin.

Grande-Marlaska said migrants who entered irregularly would not be allowed to stay in the enclave, travel to mainland Spain or obtain legal status, except in rare cases involving extreme vulnerability. Those without a right to remain would be returned to Morocco, he said.

Earlier this week, Rabat said it was monitoring ‘the circulation of social media posts and messages of unknown origin’ calling for a mass crossing on August 15, warning it would prosecute organizers and participants.

A Reuters witness saw reinforced security near the border, including police vans with wire shields and road checkpoints. Local media reported similar measures near Spain’s other North African enclave, Melilla.

Authorities prevented several groups from boarding trains and buses to northern Morocco in cities such as Casablanca, Fez and Kenitra. However, witnesses told Reuters that some migrants from sub-Saharan Africa were bypassing security checkpoints by taking mountain routes towards Fnideq.

One witness said the schools in Fnideq had been turned into accommodation for security forces deployed near the border.

Many of the young people who entered Ceuta on July 30 were fishing, swimming or washing at Tarajal beach on Friday.

Driss Sadik, a 22-year-old from Fez who said he swam for five hours to reach Ceuta, urged others not to follow his example.

‘The important thing I would advise people trying to cross: Don’t cross now, my brothers. You’re only going to suffer,’ he told Reuters.

The warning was echoed by Adil Jamil, 17.

‘Those who enter aren’t going to benefit from anything. There will just be more and more of us, and they won’t find a solution for all,’ he said.

Jamil said that the mass border crossings were ‘planned by the people’ who pick a date, gather in Fnideq and cross together to find strength in numbers.

Police and military personnel from Spain and Morocco were both deployed early on Saturday

A boat passes by the sea barrier that the Spanish government installed on the border with Morocco in Ceuta following last month’s mass crossing

Security has been beefed up in the area, including by installing barbed wire on border fences

‘If I had stayed with my parents, I would’ve died slowly. But if I risk my life, arrive and build my future … it will be better,’ he said. 

According to El Pais, one message posted to online forums in which migrants discuss mobilising read: ‘The Ceuta border will be open on the 15th [of August], a public holiday in Spain.’ 

Rachid el-Jalfi, a spokesman for Morocco’s Ministry of the Interior, said on Wednesday that ‘all necessary measures’ had been taken to prevent illegal crossings.

He urged those planning to travel to Ceuta or Melilla to ignore online messages that appeared ‘suspicious and deceptive’, warning that attempts to cross posed ‘serious risks to people’s safety’.

Early last month, Spain’s top judicial body ruled that a procedure used to return illegal migrants only applied when they breached a physical border, rather than when they arrived by sea.

Migrants attempting to cross into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta gather on a hilltop during clashes with Moroccan security forces near the town of Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026

Migrants gather along the fence close to the site of clashes near Fnideq last month

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Relatives and friends wait by a fence topped with barbed wire for the return of people who had previously crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta, at Morocca’s Bab Sebta border crossing on the outskirts of Fnideq on August 2, 2026

A woman is escorted by Moroccan security forces during clashes with migrants attempting to cross into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta near the town of Fnideq, on the Morocco-Spain border, on July 31, 2026

Police vehicles are seen parked close to the Ceuta border ahead of a possible fresh incursion today

Hundreds of soldiers and police personnel have been deployed by both sides

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Under the ruling, migrants who cross an unmarked maritime border can still be returned, but only through a separate formal procedure.

The crisis began on July 30, when more than 72,000 migrants surged into Ceuta. The following day, the Spanish government announced plans for a maritime containment barrier, which it began installing off the coast on August 1.

The influx also triggered a diplomatic row within the European Union after Italy temporarily suspended its Schengen arrangements with Spain and introduced checks on travellers arriving from the country by air and sea.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described the ‘uncontrolled immigration’ from Morocco into Ceuta as a national security threat.

Spain summoned the Italian ambassador in response, with Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares saying Madrid expected ‘European solidarity and not partisan demagoguery’. Spain then suspended its own Schengen arrangements with Italy.

Spanish authorities are meanwhile processing migrants who remain in Ceuta ahead of possible returns to Morocco.

Officials are using warehouses in Tarajal and elsewhere in the enclave to temporarily house migrants while they are identified and processed, with authorities hoping to return those without a right to remain within 72 hours of locating them.

The aftermath of the crossing has also been marred by allegations that several young migrant girls were raped after arriving in Ceuta.

Young men are arrested after attempting to storm the Bab Sebta border crossing near Fnideq, Morocco, July 31 2026

Most of the migrants who entered Ceuta have now left, authorities say

The alleged victims, all under the age of 14, sought treatment at the University Hospital of Ceuta (HUCE) this past week, health services told the El Pueblo de Ceuta newspaper.

Judicial sources said many of the alleged rapes were prevented by the direct intervention of residents of Ceuta.

Some residents of the autonomous city were also among the accused, however.

The Ceuta Prosecutor’s Office previously said it was aware of two of the cases of alleged sexual assault and had opened preliminary proceedings.

It confirmed that no arrests had yet been made.

SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Seahawks and cornerback Devon Witherspoon have agreed to a four-year, $132 million contract extension, with $101 million guaranteed, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press on Saturday.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract, which would make Witherspoon the highest-paid cornerback in the NFL, hasn’t been finalized.

On March 26, the Seahawks exercised their fifth-year option on Witherspoon, but elected to sign him to a long-term deal on the same day they started preseason play against the Dallas Cowboys.

Witherspoon, 25, was selected No. 5 overall by the Seahawks in the 2023 draft. In the same round of that draft, the Seahawks selected wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who in March agreed to a four-year, $168.8 million contract with $120 million guaranteed.

In three seasons with Seattle, Witherspoon has been selected to the Pro Bowl each season. He also made the second-team All-Pro team and helped the Seahawks win the Super Bowl last season.

Witherspoon appeared in all three of Seattle’s playoff games during its Super Bowl run, making 17 tackles and four passes defended.

In 43 regular-season games, Witherspoon has 249 tackles, 32 passes defended, 16 tackles for loss, 4 1/2 sacks and two interceptions.

___

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Police kept two groups apart as tensions flared at counter protests.

Police were forced to step in as masked demonstrators confronted a rival anti-racism march in Falkirk.

The rally on Saturday by Voices for Falkirk had been dubbed “The Right Unites” – explicitly inviting far right groups to assemble in the town, outside the Cladhan Hotel, which was housing asylum seekers but is reportedly no longer being used for that purpose.

Pictures from the scene show the group confronting a Unity March organised by the Stand Up to Racism group and Falkirk For All.

The anti-immirgration group, with several wearing masks and dark clothing, came face to face with police officers as tensions flared. Police moved in to separate the groups, with one masked man seen shouting through a megaphone while demonstrators on the opposing side chanted back.

Other images show members of the Unity March carrying a large banner reading: “Falkirk United Against Racism – Refugees Are Welcome Here.”

The counter-demonstration began at Callendar House before making its way towards Falkirk town centre.

The clashes come one year after a series of heated protests began outside the Cladhan Hotel, with rival anti-immigration and anti-racism campaigners repeatedly facing off.

The hotel has since become one of the main flashpoints for anti-immigration protests in Scotland.

Police Scotland figures show Falkirk has accounted for a significant proportion of anti-immigration protests across the country, with the vast majority taking place around the Cladhan Hotel.

A recent Scottish Police Authority report revealed that anti-immigration demonstrations had generated a major policing demand across Scotland.

The report said 83 counter-protests had taken place during the period examined, with around 80 per cent held in response to anti-immigration protests.

Falkirk accounted for 52 per cent of anti-immigration protests recorded by police across Scotland during the period, with almost all taking place at the Cladhan Hotel.

Today’s confrontation also comes just days after a Syrian asylum seeker who had stayed at the hotel was jailed for four years over the sexual assaults of two women in Falkirk.

Muhammad Sheikhi, 23, was sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court after being found guilty of two attacks on women who were making their way home from nights out.

His conviction has further inflamed tensions surrounding the hotel.

The assaults happened in the early hours of November 30 last year, the same day that major pro- and anti-immigration demonstrations were held around the Cladhan.

Sheikhi was convicted following a trial in May and was described by the sentencing sheriff as having carried out deliberate and predatory attacks.

But campaigners opposing anti-immigration demonstrations have warned against using individual criminal cases to target asylum seekers as a group.

Stand Up To Racism had urged supporters to attend today’s Unity March, claiming the Voices for Falkirk event was an attempt by organised far-right groups to mobilise in the town.

In the run-up to today’s protest, the group said: “Falkirk far-right are not ‘local people with local concerns’. They are part of organised networks of racists, fascists and white supremacist groups who spread hate, Islamophobia & racist violence.”

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More replacement journeys have been arranged between Sheffield and Derbyshire for passengers caught up in delays and cancellations following the Totley Tunnel blaze.

A coach will depart Sheffield calling at stations to New Mills Central except Edale at 18:30, National Rail has said.

There is also a 16-seater bus at 18:30 departing New Mills Central calling at stations to Sheffield.

Another 16-seater bus, also at 18:30, will depart Sheffield calling at stations to New Mills Central.