Angry locals are meeting at the local pub this week to voice their concerns

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Residents in a quiet village in rural Wales are angry over plans for a helicopter hangar and two helipads, according to a local councillor.

Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust has submitted a planning application to Denbighshire County Council for the creation of a helicopter hangar, staff facilities, offices, two helipads and parking at the site beside the village of Rhuallt south of Prestatyn.

The trust is also seeking permission for new access from the B5429 to the site west of the quiet village.

The trust has said the proximity of the site, which is near the A55, is vital to improving response times. It said no adverse noise impact is expected and air ambulances in the UK “routinely operate alongside key road infrastructure without issue”.

But local councillor Alastair Edwards, of Tremeirchion, Cwm, and Waen Community Council, predicts a significant pushback from residents.

Annoyed residents will gather at the White House pub and restaurant in the village on Wednesday evening, May 6, to voice their concerns about the proposed development. Cllr Edwards said those worries relate primarily to noise and safety for road users on the neighbouring A55.

He said residents fear the location raises serious concerns – particularly its proximity to homes, businesses, and the A55. “It’s right next to ten homes – within 160 metres of the properties – and the noise is going to be horrendous,” he said.

“There will be two helicopters stationed there, a fleet of emergency vehicles coming and going, housing for pilots, restrooms, and a car park. It is a massive development for that site.”

Concerns are also being raised about the potential knock-on effect for drivers on the nearby expressway. “They want it there because they say it needs to be close to the A55, but my other major concern is the rubber-necking effect,” Cllr Edwards said.

“Helicopters have to take off into the wind; if they are taking off right as drivers are coming down the A55 – which is already a blackspot – it’s going to have a massive impact on road safety.

“It is a terrible idea. We are not against the amazing work the air ambulance does. It is just the site selection.”

Cllr Edwards said the impact on nearby residents and businesses could be severe. “The noise impact will be devastating for local residents, especially for those ten houses and the businesses within a few metres of the field,” he said.

“For example, the White House holds weddings; a project like this will have a massive impact on local businesses like theirs.”

He also pointed to what he described as a nearby alternative site. “The reason I am opposing this location is that there is already a valid alternative site in Rhuddlan on Rhuddlan Road, where the police helipad is currently disused and being used only for storage and as a dog facility,” he added.

“People are angry. Residents are upset that this development will ruin their quality of life. This is an area of outstanding natural beauty full of agricultural land and they are planning to build right on top of it.”

A spokesman for the Wales Air Ambulance Charitable Trust responded: “Following seven weeks of community engagement, including a 28-day pre-application consultation, we have submitted a comprehensive, fully evidenced planning application to Denbighshire County Council.

“The application is supported by an independent specialist acoustic assessment which concludes that significant noise effects are unlikely and that no adverse noise impact is expected.

“As a service that operates by road and by air, a more central location next to the A55 is vital to improving our response capability – and will help us save more lives.

“We are consulting with the highways authority in relation to this. Air ambulance operations across the UK routinely operate alongside key road infrastructure without issue.”

Cardiff signed off their League One campaign with a performance full of attacking intent but riddled with defensive lapses in a 5-4 defeat at Mansfield Town.

Going forward there were flashes of quality, particularly from Tanner and Kellyman, but the backline was repeatedly exposed.

It made for an entertaining spectacle, but one that underlined clear areas for improvement ahead of next season.

Harry Tyrer 6

Made several excellent saves, including an early point-blank stop and multiple interventions to keep the score respectable, though left exposed too often. Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.

Ronan Kpakio 5

Struggled defensively and was beaten too easily at times, but did at least get forward and grabbed a late goal.

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Will Fish 5

Made some important defensive contributions but couldn’t cope with Mansfield’s pace in behind.

Dylan Lawlor 4

A difficult afternoon, with his misplaced pass leading directly to a goal and some issues dealing with runners on the counter.

Joel Bagan 4

Endured a tough outing defensively and was partly at fault in the build-up to Mansfield’s second.

Joel Colwill 4

Outmuscled for the opening goal and found it hard going physically, though he showed glimpses in possession.

David Turnbull 4

Exposed in that No.6 role on the counter-attack and couldn’t impose himself consistently.

Rubin Colwill 5

Showed intent with his shooting and link play, but lacked end product before being substituted.

Ollie Tanner 7

A bright spark for Cardiff, hitting the bar twice and constantly threatening with direct running and creativity. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.

Yousef Salech 5

Worked hard and linked play well, providing a useful focal point without getting on the scoresheet or impacting play too much.

Chris Willock 5

Lively in spells and unlucky with an early effort, but faded as the game wore on.

Subs

Omari Kellyman (Joel Colwill 57) 7 (star man) – Added energy and quality, scoring twice and making a real impact in his last game.

Alex Robertson (Turnbull 57) 6 – Helped Cardiff move the ball better and delivered some useful set-pieces.

Isaak Davies (Willock 57) 7 – Took his goal well and offered a more direct attacking threat.

Noah Williams (Bagan 70) 6 – A steady debut in difficult circumstances.

Paul Moreno (R. Colwill 88) N/A – Late cameo for the 16-year-old on his debut.

—

*Sign up to our daily Bluebirds newsletter here and our WhatsApp channel here. Cardiff City correspondent Glen Williams is also on social media. He can be found on his X account here, on Instagram, on TikTok and on Facebook.

This pretty 16th-century pub offers a variety of traditional classics

It is one of those rare weekends many of us particularly look forward to, a little extra time to rest, recharge, and enjoy some quality time with the people we love. This bank holiday weekend is looking like we could have the weather on our side with temperatures reaching 21C in parts of Cambridgeshire at times.

What better way to spend a day basking in the warmth than at a pub with a crisp drink in hand and a plate of food? The Black Bull in Brampton sits in a pretty village just two miles from Huntingdon and boasts one of the biggest beer gardens in Cambridgeshire.

One of the perks of this 16th-century pub is having all the traditional classics to choose from such as The Bull’s mac ‘n’ cheese, Black Bull’s homemade cottage pie, and a variety of different burger options. Breakfast is served from 9am at the weekends and there is also a roast dinner on a Sunday.

The glowing reviews on Tripadvisor speak for itself. The pub is described as having a “huge beer garden” with “fantastically friendly staff”.

One guest captioned their review as “out of this world food” and continued to say that they “were truly blown away”. The review added: “The food was delicious – such great quality and great value for money! I had the burger and can truly say it was probably the best I’ve ever eaten!”

Another wrote: “This is our local. We go here quite a bit and it never disappoints. Food is always lovely (chilli beef is one of my favourite things in the world). Always good in the summer with the bouncy castle, BBQ and outside bar.”

It’s an end of an era in WWE as The New Day are done.

Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods are calling time on two glittering careers with the wrestling giant after 20 and 16 years respectively.

This includes 12 years as a team, coming together as a featured act for WWE Raw in 2014.

According to Fightful Select and Bodyslam’s Cory Hays, the duo have parted ways with WWE by ‘mutual consent.’

Meanwhile, MFT members Tonga Loa and JC Matteo are also set to leave as main roster releases continue.

These departures come after a raft of post-WrestleMania cuts, including the likes of Kairi Sane, the entirety of the Wyatt Sicks group, and more.

As New Day, Kofi and Xavier (and Big E) have won more WWE tag titles than any duo in history, with 13.

The pair’s seven SmackDown reigns is also a WWE record – as is their 483-day stint as Raw champs.

Kofi is also a former WWE Champion after beating Daniel Bryan at WrestleMania 35 in 2019.

Celebrating ten years of their partnership in 2024, Kofi reflected on the success of The New Dayin an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk.

‘It’s wild to see how far we’ve come, even from the people rejecting us,’ he said.

‘When you think about it, we came out and just told everyone to be the best version of themselves, that you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it,’ he recalled.

‘People booed us out of the building and told us that we suck! What is going on in this jaded world that we live in where you tell people to be the best that they can be, and they say, “Nah, we don’t want to hear that, man, you guys suck!”‘

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MORE: Legendary wrestling star reveals he was ‘banned’ from joining Gladiator 26 years ago

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The blaze, involving scrap metal, broke out at a waste processing site on Tenax Road, Trafford Park with ten fire engines from across Greater Manchester sent to the scene.

The fire was reported at around 2am in the early hours of Saturday May 2 and at its height could be seen for miles around.

Firefighters worked through the night and by around 11.20am the area had been made safe with roads reopened.

Speaking from the scene, Station Manager Tony Morgan said: “I’m now pleased to say that this fire is under control, the crews have worked incredibly hard to get the incident under control so that the smoke is no longer causing any problems to the local community.

📢 Station Manager Tony Morgan shares an update on the fire at Tenax Road this morning.
🚒 The incident is now being scaled down. pic.twitter.com/55ApbfR117

— Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (@manchesterfire) May 2, 2026

“The roads around Trafford Park that were closed throughout the night are now open again and we’ve been supported by Trafford Council to achieve that, reducing the impact of this over the bank holiday weekend.

“And as you can see behind me, we are now working with the on-site team to ensure this incident is resolved as quickly as possible.

“So, thank you for your patience as we continue to deal with the incident to conclusion, take care.”

The fire broke out at Trafford Park (Image: Social Media)

Roads were closed throughout the night and into the morning as firefighters went about their work but by later on Saturday had all been reopened.

Fire crews were able to put out the fire using a Scorpion, a turntable ladder, two jets and six ground monitors .

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service said that all members of staff at the waste processing site had been accounted for and there were no reported casualties.

This was only around a week after a huge fire broke out in the same area on Friday April 24 which, at its height, could be seen from Mount Snowdon in Wales.

Members of the public have been urged to always call 999 in the event of an emergency as soon as it is safe do to so.

Manchester City Under-18s clinched the Premier League North title on Sunday with victory over Derby County as nearest challengers Manchester United slipped to defeat

Manchester City secured back to back Under-18 Premier League North titles on Saturday after a dramatic eight goal thriller against Derby County.

The Blues emerged 5-3 victors and were then crowned champions around half an hour after the full time whistle when the final whistle blew in closest rivals Manchester United’s game with Newcastle with the Reds slipping to defeat.

It means City are crowned champions with two games to spare and will now go on to play in the national final against Chelsea later this month. The Blues also have an FA Youth Cup final against United to look forward to as they seek to finish the season in style.

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Saturday’s victory came in thrilling fashion in a dramatic second half. Kylan Midwood had City one up at the break and when half time substitute Teddie Lamb made it two and then cleverly set-up Xavier Parker for a third it seemed the points were safe.

Israel Green cut the deficit from the spot for Derby before Midwood struck twice to seal a hat-trick and open up a four-goal lead. Again Derby responded with Hodges and Corry hauling the visitors back into contention and the Rams threatened further in the closing stages but City held out. And, when news from United came through, the players were able to celebrate on the pitch.

Academy Director Thomas Kruecken said: “Winning the Under-18 Premier League North title for a second successive season is a fantastic achievement and a really proud moment for everyone connected to the Academy.

“Winning back-to-back titles is really difficult. It takes immense dedication and hard work from every single player, Oliver and member of staff – and that’s exactly what we’ve seen.

“The quality of football, the amazing results we’ve had and our ability to bounce back during difficult times in the season have combined to make this a special season once again.

“I am so pleased to see the hard work on and off the pitch rewarded. Everyone at Manchester City should be really proud of this group of players.”

City Under-21s booked their place in the play-off semi-finals after another comeback victory over Aston Villa on Friday night. They could also play United, who face Crystal Palace in their quarter-final on Monday.

The Millfield (Beefeater) in York and The Carousel (Brewers Fayre) in Scarborough have announced that they will be shutting down as their parent company undergoes a major restructuring programme.

Hospitality group Whitbread – which owns Premier Inn, beefeater, and Brewers Fayre – has announced plans to shut 197 restaurants and cut around 3,800 jobs across the UK and Ireland.

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Whitbread said it wanted to save money in light of cost pressures coming from business rates and national insurance contributions, with its new plan aiming to cut capital spending by more than £1 billion in five years.

This will see it sell off £1.5 billon worth of its freehold properties – meaning the hotels it owns outright – to “fund future growth and increasingly look to grow on a leasehold basis”.

Around 30,000 people work for Whitbread, with roughly 12 per cent of staff expected to be impacted by the closure – with the group adding that they “expect to retain a significant proportion of those affected through redeployment”.

It is still planning to increase the number of hotel rooms it has open to 96,000 by the 2031 financial year (from the current of approximately 86,600), with the group set to offer a new integrated food and drink model – something that it says is preferred by hotel guests.

The Milfield in York (Image: Google Maps)

Chief executive Dominic Paul said: “We always challenge ourselves to improve and, in light of significant cost increases in the form of business rates and national insurance, as well as the implied market discount to our inherent value, we’ve looked hard at the options open to us to maximise value creation over the medium and long-term.

“This has been a rigorous process and we’ve approached all options with an open mind.

“Our new five-year plan builds on our strengths and drives a significant acceleration of our strategy.”

He added: “This plan will transform Whitbread into a higher-margin, higher-returning pure-play hotel business.

The Carousel in Scarborough (Image: Google Maps)

“We’re going to go further and faster to deliver a great experience for our guests and high-quality growth and returns for our shareholders.”

The date of the closures are yet to be confirmed but once we know more, we will provide an update.

The four suspects have since been bailed

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Four teenagers have been arrested after a 34‑year‑old man was stabbed outside a McDonald’s in Leeds city centre, prompting a significant police response on one of the city’s busiest streets.

On Tuesday (April 28), officers were called to Briggate shortly after 9pm following reports of a dispute. The victim was found with a stab wound to the stomach and taken to hospital, where his injuries were described by West Yorkshire Police as not life‑threatening.

A large cordon was set up around the fast‑food restaurant and the surrounding pedestrianised area as detectives examined the scene and gathered evidence, including CCTV footage.

The four boys, aged between 13 and 16, were arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault. They have since been bailed while enquiries continue. No further details have been released by the police about the cause of the incident or what happened.

“At 9.08pm on 28 April officers were called to Briggate in Leeds to reports of an altercation,” a spokesperson for the force confirmed. “A 34-year-old man was taken to hospital with a stab injury to his stomach. He is being treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

“Four teenage boys aged between 13 and 16 were arrested at the scene on suspicion of assault. They are all currently in custody. Enquiries are ongoing by Leeds CID.”

Anyone who witnessed the incident is asked to contact detectives by calling 101 or via the 101LiveChat online, quoting reference 13260239777.

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