By OLIVIA CHRISTIE, NEWS REPORTER

Published: 21:51 BST, 16 September 2026 | Updated: 22:42 BST, 16 September 2026

Lidl announced earlier this year it had plans to open more stores in Cambridgeshire

A new Lidl supermarket could open in a Cambridgeshire village but there are concerns that a busy road nearby could be made “far worse” by the development.

Earlier this year, Lidl announced a “wish list” of 876 locations, including some in Cambridgeshire, where it wants to open new stores. Plans have since been revealed for a new Lidl in Hartford, near Huntingdon, which would be on a plot of land south of Main Street (B1514).

A Lidl spokesperson previously said: “A new Lidl foodstore off Main Street/B1514 in Hartford would provide local residents with an additional shopping option, while reducing the need to travel further afield for regular grocery shopping.

“The site, located to the east of Hartford and adjacent to Huntingdon Road, has previously been identified for development. We believe a new Lidl foodstore would deliver a range of community benefits, including greater access to affordable shopping and the creation of new jobs for local people.”

The land that the new store would be built on had outline planning approval for 25 to 30 homes. However, the Lidl spokesperson said this scheme had “not progressed”. A planning application sought a request for an EIA Screening Opinion which has now been deemed as not an EIA development. The local planning authority considered that the project would “not give rise to ‘significant effects’ on the wider environment owing to its scale, nature and location”.

Several locals have now shared their concerns about the new supermarket. One person said: “The traffic resulting from the development would make an already busy road far worse.”

They questioned why Huntingdon needs another supermarket, adding “we have plenty”. Within a short distance from the site are other supermarkets such as Tesco Extra, Sainsbury’s and a Lidl just seven-minutes away by driving.

Another objector claimed: “It will increase road use on what is currently a busy area. The jobs that will be created in the long term are not necessarily the ones needed for Huntingdon – lots of retail opportunities currently.”

Meanwhile another person said they are “highly concerned” that Lidl has given “too little consideration” to the current traffic flows and congestion along Main Street.

They added: “The proposed entrance is very close to a pedestrian crossing and the two bus stops, and almost opposite the exit from Owl Way. A more sensible and less dangerous entrance, in my opinion, as a local resident, would be off Huntingdon Road, where all leaving traffic could be directed to turn right up to the roundabout, rather than try to cross the already very busy traffic flow.”

The supermarket giant intends to submit a full planning application for the new Lidl store.

Forever Home ended on a major cliffhanger tonight but fans are going to have to wait to find out what happens next.

Graham Norton’s Forever Home has been airing throughout the week, but this will no longer be the case.

The series continued to air tonight, Wednesday, September 16 on Channel 5, as Carol Crottie (played by Amy Nuttall) and mum Moira (Denise Welch) work out how to handle the body in the basement.

Elsewhere, Kaden (Lewis Cope) confronts increasing financial pressure as he attempts to sell his father’s property ahead of the birth of his and Dan’s (Shane Zaza) child.

Forever Home has shown its opening three episodes across three successive evenings on Channel 5, but regrettably for viewers, the drama will not continue tomorrow night.

In its place, an acclaimed period drama that has been absent for nearly a year will occupy the 9pm slot. All Creatures Great and Small officially returns with series seven premiering on Thursday, September 17, on Channel 5.

The complete principal cast will once again feature in the new episodes, headed by Nicholas Ralph as the renowned vet James Herriot, Samuel West as Siegfried Farnon and Rachel Shenton as Helen Herriot.

Taking place one year following the conclusion of series six, it marks a fresh chapter in All Creatures Great and Small with the conflict finally concluded as a “new vet in town threatens the status quo”.

The official synopsis adds: “James is stumped over a cat’s mystery illness, while Helen embraces the future over tradition.

“As Jimmy prepares to start school, everyone pitches in to help.”

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However, the Forever Home story is far from finished, with three further episodes still to come.

Viewers will need to wait until Monday, September 21 for episode four to air on Channel 5.

Episodes five and six, the penultimate instalment and grand finale of Forever Home, will then be broadcast on consecutive nights, Tuesday, 22 September and Wednesday, September 23 respectively.

Forever Home continues on Monday, September 21, at 9pm on Channel 5.

It has been revealed that the soap star will be taking a break from his role as Alfie Moon in the BBC soap this Christmas season to star as Muddles in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at the Cliffs Pavilion in Southend.

This will be before his criminal trial for allegedly drink driving which has been scheduled for November 2027 at Colchester Magistrates’ Court.

His temporary absence will happen following the permanent departures of a number of other characters on EastEnders.

READ MORE: Update on police investigation at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm

This week saw the death of Zoe Slater played by Michelle Ryan while according to The Metro, actresses Kellie Bright and Charlie Suff will be departing soon as will Aaron Thiara who plays ‘bad boy’ Ravi Gulati.

In addition Jessie Wallace – who portrays Alfie Moon’s partner Kat – is set to depart Albert Square, though temporarily as she is also performing in a pantomime.

Another cast member who has been missing from the soap from some time is Lacey Turner, who has played Stacey Slater for over two decades since 2004.

Lacey Turner will be in the next series of Strictly Come Dancing (Image: Ray Burmiston/BBC/PA)

Set to be a contestant in the upcoming season of Strictly Come Dancing, she is taking a break from Eastenders but remains a fan.

She explained she was “really sad” at the departures from the show, complementing both Mr Thiara and Ms Bright.

She said: “I always hope they will come back. They’re part of the furniture.”

Mr Richie, who will be returning, is also well known for coming fourth on I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! in 2020 as well as hosting a number of TV game shows.

He also has strong links to Oxford’s theatre scene, having performed at the New Theatre in 2006 in a production of Scrooge.

READ MORE: BBC Saturday Kitchen chef silent as 100s of restaurants shut and jobs lost

More recently, he appeared in the city in 2025 as part of the Prat Pack, bringing a mix of music and comedy to local audiences.

The show teams him with fellow entertainers Bradley Walsh, Brian Conley and Joe Pasquale, who bill themselves as a tongue‑in‑cheek take on the classic Rat Pack.

Their 2025 tour stopped at the New Theatre Oxford on George Street for a one‑night date on 22 May, mixing big‑band standards, comedy and stories from their decades in showbusiness.

The New Theatre was one of a string of venues on the national run, giving city audiences a chance to see Mr Richie perform live alongside his long‑time friends.

Lena Dunham has revealed she’s welcomed her first child – a baby girl – via surrogate.

The Girls creator wrote about her journey to parenthood alongside her husband, Luis Felber, in an op-ed for Vogue published on Wednesday.

The Famesick author has been candid over the years about her reproductive health struggles, including a yearslong battle with endometriosis and undergoing a hysterectomy.

The 40-year-old said her daughter arrived 13 days late “in the face of a solar eclipse and a meteor shower”.

“I sat on a hospital bed, between the legs of a woman I hadn’t known a year ago, waiting for a glimpse of this person who I had been waiting for with something related to patience, but also none at all,” she wrote.

“I was so focused on our surrogate – in awe at her concentration, her period of quiet followed by what sounded like a roar – I forgot to look down until I heard our baby’s cry. I saw her face, gasping just as she did,” Dunham recalled, saying her midwife instructed her to talk to her newborn.

“‘Hello’ I said. ‘I’m your mama. You…you look nothing like I thought you would, but exactly right. We’ve been waiting for you, do you know that? It was so nice of you to come,’” Dunham shared.

Ashraful Islam made one unusual request to the police officers who came to arrest him

A student has avoided jail after he was found in possession of hundreds of images of child abuse, including hundreds of images categorised as the most serious.

On Friday, September 10, Ashraful Islam, 21, of Chippenham, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to taking indecent images of children and voyeurism when he appeared in court.

He was given a 26-month custodial sentence suspended for three years, and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was imposed for a period of 10 years, reports GloucestershireLive.

Islam was arrested in connection with an unrelated matter in March 2026.

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His phone was seized, and as part of this, a significant number of child abuse images were located, including nearly 350 images classed as category A – depicting the most serious form of child abuse.

As well as this, images showing ‘upskirting’ of schoolgirls were also found on Islam’s phone.

In police footage of Islam’s arrest, when asked by a police officer if he needed to take anything to the police station, Islam replied, “I really need to put my uni work in, otherwise I fail.”

READ MORE: Body found by Noah Woods search team in pond after tot disappeared from park

READ MORE: Woman found with ‘face hanging off’ after alleged murder in Springburn flat

Det Con Will Saunders of Wiltshire Police said: “Islam was found in possession of hundreds of images of child abuse. Each of these images represents a real victim who has suffered serious, life changing abuse and those who view, possess, or share such material are contributing to that harm.

“I’d like to thank the officers who worked on this case particularly the digital forensics unit whose hard work allowed us to uncover a true picture of his offending.”

As well as the custodial sentence and SHPO that has been granted, Islam must also pay a £228 surcharge and complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

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Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, 84, was recorded visibly struggling to speak during a Wednesday meeting on Capitol Hill.

McConnell, who returned to Capitol Hill Monday after an absence of more than 90 days, appears to have been brought to earth by two colleagues, who told him that it was time to cast a vote, or even what vote to cast during a markup of the Farm Bill.

The Kentucky Republican, who served for nearly two decades as the GOP leader in the US Senate, has been plagued by health complications during his final term in office.

He suffered a fall on June 14, was briefly hospitalized, and had not been seen in public while recovering at his home in Washington DC for nearly three months.

In a post on X, McConnell noted Monday, that he was ‘really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing … colleagues.’

‘My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier. I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me,’ the former longtime Senate Leader continued.

‘Elaine and I are very grateful for all the continued well wishes from our fellow Kentuckians, and I’m glad to get back to more of business as usual on their behalf this month,’ McConnell’s X post concluded. 

Capitol Police were seen gathering at McConnell’s home on Monday, and he emerged from the property that had elevated security measures to vote in the 5:30 vote series just before 6:00 PM on Monday. Minutes later he was on the Senate floor casting his ballot, and huddling with colleagues while in a wheelchair. 

Senator Mitch McConnell talks to his Chief of Staff Terry Carmack during a Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday in Washington, DC

McConnell spoke with reporters outside of the US Senate chamber on Monday, but due to Congressional rules, there is no recording allowed in the hallway where he gave remarks. Wednesday’s committee meeting was the first time McConnell was widely heard. 

Weeks after his hospitalization, he spoke with some of his congressional colleagues by phone and indicated that he was on the mend and looking forward to returning to work soon.

However, both Democrats and Republicans alike were not satisfied with his explanations.

After further pressure mounted to provide ‘proof of life,’ evidence McConnell released a photo of himself and his wife from the hospital, with a newspaper that was dated July 12, which some initially suspected was AI generated.

He disappeared for weeks after providing the photo, until his office put out a second picture on July 27.

Weeks later, it was revealed that he was discharged from the hospital and would continue his recovery at home.

‘Senator McConnell continues his recovery from a fall at home in June,’ a comment from his doctor attached to the photograph said.

‘Since his discharge from hospital care, he has maintained a strenuous course of physical therapy and rehabilitation.’ 

Another statement from his office revealed that he had also had a mild case of pneumonia.

McConnell, who is not seeking re-election in this year’s midterms, has been dogged by health scares throughout his final term. 

Even before his fall earlier this summer, he frighteningly froze in a May hearing on Capitol Hill, raising alarms about his health and even prompting an attack on his staff by President Donald Trump.

Robert Karem, a staffer on the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee, interrupted McConnell to tell him that Democratic Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, as well as Louisiana Republican John Kennedy, all still had questions. The hearing went on for 30 minutes after Karem’s interjection.

Karem was attacked by Trump as a ‘bum’ in a Truth Social post after a clip of the staffer’s interaction with the senator made the rounds online. 

The Houthis have been accused of launching a drone towards the holy city of Mecca, while the militant group claims to have shot down a Saudi fighter jet amid escalating conflict across the region. 

The developments come as fears are growing of a new global oil supply crisis after  Houthi rebels seized the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish in the southern Red Sea after attacking a Saudi pipeline.

The Iran-backed group have been fighting a civil war in Yemen against a Saudi-led coalition since 2014.

The Iran war has forced Saudi Arabia to shift its exports away from the Persian Gulf, since Iranian attacks have stifled shipping through the gulf’s sole exit, the Strait of Hormuz.

And on Tuesday morning, Brent crude rose 1.17 per cent to $106.92 a barrel, while the average US diesel price last week surpassed $6 a gallon for the first time as the war, compounded by Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries, further squeezed global supplies.

Meanwhile in the UK, rises in petrol, diesel and airfares has pushed UK inflation up to its highest level in five months due to disruptions from the war in Iran.

Inflation rose to 3.1 per cent from 2.9 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree was quick to dismiss Saudi claims that the group had targeted Mecca, after widespread condemnation.

‘Our operations target its oil facilities and military bases, which are far removed from the sacred sites,’ he said.      

Mecca is regarded as the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and is the holiest city in Islam. 

Muslims who are physically and financially able are required to make the pilgrimage to the city at least once in their lifetime, with millions travelling there each year. 

Major General Turki al-Maliki, the spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition Forces, condemned the attempted attack on X, writing: ‘This hostile attempt will also remain a black mark in the record of violations by the extremist terrorist Houthi militia, as a deliberate act intended to provoke the feelings of millions of Muslims.’

He vowed to take any ‘necessary and deterrent measures’ against the group.

And the Houthis on Wednesday said they shot down a Saudi fighter jet, claiming a locally made munition was used to target the warplane.

‘The Yemeni Armed Forces, with Allah’s aid and grace, succeeded in shooting down a Saudi F15 fighter jet while it was carrying out hostile operations in support of its military mobilisations in the airspace of Marib province,’ Saree said on social media, while accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 450 strikes.

He said the jet had been targeted ‘using a locally made air-to-air missile’.

Saudi Arabia has relied on the East-West Pipeline, which runs 1,200km (124 miles) across the breadth of the country, to move its crude production from Gulf ports to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. From there it can be put on tankers for export. 

But authorities were forced to shut down the pipeline after an attack on Thursday that Saudi Arabia blamed on drones from Iranian-backed militias in Iraq.

Repairing the damage, including at a major pumping facility, could take three to five weeks, officials have said. 

The pipeline may work partially during the repairs, one of the officials said, but they could not say how much oil might get through.

The pipeline has been moving an average of 2.6 million to four million barrels per day since late August – a quantity that will be lost to the market if the pipeline’s flow stops completely, according to an analysis issued Monday by Rystad Energy, a Norway-based research firm. 

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels continued to expand their threat to Saudi shipping routes out of the Red Sea by capturing the strategic islands of Greater and Lesser Hanish, government and Houthi officials said Monday.

The islands lie 160km (99 miles) north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The strait is a choke point that connects the Red Sea to the open ocean and Saudi Arabia’s key Asian markets.

The Houthis’ advance also puts them just 20 miles from the US military base in the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, on the other side of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

For more than a month, the Houthis have been striking Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea, stepping up pressure on global oil prices and boosting Iran’s leverage in its war with the US.

Houthi threats have kept the Kingdom on high alert, with air raid warnings sounding across the country daily, while a series of ballistic missile and drone attacks by the group wounded 13 civilians on Monday. 

The rebels deployed on the Hanish islands after hundreds of government-allied forces withdrew from the archipelago, according to two government officials and a Houthi official.

Last week, the rebels seized the port city of Mokha and the island of Mayun, inside the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Government forces are now attempting to rally and fight back. On Sunday, the military said it launched airstrikes on Houthi positions in Mokha, the coastal town of Dhubab and elsewhere in Taiz province.

A combination of satellite images shows the Saudi Arabia East-West pipeline before (top) and after (bottom) attacks

Supporters of Yemen’s Houthi rebels chant and raise rifles during a rally organized to celebrate the group’s capture of Mayun Island on September 11

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A rebel spokesman said the Houthis fired dozens of missiles and drones at the King Khalid Airbase in the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, targeting hangars, radar installations and ammunition depots. 

The statement on Monday by Saree did not specify when the strikes took place but the Houthis often take hours or days to claim responsibility for attacks.

General al-Maliki said the attacks struck civilian areas in Khamis Mushait and other nearby cities, injuring 13 civilians and damaging several houses and vehicles. He did not say whether the airbase had been hit.

The Iran war has gouged Saudi oil production, which was down to six million barrels per day in August from nearly ten million in September the previous year, according to the International Energy Agency.

The fighting has also displaced nearly 94,000 people in Yemen who have since fled their homes.

‘Many of them don’t have enough food or water as they had to flee with whatever they could carry. In some areas, whole villages have reportedly emptied,’ said Khanzad Shah, acting head of Islamic Relief, a charity that operates in the area.

Around 200 schools have been converted to shelters in southwestern Yemen to absorb an influx of families, said Basma Alloush, deputy director of communications at the International Rescue Committee, an aid group.

Buckingham Palace has responded after a claim by Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, that King Charles said “we’ll forget her soon enough” days after her death.

Earl Spencer alleged the then-Prince of Wales subjected him to a “stream of anger” after he insisted Diana would not have wanted Princes William and Harry, then aged 15 and 12, to walk in her funeral procession.

A Palace spokesperson said: “While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.”

The claim was made in an extract from his upcoming memoir, published by the Daily Mail.

Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published next week and is expected to be highly critical of the Royal Family. BBC News has not seen the book in full.

In the first extract, external from it to be made public, Earl Spencer claims to have been informed by a senior Palace aide that the young princes would walk alongside Princess Diana’s coffin, which he objected to.

He claims to have received a phone call from Charles shortly after.

Earl Spencer wrote in the book: “He [Charles] unleashed down the phone what I have always taken to be his pent-up contempt for Diana, and his horror that the world was so bowled over by her death. ‘Rest assured,’ he hissed, ‘we’ll forget her soon enough’.”

Earl Spencer’s book about his sister seems set to open a very difficult time in the recent history of the Royal Family.

The death of Diana, a hugely popular figure, in a car crash in 1997, had created a volatile atmosphere, in which the royals were accused of failing to show feeling and empathy, and had seemed out of touch with the public mood.

Earl Spencer’s emotional and defiant speech at her funeral added to that cloud of grievance hanging over Diana’s untimely death.

Prince Harry has previously said that walking behind his mother’s coffin aged 12 was something no child “should be asked to do”.

In 2017, he told the BBC he didn’t “have an opinion whether that was right or wrong”, but “looking back on it”, he was glad to have been part of the day.

Earlier on Wednesday, it emerged that copies of Earl Spencer’s unreleased book had been stolen from a truck in the Netherlands.

BBC News understands four copies of the Dutch language edition were taken from a truck while it was en route from the Dutch publisher’s printers to their warehouse.

Parents have compared their children’s school to ‘a military base’ after 25 pupils were suspended during the first week of term following the arrival of a new headteacher. 

Dan Jeffries, the new Interim Principal at Frome Community College, Somerset, said he stands by all 25 suspensions, which he said were for ‘persistent disruption’.

But parents have said they are ‘outraged’ after their children were suspended for reasons including ‘zipping their bag too loudly’ and ‘looking out of a window’. 

One parent, Natalie Morris, said her daughter was suspended during her first week for ‘nervously laughing’. 

She said: ‘She has SEND [special educational needs and disabilities], additional needs and sensory needs. So that was a massive setback for her when she did get suspended.

‘She was just nervously laughing because of her surroundings, strange faces. She gets overwhelmed – it’s a new school with new people.’ 

Ms Morris also claimed other pupils had been suspended for reasons including ‘being a minute late’, adding that the environment had also affected students’ mental health, with one feeling the need to ‘hide in the toilets’. 

She said: ‘You want your child to feel safe, you want them to learn. You want the same opportunities as every other child, like everyone else’s kids that come here.

Parents of children attending Frome Community College in Somerset have compared the school to a ‘military base’ 

‘That’s all we want, we want the kids’ needs to be met and not be treated like it’s a military base.’ 

Ann-Marie Ramsey, who also has a child with SEND needs at the school, described the discipline as ‘crazy’.

She said: ‘If she was a bit fidgety or not concentrating, she would be sent to the reset room where they get disciplined if they’re not doing what the school wants them to do.’ 

Ms Ramsey said her child does not get the ‘movement breaks’ she needs when sent to the room. 

She also claimed students were being policed on ‘hair and nail colour’ and that parents were ‘not being listened to’. 

But the new headteacher said all suspensions involved cases of ‘defiance leading to the disruption of the running of the school’ and not reasons of ‘uniform or lateness’. 

Ex-rugby union player and coach Mr Jeffries said: ‘For someone to be suspended for disruptive behaviour, they’d have to be completely defiant and disrupting us four times, in our policy, before we’d consider it.’ 

He added: ‘I am there to ensure we are inclusive and that we maintain really high standards.’ But not all parents have taken issue with his approach. 

Liz Halliwell said: ‘He has come in and he is making sure that the rules are being followed.’ 

She added that ‘as long as it’s fair and consistent for everybody involved’ she was pleased there would be a ‘more consistent education’ for her child.

Film and media teacher Seth Lavington said: ‘The idea is that these are clear and consistent routines which are going to enable the best learning.

‘Overall, the messages are still positive. We want disruption-free learning, we want the best possible outcomes, you need to try your hardest – none of that has changed.’

But sixth-form student Liam Backhurst criticised the approach, saying the reasons behind some suspensions were ‘outrageous’.

‘The most upsetting thing about it is that it has affected them mentally. These are new year nines which are coming up, excited to start a new chapter with school, and they now feel really unmotivated to carry on learning,’ he said.

Another student, Sam Shearman, added: ‘It sounded like teachers are stepping in expecting to give punishments, and I definitely don’t agree with that.’

Mr Jeffries said the number of suspensions should be considered in the context of the school’s overall pupil population.

He said: ‘We have 1400 children at the college, we had a total of 20 days’ worth of suspensions last week – that’s with some children receiving more than one day.

‘It wasn’t a wide-scale number, it wasn’t a particularly large-scale event. It is safe to say a number of children did find returning to school more complicated, and that does happen some Septembers.’

Mr Jeffries added that upholding school rules allows teachers to be ‘more consistent with behaviour’ so students feel ‘safe to learn’ – something he said was requested by parents in a recent survey.

He concluded: ‘All children deserve to have interruption-free education and where we have a very small minority of pupils who are disrupting the learning of others, it’s important that we support as much as we can, but we don’t allow that to affect everyone else’s education.’

• Is YOUR child a pupil at Frome Community College, or do you know “Jaff” from his rugby days? Email eleanor.mann@dailymail.co.uk