“An investigation is underway to understand the full circumstances”
A 23‑year‑old driver has died and seven others are in hospital after he failed to stop for police and smashed his BMW into multiple vehicles during a chase.
Advertisement
The man was pronounced dead at the scene, on the A21 in East Sussex. as emergency crews rushed the seven other casualties to hospital where were later treated. Two are being treated for serious injuries, with the remaining casualties described as having minor wounds.
Emergency crews were scrambled to the incident while the A21 was closed between Battle and Hurst Green, and is expected to remain so until Monday, according to Sussex Police.
Advertisement
The fatal collision is under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) as it unfolded following a police pursuit. “This was a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the family of this young man and all those affected,” said Det Supt Andy Wolstenholme, of Sussex Police.
“An investigation is underway to understand the full circumstances and there will be increased police activity in the area while this is ongoing. I would like to thank the public for their patience during the emergency response and for their understanding as our enquiries continue.
“Anyone who has any information that could help the investigation, or relevant dashcam or CCTV footage, is asked to contact police online or via 101, quoting Operation Drummer.”
Ensure our latest news and sport headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as Preferred Source.
Advertisement
‘Tragic incident’
“We are independently investigating Sussex Police involvement prior to a road traffic collision on the A21, Robertsbridge, in which a member of the public has sadly died,” The IOPC confirmed, adding “The incident took place just after 8.15pm on Saturday. We understand a police patrol car came across a BMW in the Hastings area, which made off from police when requested to stop.
“Following a pursuit, the BMW collided with several other vehicles at Robertsbridge, around six miles north of Hastings. The driver of the BMW, a man in his 20s, died at the scene.
“Other members of the public involved in the incident were taken to hospital for treatment. Our investigation will look at police actions prior to the fatal collision. After being notified by the force, we sent investigators to the police post incident procedures to begin gathering evidence and declared an independent investigation. Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this incident.”
The full statement from the force read: “The A21 in Robertsbridge remains closed today (12 April) following a serious collision that has now sadly been confirmed as fatal. Emergency services were called to the A21 at around 8.20pm on Saturday (11 April) after a BMW car heading northbound was involved in a collision with three other vehicles.
Advertisement
“The driver of the BMW – a 23-year-old man from Hailsham – was sadly declared deceased at the scene. His next of kin have been informed. Two passengers in another vehicle were taken to hospital with serious injuries, while five other people involved suffered minor injuries requiring hospital treatment.
“The BMW had been involved in a police pursuit shortly before the collision, and a referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct who have declared that they will conduct an independent investigation.”
– The Attenborough’s hawkweed or Hieracium attenboroughianum – the wildflower became the first living species in the UK and Ireland to be named after him. It was discovered more than 10 years ago in the Brecon Beacons but it took a decade for scientists to establish whether or not it was actually new.
A gardening expert known shared his popular three-step method for reviving a tired lawn this summer
The condition of your lawn can make or break the overall look of your garden. As temperatures climb and rainfall becomes scarce throughout the summer months, grass can deteriorate far more rapidly than many homeowners realise.
Advertisement
To help keep your lawn looking lush throughout the season, gardening expert and TikTok creator Ish has shared his straightforward three-step approach to maintaining verdant grass for months on end. In a recent video, he said: “If you want a perfect lawn like I’ve got here, well, I’ll show you just how easy it is in three steps.”
Ish wrote in the video’s caption: “Today’s gardening tips will show you my tried and tested method to reviving an old, tired lawn by introducing air into the soil, seeding and feeding it. Your grass has never looked better.”
Breathing new life into a neglected and worn lawn needn’t be an overwhelming task. Ish’s technique, in fact, breaks it down into just three straightforward steps.
Advertisement
The first step involves preparing the lawn to ensure the grass is in good health and clearing away any moss, reports the Mirror. Ish advised using a lawn tonic or iron sulphate dissolved in water and applied via a watering can, spreading the mixture evenly across the grass before leaving it to absorb over several days.
This process causes the moss to “turn to crisp”, at which point you can begin scarifying the lawn. To prepare the ground, an aerator, scarifier, garden fork, or hand rake can all be used to puncture the soil, allowing water to drain through more effectively.
Scarifying is a lawn maintenance technique that involves using mechanical blades or tines to cut through and extract a thick layer of thatch – comprising dead grass, roots and organic debris – from your lawn.
Content cannot be displayed without consent
By thinning out and clearing away this material, the overall condition of your lawn is significantly enhanced, promoting improved air circulation, water penetration and nutrient uptake while removing competing matter within the soil.
Advertisement
Ish said: “Once you’ve successfully butchered your lawn, you can now focus on over-seeding, especially where there are bald patches where the weeds and moss were. And did you know you could get special lawn seed for shady parts of your garden? Now you do.
“Leave the lawn to grow and in about four to six weeks, making sure you keep it fairly hydrated, and then after that, you want to introduce a good feed. Do this every couple months or so and your lawn will absolutely thrive.
“And if you’re feeling particularly lazy, do this in the rain. You don’t have to water it in then.”
B&Q recommends giving your lawn a thorough watering to help the soil retain moisture. The retailer also suggests that the optimal time to aerate your lawn is a day or two following rainfall, while the soil remains damp.
Advertisement
That said, it’s advisable to steer clear of aerating lawns after “extremely” heavy downpours, as the ground may become saturated. Following scarification and aeration, you can apply generous amounts of autumn grass seed, which contains higher levels of phosphorus.
This feed prioritises root development, in contrast to feeds with higher nitrogen content, which concentrate on encouraging grass growth. After completing these three steps, Ish assured viewers they can enjoy their lawn “all summer long”.
The luxury Derwent Manor Boutique Hotel, set on 20 acres of countryside near Allensford, has several cottages on its expansive land.
The popular hotel claimed that the actor and comedian, Rowan Atkinson, was born in one of the cottages on site.
The Derwent Manor Hotel (Image: Tripadvisor)
Hollywood’s Rowan Atkinson is best known for his title roles in the sitcoms Mr Bean and Blackadder, along with his performance in the spy action film Johnny English.
“Did you know Rowan Atkinson – aka Mr Bean – was born in our very own Rowan Cottage… and that’s exactly how it got its name?
Advertisement
“Rowan Cottage is a beautiful three-bedroom retreat, complete with a fully equipped kitchen, two bathrooms, and a cosy lounge.
“Step outside and you’ll find a stunning garden with a hot tub, overlooking the valley and the breathtaking Hownsgill Viaduct.”
Advertisement
The recently refurbished Derwent Manor also hosts weddings and events.
Rowan Atkinson is best known for roles in Mr Bean, Blackadder and Johnny English (Image: Matt Crossick/PA Media Assignments)
One Tripadvisor review said: “After booking our wedding here a few weeks ago we thought we would head up for an overnight stay and to try out the food.
“Amazing stay in one of the hideaway rooms. Beds and pillows are so comfy! Lovely chill vibes in the bar area and the staff are very welcoming and friendly.”
The Derwent Manor, Allensford (Image: Tripadvisor)
Another added they enjoyed a ‘wonderful experience’ at the hotel, celebrating their 21st wedding anniversary.
Advertisement
“We’re both very grateful for our room upgrade, which was a lovely surprise, the entire stay was fantastic as it always has been, food delicious and beautifully kept grounds and luxurious interior and rooms.”
“This is our third visit to the hotel, it is so nice,” a satisfied customer said. “The staff on reception and the staff in Prego restaurant are so pleasant and helpful. The grounds are so peaceful as you’re away from the main road and the views are lovely.”
The Reds battled back from 2-0 down to level the match through Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo before Kobbie Mainoo scored a 77th-minute winner for Manchester United.
United’s victory confirmed their place in next season’s Champions League and all-but secured them third-place in the Premier League with a six-point lead over fourth-placed Liverpool with three games remaining.
Advertisement
Speaking after the game, Old Trafford legend Gary Neville suggested Manchester United were not far away from challenging for the Premier League title and said it was ‘up for grabs over the next one or two years’.
But Carragher dismissed United’s title credentials and also ruled Liverpool out of winning the Premier League next season, claiming there will be another title race between current contenders Arsenal and Manchester City.
Asked if Liverpool or Manchester United are in a better position to win the Premier League next year, Carragher said on The Gary Neville podcast: ‘I still think Liverpool are better-placed and the reason I say that is we’ve seen Man United’s best team out there today.
Michael Carrick after Man Utd beat Liverpool (Picture: Getty)
‘Liverpool are three of four short there. They also have the players who have won before in terms of the biggest trophies.
‘I don’t think either of them will be there in terms of the title next season. I still think it will be Arsenal or Manchester City.
Advertisement
‘There’s a false economy with Manchester United when they haven’t played any European football and they went out in the first round of both cup competitions.
Arne Slot’s Liverpool have endured a shocking season (Picture: Getty)
‘Now that can fool you. Man United will finish third this season but I don’t think for a minute believe they’re the third-best team in the Premier League.
‘I still think Liverpool are in a better position in terms of the squad when the injured players get back and having those players that have won trophies before.’
Addressing the same talking point, Neville said: ‘There’s a couple of real unknowns. The managers and which club is going to recruit the best this summer.
Arsenal and Man City are battling for the title (Picture: Getty)
‘Both are going to sign three or four. But how much money do the clubs have to spend money on recruitment?
‘I do think the league could be up for grabs over the next couple of years and I think Manchester United could be in a position to exploit that.
Advertisement
‘At some point, Pep [Guardiola] has to leave. And I don’t think the other big clubs aren’t quite right. There is a league title up to grabs over the next one to two years.’
Manchester United return to Premier League action next weekend against Sunderland, while Liverpool face Chelsea at Anfield.
Title rivals Arsenal and Manchester City can barely be separated going into the final few weeks of the Premier League season.
A woman has shared her top tips for travelling with only hand luggage, including a ‘genius’ carry-on hack to help you avoid paying extra baggage fees at the airport
Paige Freshwater Social Newsdesk Writer
02:06, 04 May 2026
A savvy traveller has been praised for revealing her ‘genius’ method to maximise hand luggage capacity while sidestepping additional charges when flying.
“Number one, I put a bag inside a bag. You see this bag [referencing her video], there’s another bag inside of it. I usually go to Boots or Duty Free, and get a bag because they are not allowed to touch anything inside something you’ve bought already within the airport.
“I have a crossbody bag, obviously that’s fine, it’s tiny. Then I have my small suitcase, make sure you roll everything within your suitcase so it can fit.”
Additionally, she suggests getting on the aircraft promptly to secure space in an overhead locker instead of attempting to cram it beneath your seat.
Commenting on her post, one user said: “I do the duty thing too. Get a cheeky meal deal from Boots and ask for the biggest bag.”
Advertisement
Another user added: “People also don’t realise you don’t need to use those plastic bags for toiletries, you can use your own see through makeup bag, doesn’t matter how big.”
A third user revealed: “But nowadays you can even bring a cabin wheeled bag, just a rucksack. I do the duty free bag but Ryanair told me they have limitations on duty.”
Another traveller suggested: “I always bring a pillow case put some clothes in.”
Content cannot be displayed without consent
This comes as fellow passengers revealed their top tips for enhancing the airport journey, with one stating: “You can’t bring a full water bottle through airport security, but you can bring an empty one.”
Advertisement
They continued: “Most airports have water bottle fillers installed at drinking fountains after security. Beats paying six dollars for bottled water.”
Building on this advice, another passenger suggested making security screening quicker by taking off bottle caps, demonstrating to officers that containers are genuinely empty.
Someone else offered an alternative approach: “You can bring ice in a bottle though as long as it’s not melted. I like to do that and then fill it up inside the airport. I love ice water.”
One savvy flyer recommended bypassing the first water refill point beyond security – typically congested with queues – and heading to the next available fountain for a swifter top-up.
Advertisement
Another traveller shared a health-focused suggestion for extended journeys, noting: “For personal comfort, I find compression socks to really help during longer flights/trips.
“I also carry an empty water bottle through security, then refill it before boarding in order to have plenty of water for the flight.
“I carry a light sweater or thin-down vest in my bag (too many cold flights). Noise-cancelling headphones. I also carry a small external battery pack.
“Always plan for the worst (long lines, delays) allow plenty of time and arrive early.”
Shaun Murphy is facing a serious test in the shape of Wu Yize (Picture: Getty Images)
Wu Yize played some spectacular snooker on Sunday night and leads Shaun Murphy 10-7 after two sessions of the World Snooker Championship final.
The pair were level at 4-4 after the opening session, with both showing signs of nerves, but both were more settled in the evening.
The 22-year-old in his first final made a blistering start at night, knocking in breaks of 82 and 103 to stride into a lead.
Murphy wasn’t doing much wrong and took the next with a 72, but Wu claimed the next two, including an 89 to look in good nick at 8-5 ahead.
Advertisement
It was pretty relentless attacking snooker from both, with Murphy feeling forced into the odd safety, while Wu took on near enough everything.
The Magician made 70 to take the 14th, before Wu responded with a 66 as the fans in Sheffield continued to be treated to brilliant scoring.
Are you snooker loopy?
You’re in the right place. I’m Phil Haigh, and I cover the game we all love for Metro.
In my new newsletter, The Table, I analyse the biggest talking points, pull back the curtain on the sport and crown the biggest winners and losers every week.
Advertisement
The next edition will look back on what has been a great World Championship yet again, so there’s no better time to sign up.
Phil has been reporting on snooker for over a decade, since working in World Snooker’s press office in 2012
While Murphy was not poor by any stretch, it felt like he was hanging on to Wu, but it looked like he might escape with just a one-frame deficit when he took the 16th and got in the balls in the 17th.
Wu Yize takes a commanding three-frame lead against Shaun Murphy in the 2026 World Snooker Championship final! 👏He leads 10-7 overnight.📺 Watch conclusion to the World Snooker Championship tomorrow live on TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/x2sm4uTvrc
He was a touch unlucky to land awkward and played, what looked like, a perfectly good safety, but Wu sank an immense long red and knocked in 91 to finish the day 10-7 up.
Seven-time champion Stephen Hendry was loving the performance of the thrilling Chinese star from the BBC studio.
‘What a player. He’s just brilliant. He plays the game properly and goes for the shots,’ said the Scot.
Stephen Hendry is hugely impressed by Wu Yize (Picture: Getty Images)
‘He’s obviously at a stage of his career when he’s not had many scars and he’s not thinking about the consequences of missing. He’s just having fun.
‘The important thing is when he’s playing shots, he’s fully committing to them. There are no thoughts of bailing out at any stage.’
Advertisement
He added: ‘He’s having fun out there and that’s the worst kind of opponent you can have, someone who looks as though they’re enjoying themself.’
Six-time champion Steve Davis said Wu is ‘scaring the life out of everyone he plays’ after wins over Lei Peifan, Mark Selby, Hossein Vafaei and Mark Allen.
Wu Yize is looking very strong in his first Crucible final (Picture: Getty Images)
Hendry said Wu is at the forefront of ‘frightening’ snooker talent from China now at, or rising to, the top of the game.
‘The talent coming through from China is quite frightening,’ he said. ‘[Zhao] Xintong last year, Wu Yize now, a guy called Chang Bingyu who beat Shaun this year with 100 per cent pot success. The young talent is frightening.’
There is a long way to go in the race to 18 frames, which comes to an end on Monday, but Murphy has work to do to keep up with the Chinese phenom.
– The debut episode of Dynasties – which focused on the chimpanzee – became the most popular programme of the month when it aired in November 2018. The series, narrated by Sir David, also documented the struggles of baby penguins fighting to avoid an icy death, with the BBC camera crew intervening and coming to the rescue of the stricken birds, breaking a long-held stance of wildlife filming not to get involved.
“For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they can freely and ably get on with their business,” he said in a post on social media without specifying which countries.
The Monday letters page hopes for some Star Wars Day reveals, as a reader shares footage of a cancelled third Maximo game.
Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk
Summer gaming Every December we get people talking about what games they think best celebrate the season, and it’s always Christmas NiGHTS or something, but what about the game that’s best to play when the weather is good?
The first one that always comes to mind for me is Super Mario Sunshine, which is easily the worst 3D Mario but I still have fond memories of playing because it reminds me of the summer holidays. So imagine my shock that when I looked up the release date it did come out in the summer in Japan and the US but didn’t make it to Europe until October!
Advertisement
Maybe I only played it the next summer, but I don’t think so. I think I got it when it came out and it was so bright and sunny, with its beaches and water pistol backpack, that I just associate it with summer and holidays. I actually think that’s kind of neat. Primer
Dark tidings Happy Star Wars Day, everyone (assuming this gets shown on Monday). I’m hoping we might get a tease of Star Wars Jedi 3 today, as I don’t think there’s a Star Wars Celebration until next year now. Not sure how likely that is but it seems a long time since the last one, even if they were set back by the director leaving.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Advertisement
I’ve really enjoyed the last two games, even if I don’t really like the grey Jedi theme going on with Cal. I feel the movies made it very clear that ‘once you start down the dark path forever will it dominate your destiny’, so the idea of switching it on when you get to a hard part seems wrong to me.
But I guess that’s the problem with Star Wars nowadays, everyone has their own view of it and there’s no way everything, or maybe even anything, is going to match up with that. Lonni
GC: There is no Star Wars Celebration this year so it’s not impossible there could be some kind of annoucement today, although something at Summer Game Fest is more likely.
Advertisement
Bored of the Rings I don’t know how I feel about Warhorse maybe working on a new Lord of the Rings game. Although I would like to see a big budget role-playing game, I don’t know that Warhorse are quite big enough to do it the way I imagine. The scale would have to be a lot bigger than Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 and that’s going to cost so much I’m not sure it’s feasible for anyone.
I’d much rather see them make something new. Whether it’s a new historical setting or something completely different I’m not bothered, but Kingdom Come was great at ignoring what other companies were doing and going with what the developers were passionate about. As much as I love Lord of the Rings that’s what we need more of, not more licensed games. Scooter
Aging gracelessly I really like the look of those Commodore 64 and Spectrum portables, but I feel like we’re dancing round the problem at the moment. It’s all very easy to recreate the hardware – you could just run it as an emulator on any PC or phone – but the games themselves are in need of a major update.
Advertisement
I know remasters of such old, UK-centric games are unlikely but as good as The Great Escape and Head Over Heels seemed to anyone at the time I just don’t think they can entertain anyone new nowadays, and I can tell you I’ve tried with my kids.
You could say the same for NES games but of course they get constant remasters and remakes to keep them playable. Maybe there’s something that can be done as a fan project or a Kickstarter but I think the more likely option is that these games will just fade from memory and never be played again, at least within the next decade or so. Blanko
Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, 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.
GameCentral has been delivering unique games news and reviews for over a decade
Sunny with a chance of snowdrift In terms of the debate over the new Resident Evil movie trailer I’m happy for it to ignore the characters and even monsters, to a degree, as what works in a game does not necessarily work in a movie, as we’ve seen multiple times with Resident Evil itself.
What I don’t get though is why is it snowing in the film? This is set in Raccoon City, before it gets nuked, and not once has it ever been portrayed as snowing during that time. I don’t think it was ever implied to be winter and I seem to remember everyone having light clothing. Heck, Jill was wearing a boob tube in Resident Evil 3!
Advertisement
Some details like that do annoy me for some reason, as it doesn’t seem to add anything and yet it makes it clear that they don’t care about directly contradicting the games. Kubrak
Exclusive U-turn I think it’s obvious that Microsoft’s campaign against exclusives was not coming from an honest place. On one hand it was coming from Satya Nadella, who doesn’t understand games and doesn’t like the concept of exclusives. But most of it was coming from Xbox in general realising they didn’t have any exclusives anyone cared about so the obvious thing to do was try and pretend exclusives were anti-consumer and shame Sony for having them.
The weird thing is it kind of worked. I don’t know that any normal person really believed it, but all of a sudden Sony were releasing games on PC and Switch, despite the obvious dangers of undermining the PlayStation and the fact that they weren’t very good ports and were making Sony look bad.
This isn’t the first time they’ve done this though. I’ve never understood why they gave in and allowed console cross-play. I don’t really play multiplayer, so I don’t care either way, but why treat Xbox as an equal when before they were forcing people to make a choice.
Advertisement
I’m more than prepared to accept I’m wrong for some kind of business reason but here we are and they’re reversing the exclusive policy, or at least that’s what all the rumours say.
It seems to have taken them a very long time to realise what everyone else knew before they even started, wasting who knows how much time and money in the meantime. Seems about typical for this generation. Focus
The kids are alright I am actually very surprised that Roblox fans have turned against the new AI graphics mode. It’s probably only a vocal minority but well done to those kids.
It’s not quite NFT levels but there does seem to be a turn against AI in games, that pleases me greatly. Just like NFT we can make a stand and stop companies from using it, if we just close our wallets to them. This is going to be a tougher fight, but I feel we can still win it. Tacle
Advertisement
Join the queue Nice to see a call for a new Maximo from Terry Gold this weekend, there are dozens of us!
I first played Ghosts To Glory digitally on PlayStation 3, which nowadays is only a slightly less archaic means than plugging in a PlayStation 2, and it quickly became one of my favourites alongside Contra: Shattered Soldier (I like hard games).
As Terry pointed out, there was a sequel, the Army Of Zin, which sadly toned down the intricate level design and difficulty to focus more on combat.
Advertisement
There was also plans for a third game, footage of which you can see here, but sadly it was cancelled due to poor sales of Army Of Zin and poor everything from Capcom Studio 8’s next and final game, Final Fight Streetwise.
After all these years I’m quietly optimistic we could get a new Maximo, considering Capcom’s can’t miss, fan-pleasing form of late. Although they haven’t made any new Dino Crisis and that seems like a no-brainer. ANON
GC: Like you, we’d assume Dino Crisis is next in line but after that we’d think there’s a reasonable chance of some kind of new Ghosts ‘N Goblins game.
Inbox also-rans At this point I’d settle for a low budget XCOM 3 but I don’t think it’s going to happen. I hate to say it but I think 2K has bigger fish to fry. Loki
Advertisement
After reading that Aphelion review I’ve got to wonder how long has it been since Don’t Nod had a hit? Maybe Square Enix can get them in to try and revive Life Is Strange but if not I’m not sure they’re going to last long. Klump
The small print New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.
You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.
Advertisement
You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.
According to the analysis, the cost of staples including pasta, frozen vegetables, chocolate, eggs and beef – all up between 50% and 64% – and olive oil, up 113%, had already seen some of the steepest rises, reflecting their sensitivity to volatile oil and gas prices, synthetic fertiliser costs and climate impacts such as droughts, floods, and heatwaves, both in the UK and in key import regions.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login