This could also be damaging to your mental health

A neurologist has shared a warning about a common night-time issue that he claims “destroys your body”. According to the expert, this could be damaging not just your physical health but your mind too.

In a video uploaded to social media platform TikTok, neurologist Dr Baibing Chen, explained that a poor sleep schedule could lead to medical issues and even an “earlier” death. This is because consistency in your sleep pattern might be “just as important” as quantity.

Dr Chen, who is known as Dr Bing online, said: “Science shows that if your sleep schedule is inconsistent and all over the place, you are more likely to have medical problems and die earlier. And here’s why.

“We used to think that sleep was just about getting seven to nine hours, which still matters a lot. But new research shows that consistency might be just as important.”

Changing your sleep pattern regularly could make your brain feel like it’s constantly “flying across time zones”. Dr Bing continued: “So, for example, if you sleep from 10pm to 6am during the week, then the weekend hits, and now you sleep from 1am to 11am, you’re still getting eight hours.

“But to your brain, that’s like flying across time zones every single weekend. And if you do this over and over again, over the long run, your body and your brain are not going to like it.”

This is due to something called your circadian rhythm. “This is because your brain has an internal clock called your circadian rhythm,” Dr Bing said.

“And that clock helps control your hormones, blood pressure, your metabolism, your body temperature, and your immune functions. And when your sleep schedule keeps shifting, that clock gets confused, and your body starts releasing hormones at the wrong times.

“And things like cortisol, melatonin, and insulin regulation all get disrupted over time.” This can have a severe impact on your health.

He said: “That’s then linked to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, obesity, diabetes, depression, and earlier death. And this doesn’t just affect how long you can live, but can actually affect your quality of life.

“Because irregular sleep doesn’t just affect long-term health, but it can hurt your mood, focus, your reaction time and energy.”

His advice therefore, was to sleep seven to nine hours a night, via a consistent pattern. He added: “Right now, this is why I always recommend to my patients, whether they have brain fog or migraines or seizures or cognitive decline, that they need to sleep consistently. And they need to sleep seven to nine hours a day.”

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Research

His advice is backed by one study, which suggests that an irregular sleep pattern can raise your risk of cardiovascular issues. The findings, published in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, showed that people who had both an irregular sleep schedule and got under eight hours of sleep per night were more likely to experience a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE).

In the context of the study, this included heart attack (acute myocardial infarction), unstable angina, stroke, heart failure hospitalisation, or cardiovascular disease death. Study authors wrote: “They concluded: “Among the participants with sleep durations under eight hours, irregular sleep timing was a significant risk factor for MACEs. Specifically, variability in bedtime and sleep midpoint, but not in wake-up time, was associated with increased risk.

“These findings highlight the importance of consistent sleep behaviour, particularly regular bedtimes, as a potential target for health promotion.”

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How to improve sleep

The NHS states that the average adult needs seven to nine hours of sleep a night. To improve your sleep, the NHS recommends that you:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day
• Relax at least one hour before bed, for example, take a bath or read a book
• Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet – use curtains, blinds, an eye mask or ear plugs if needed
• Exercise regularly during the day
• Make sure your mattress, pillows and covers are comfortable
• Do not smoke or drink alcohol, tea or coffee at least 6 hours before going to bed
• Do not eat a big meal late at night
• Do not exercise at least four hours before bed
• Do not watch television or use devices, like smartphones, right before going to bed, because the blue light makes you more awake
• Do not nap during the day
• Do not drive when you feel sleepy
• Do not sleep in after a bad night’s sleep and stick to your regular sleeping hours instead

The health body says you should see a GP if changing your sleeping habits has not helped your insomnia, you’ve had trouble sleeping for months, or your insomnia is affecting your daily life in a way that makes it hard for you to cope.

A new documentary has explored how the Duchess of Edinburgh helped the Princess of Wales when she became part of the Royal Family by supporting her through her royal duties

When Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, married into the Royal Family in 1999 after tying the knot with Prince Edward, she was thrown in the deep end as she worked to maintain her newfound royal identity and her career in public relations.

But as the Duchess transitioned into a more full-time role within the monarchy, she quickly became a guiding light for the younger generation of royals to follow her lead as she undertook her work with the Firm with grace. And a new documentary has explored Sophie’s life from the early days of her relationship with the late Queen’s youngest son, to one of the Royal Family ’s most valuable assets.

READ MORE: King Charles makes candid joke about ageing at Buckingham Palace garden partyREAD MORE: Meghan Markle ‘planning TV comeback’ with Suits revival role

In the new documentary, titled Royal Peacemaker: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, a group of royal experts discuss how Sophie became a shoulder for the Princess of Wales to lean on as she learned the ropes of her new royal role.

As Sophie’s prominence has risen over the years, she has become more of a guide to others joining the Royal Family, such as Princess Kate. Royal commentator Emily Andrews explained: “When she saw younger members marrying into the Royal Family, like Catherine Middleton and Meghan Markle, she was very happy to offer to be a mentor of sorts. Sophie had seen it all. She’s been there and done that.”

The documentary said that Princess Kate in particular was very welcoming of the mentorship from Sophie, who welcomed her with open arms into the Firm.

“Sophie is really a natural mentor for Kate in many ways,” royal correspondent Victoria Murphy said. “We’ve seen their relationship grow over time, and witnessed little glimpses of it in the public domain.”

The royal expert went on to recall one such moment from Princess Eugenie’s wedding, when Kate’s skirt began to fly up in the wind, with Sophie instinctively helping the princess to keep her dress down, standing in front of her to make sure she was covered.

Victoria continued: “We’ve seen her be quite protective of Kate. We saw this at the Remembrance Sunday Service in 2024 when they were walking back inside and Sophie put a comforting hand on Kate’s back.”

“It was quite a sisterly gesture, and I think shows the depth of the relationship that these two women have,” she added.

While Sophie was a welcome mentor for the Princess of Wales in her early years in the Firm, Meghan Markle allegedly turned down the offer of royal advice from the Duchess of Edinburgh.

As Emily Edwards explained in the documentary: “Sophie did the same thing for Meghan. They met up a couple of times and Sophie said ‘Anything I can do, anything I can help with, let me know’. And apparently Sophie was a bit surprised that she was never invited back to Frogmore Cottage where Harry and Meghan were living at the time.”

Sophie’s role as mentor for younger royals was a testament to the trust placed in the Duchess by the late Queen Elizabeth, with whom she had a warm and loving relationship.

As Ailsa Anderson, press secretary for the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, said in the documentary: “I think the late Queen saw Sophie as a safe pair of hands, as she could always be relied on. Sophie was a true confidant for the Queen, which is quite rare in the royal world.”

Royal Peacemaker: Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh will air on Channel 5 on Saturday May 16 at 9pm.

Ex-Manchester United and Everton legend Wayne Rooney has become a successful pundit on the BBC

Wayne Rooney has transitioned from being one of the finest footballers of his generation to establishing a promising career in punditry. Manchester United’s all-time record goalscorer has impressed sufficiently in his new role to earn a place on the BBC’s coverage of this summer’s World Cup.

Following his retirement from playing, Rooney, 40, endured difficult managerial stints at Plymouth Argyle and Birmingham City, which ultimately led him to pursue a career as a pundit.

Having joined the BBC in 2025, he swiftly found his feet in the studio. Now a familiar face on Match of the Day, Rooney will have the opportunity to shine for the corporation in his most high-profile assignment to date, covering matches at the forthcoming tournament, which is being hosted across Canada, Mexico and the United States.

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Prior to that, however, he will be on duty at Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Manchester City on Saturday. Wales Online takes a closer look at Rooney’s punditry journey to date.

Wayne Rooney’s tears during a live broadcast

Rooney revealed his emotional side when he was brought to the brink of tears on the BBC after his younger brother, John, orchestrated Macclesfield’s remarkable FA Cup triumph over Crystal Palace in January.

John was released by Everton at the age of 12. He went on to represent Chester, Wrexham, Stockport, Oldham and Macclesfield. He took charge of the Silkmen for the first time last summer before presiding over one of the most stunning FA Cup upsets in living memory.

The moment was not lost on his elder brother. As the pair embraced at the final whistle, Rooney’s voice broke as he told the BBC: “I’m actually getting emotional. To see my younger brother achieve this, he’s not long been in management.

“To get to the fourth round of the FA Cup and beat a Premier League team in Crystal Palace, I’m so proud of him. He looked calm – I don’t know how. It’s such an achievement what he’s done today. Absolutely superb.”

Wayne Rooney’s BBC salary

Rooney’s swift rise on the punditry circuit has reportedly secured him a highly lucrative broadcasting contract. It is understood the former Everton striker signed a two-year deal with the BBC worth approximately £800,000 – placing him amongst the corporation’s highest-paid football pundits at around £400,000 per year.

That remarkable sum puts him just behind Match of the Day stalwart Alan Shearer. The former Newcastle United legend earned between £440,000 and £444,999 last year, according to BBC figures.

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BBC bosses were said to be eager to secure Rooney’s services following his impressive showing during Euro 2024, where his candid and perceptive analysis won widespread admiration from viewers.

The former England international already commands a considerable personal fortune, however. Thanks to his playing days, Rooney reportedly commanded wages exceeding £300,000 per week.

When combined with profitable sponsorship agreements with brands including Nike, Coca-Cola and EA Sports, his net worth is estimated to stand at approximately £127m, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

When recently asked if Jeremy Doku could reach the levels of Vinicius Jr and Lamine Yamal, Pep Guardiola was in no doubt.

“Yeah, for sure,” said the Manchester City boss. “And always accept being pushed. Always accept that. And that is so nice. We are really pleased. Now he is winning games. But he has always been really, really good.”

Doku has evolved as a player and is beginning to realise his immense promise at City after nearly three years with the club.

Still just 23, the Belgium winger was signed from Rennes for £55.4m in August 2023, with City aware of his high potential.

His pace and dribbling quality have always been best in class – underpinning a unique profile in the modern game.

Speaking to The Athletic, Shaun Maloney, one of Doku’s former coaches with Belgium, said that even during the Under-17 European Championships, the young winger’s quality immediately stood out.

“What you see now in terms of one-v-one dribbling was exactly him then. He was taking it in his own half and dribbling 70 and 80 yards,” Maloney said.

A few years later, during Doku’s first year playing for Rennes, Kylian Mbappe and his father sat in the stands watching on in awe.

“I was speaking with my father about a player I had noticed from the stands because of his pace,” said Mbappe.

“The player was Doku at Rennes. In my five years as a pro, I had never seen someone with so much explosivity in his first steps.”

With specific standout qualities, players can forge strong careers, but becoming the star of an elite side comes from pulling together those qualities in a complete manner – something Doku has now started to do.

Saturday will see him hoping to help secure Man City a second trophy of the campaign, when they face Chelsea in the FA Cup final at Wembley.

There was a time when I thought my mother would never laugh again.

It would be an understatement to say that after my father’s death ended their enviably contented 43-year marriage, she lost her sparkle.

Our family GP suggested that a change of scenery could help with the grief. My mother, a sweet but steely Irishwoman in her 70s, did not agree.

But eventually, whether we want it to or not, time becomes a healer.

It has been almost four years since my father died.

And for the past three of those, I have managed to convince my mother to come on holiday with me: just once a year, just for a few days, and just, if we’re honest with ourselves, to shut me up.

It can be upsetting, but Dr Anna Batho, an NHS clinical psychologist, tells me there are many benefits to travelling with a parent after their partner has passed away.

‘Travel can help them step out of their role as ‘widowed’ and back into the identity they knew before,’ she says.

‘Perhaps they were a real foodie who loved discovering cuisines, perhaps they were the organised one who took on big-trip planning.

‘That person is still there and they can reconnect with that.’

Travel can be a healthy distraction from the day-to-day slog of grief, adds Dr Jeff Gardere, clinical psychologist at Touro University.

‘When a person is grieving, they can become quite isolated and their interests in the outside world become much narrower. Travel interrupts that cycle. It activates different parts of the brain to absorb and express positive emotions,’ he says.

Travel is also, in its way, a tribute.

‘You both get to honour the person who has died by enjoying the life that sadly, they cannot,’ Dr Batho explains.

My mother doesn’t ‘do’ social media, and I have reason to believe that revealing her name to an audience of strangers could result in immediate disinheritance.

So from here on out, we’ll just call her Mam.

This year, on the back of a newfound fitness addiction that compels her to attend aqua aerobics and a variety of gym classes almost every day, I had new criteria to meet.

We needed a short-haul destination that offered good food, rest and relaxation, but also activities.

I researched much as one might for a holiday with a dog. Because on top of her exercise classes, Mam routinely walks 20,000 steps a day.

There had to be trails, paths, and plenty of them.

During said research, I received an invitation to review Palazzo di Varignana, a resort in the Bolognese hills of northern Italy.

I saw that The Telegraph had included it as one of the best holidays for your health in 2025, so I checked it out.

Not only does it have a sprawling spa complete with a hammam, Finnish sauna, and something called a face gym, there is a driving range; tennis and padel courts; e-bikes; several swimming pools and a saltwater crystal pool to boot.

There is a vineyard, a Roman Amphitheatre and an exquisitely restored 1921 royal train carriage where you can gorge on a seven-course feast.

As far as the eye can see, the whole caboodle is enveloped by landscaped gardens, elegant terraces and verdant countryside crisscrossed with – you guessed it – plenty of paths.

Mam, I knew, would be in her element. I’d just have to keep up.

Palazzo di Varignana is about 30 minutes by car from Bologna in the heart of Emilia Romagna, Italy’s ‘food valley’.

The scenery is spectacular: rolling hills dotted with medieval castles and undulating plains of fertile land.

As we cruise up the driveway, both Mam and I are impressed.

There are 150 bedrooms, including a recently renovated two-bedroom suite perfect for families, plus six larger villas close by that would be great for a hen.

Interiors are slick and unfussy; the aforementioned gardens, glorious.

All of it sprawls around an 18th-century villa on an immaculately manicured 30-acre estate.

It is, genuinely, just a beautiful place to be.

And if it sounds aspirational, it’s probably less so than you imagine. Rooms start from £250 a night, breakfast and spa access included.

When I think of what I’ve spent on a grubby bed at Luton Airport…

Mam hits the ground running. We cycle. We swim. We even try a golf lesson, during which she tells instructor Luca that he’s not the first person to say she has no wrist action.

I’m not sure she knows how that could be interpreted. Some things are better left unsaid.

We walk. We swim. We stuff ourselves to bursting at the resort’s five restaurants.

Our fine dining experience in Treno Reale, the one inside the vintage train carriage, is the star of the show.

Mam texts our family WhatsApp to say the dessert, a decadent slab gianduja, praline and raspberry sorbet, is now part of her death row meal.

We taste wine. We have aperitivi in the evenings.

But more than any of that, we talk about my dad and how much he would have enjoyed it all.

A lunch to remember

Many come to Palazzo di Varignana for high-end health retreats curated by Dr Annamaria Acquaviva, a multihyphenate dietician-nutritionist-pharmacist who is also an expert in mindfulness.

We have lunch with the good Doctor at Gingko, a ‘longevity restaurant’ whose menu she designed to ‘help guests live longer’.

With pride, she tells us that everything we’re eating is anti-inflammatory, low-FODMAP, gluten-free, dairy-free and free of refined carbohydrates, inspired by the Mediterranean diet, balanced in macronutrients and enriched with antioxidant phytochemicals.

At one point, a waiter arrives with plush black blindfolds which Dr Annamaria insists we all wear to ‘eat mindfully and consider what we are putting in our bodies’.

She advises us to chew each bite ‘around 30 times’.

Mam, I can tell, is not convinced.

Of course she is unfailingly polite and to the outside gaze, totally engaged.

But this is my mother, a no-nonsense Irishwoman raised on potatoes, butter and whatever could be found at the back of the cupboard.

I know what she’s thinking: ‘What a load of *****’.

After a lengthy education about sleep, superfoods and brain chemistry, I ask Dr Annamaria to tell us the most important thing we should do if we want to live to 100.

‘Laugh,’ she says.

I wasn’t expecting that.

A few days after we get home, Mam and I are sitting on the sofa.

Out of nowhere, she bursts into uproarious laughter, her face red and eyes brimming with tears of delight.

‘What?’ I ask, amused.

‘Remember the lunch with the blindfolds,’ she says, and the two of us are cackling, lost to the ridiculousness of the memory.

Which leads us on to several other ridiculous memories, most of them involving my dad.

Turns out Dr Annamaria is right: laughter really is the best medicine.

Alice Murphy was a guest of Palazzo di Varignana, but don’t expect us to sugarcoat anything — our reviews are 100% independent.

Rooms at Palazzo di Varignana start from €289 (approx £250) per night based on two people sharing. This includes breakfast and three hours access to the spa.

For best rates, book through the website.

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Hearts are on the brink of winning a first league title since 1960 and breaking Celtic and Rangers’ duopoly of the Scottish Premiership.

Under Derek McInnes, Hearts have led the way for most of the season and head into Scottish football’s biggest weekend since 1985 with the title in their hands. However, after a dramatic finish on Wednesday, the momentum is with Celtic.

Hearts comfortably defeated Falkirk 3-0 on Wednesday, but Celtic needed a last-minute Kelechi Iheanacho penalty – given after a VAR review – to keep their hopes realistically alive.

The fact that the two contenders face each other on the final day makes it all the more dramatic. It will be a winner-takes-all occasion at Celtic Park.

Scottish Premiership standings and fixtures

1) Hearts | Played: 37, Points: 80, GD+ 35

2) Celtic | Played: 37, Points: 79, GD+ 30

Remaining fixture

Saturday 16 May – Celtic vs Hearts (12:30pm BST)

How can Hearts win the league on Saturday?

After a thrilling title race full of twists and turns, it all comes down to Saturday lunchtime.

If Hearts win, they win the title. If Hearts draw, they win the title. But if they lose, it will now be Celtic’s championship.

What do Celtic need on the final day?

It’s simple for Celtic: they must beat Hearts on Saturday.

Their last-minute winner on Wednesday means they no longer have to win by at least three goals. A win, no matter the score, will do the job.

What happens if they finish level on points?

The tiebreakers are goal difference, then goals scored, then head-to-head points.

But the teams now cannot finish level on points.

Record View says Starmer did no favours for Scottish Labour and a new approach, led by Sarwar, is required.

The psychodrama of events at Westminster has done untold damage to UK Labour.

Voters dislike split parties and Labour comes across as a divided rabble. Keir Starmer’s time is up and new ­leadership is required, so it is frustrating that the path to a contest is so ­complicated.

Wes Streeting appears not to have the required nominations and Andy Burnham needs to win a tricky by-election to get back to the Commons.

A Burnham premiership would likely be an improvement, but the fear is the damage has already been inflicted for the next general election. Scottish Labour, still wounded by another terrible defeat by the SNP, must learn lessons from the circus south of the Border.

This is not the time for a messy civil war in Scottish Labour – but there does need to be sober reflection on an election it lost by a mile. Anas Sarwar’s campaign should have offered more hope to voters, points made by a senior party official in our exclusive story today. His focus on 38 seats was also too ambitious and led to his party being stretched across constituencies it could not win.

But Sarwar is a major asset to Scottish Labour and he should have a big role at Holyrood over the next five years. The SNP government is facing a £4.7billion budget black hole and difficult decisions will need to be made.

Reform will not hold the SNP to account so Labour must step up to provide constructive opposition. It makes little sense for Scottish Labour to rush into its own leadership contest. It must instead review last week’s painful defeat and rethink its ­relationship with UK Labour. Starmer did no favours for Scottish Labour and a new approach, led by Sarwar, is required.

Thrill of the race

The eyes of the world will be on Scotland today as the title race goes down to the wire.

A challenge by Hearts to 40 years of Old Firm dominance has fired the imagination of football fans around the UK, Europe and the globe. And that means today’s title decider in Glasgow between Celtic and Hearts is a once-in-a-generation sporting event.

Most neutrals are desperate to see Hearts triumph in a David v Goliath battle against the Glasgow giants. But Celtic’s spectacular return to form with 74-year-old Martin O’Neill at the helm is also a remarkable story.

Lets hope the game itself lives up to the feverish expectation. But whatever happens today, both clubs must take great credit for making this a football season for the ages.

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Down will be hoping to build on their Ulster Championship win over Donegal when they take on Leitrim in the opening round of the Tailteann Cup at Páirc Esler, Newry, with a 6pm throw-in on Saturday

Down meet Leitrim this weekend in the opening round of the Tailteann Cup.

Down enter the fixture in excellent form following their Division Three league title triumph earlier this year and are expected to launch a serious challenge for the Tailteann Cup once more.

The Mournemen stunned Donegal in the Ulster Championship, cementing their position as arguably the leading contenders for the Tailteann Cup.

Leitrim, on the other hand, are seeking to build momentum following an inconsistent league and Connacht campaign and will be aiming to cause an upset in Newry.

Here’s what you need to know about the match:, reports the Irish Mirror.

Where is the match being played?

Páirc Esler, Newry.

What time is throw-in?

The match is scheduled to begin at 6pm on Saturday, May 16.

Can I watch the match on TV?

The fixture has not been selected for live free-to-air TV coverage, however, it is being shown on GAA+

Betting odds

Down – 1/8

Draw – 14/1

Leitrim – 7/1

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A reader has some very specific demands for the PlayStation 6, as he feels Sony has been stripping beloved features from its consoles since the days of the PlayStation 3.

I have been a long-time PlayStation fan since the days of the first PlayStation. The PS1 offered music CD support, as well as memory card storage, and gave birth to classic franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Tekken, Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider, and Gran Turismo. But I will now explain why I will be holding off from buying a PlayStation 6 and how Sony’s mistakes are the main reasons.

Sony divided the memory on the PlayStation 3, which was a huge problem for developers, as well as then deciding to forcibly strip features from the console, such as backwards compatibility (the ability to play disc-based PlayStation 2 games and removing PSN access that customers paid for, if they did not apply the update). This, along with the forced removal of Linux, did not help Sony at all.

The result of these bad choices was Sony unfortunately having to deal with a PSN hack which lost them billions. The PlayStation 4 does have good games and features, such as Live from PlayStation and an internet browser, as well as The Playroom which is great software for using the camera to broadcast your gameplay if you want to.

The PlayStation 5 has proven Sony does not learn from its mistakes. The Live from PlayStation tab from the PlayStation 4 is missing, as well as it not having a working internet browser, unless you use a trick to load it up. Sony’s rival, the Xbox Series X has an internet browser, which isn’t a great look for Sony and does not help me consider upgrading to a PlayStation 6.

Sony’s greatest success was with the PlayStation 2. Its amazing library of games, new sequels to the biggest games series, combined with its hardware being way ahead of its time ensured it sold over 160 million units.

Sony, with its PlayStation 6, needs to bring back popular features from the PlayStation 4, as well as making sure its latest Gran Turismo title is ready to play at launch. We gamers have been left waiting many years for a new Gran Turismo game and feel let down by the missing features in Gran Turismo 7, such as B-spec AI in races, which was useful in Gran Turismo 4, especially for long endurance races.

Sony should by now, in 2026, allow disc-based backwards compatibility for PlayStation 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 discs, as having to rebuy games you already own on disc is not fair to the consumer. There are emulators that have been released for the PC, that have been able to do this for years, even upscaled into 1080p, which does show Sony has some catching up to do.

If Sony does not bring these features and ensure a good line-up of games is ready then I will not be purchasing a PlayStation 6, as by that point it will just feel to me like an expensive paperweight and a waste of hard-earned money.

Sony should learn from its PlayStation 2 success and give us a real PlayStation to all be proud of and give gamers who are still on the PlayStation 4 a reason to jump ship. Am I alone in feeling this way?

By reader gaz be rotten (gamertag)

The reader’s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.

You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot.

Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk or use our Submit Stuff page and you won’t need to send an email.

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“He said to me, ‘Gran, why didn’t I go after them?’ and I replied, ‘Because, they would have killed you’.”

A vulnerable grandmother says she has been left terrified to attend football matches again after allegedly being punched by a thug Celtic fan before their dramatic clash with Motherwell.

Patricia Stafford, was heading towards Fir Park with her grandson on Wednesday evening when horror unfolded before kick-off. Celtic would go on to snatch a dramatic 3-2 victory thanks to a last-minute penalty from Iheanacho but the 72-year-old from Ayr says the match was overshadowed by a shocking attack that left her bruised, shaken and suffering flashbacks.

The lifelong Motherwell supporter claims she was assaulted after a gang of youths who targeted her grandson for wearing a club scarf. The attack is alleged to have taken place on Knowtop Avenue outside of the gate to the John Hunter stand.

She said: “I go to Motherwell games with my grandson. We parked outside the ground early. We were walking to our gate.

“A lot of Celtic fans were around, then all of a sudden a group of six or seven in their late teens appeared.

“One of them jumped out of the crowd and grabbed my grandson’s scarf. He pulled him towards him.

“My instinct was to scream and when I did this, the Celtic fan threw a right hook and punched me right on the chin.

“He took his scarf and ran away.

“I have no idea why this happened. My grandson is not an ultra. He goes to the games with me and we sit together.

“He was totally defenceless when it happened.

“He said to me, ‘Gran, why didn’t I go after them?’ and I replied, ‘Because, they would have killed you’.

“They would have. They were in a big group and all of them would have gotten a kick into him.

“I always thought because he was with me, that he was safe. It’s really scary.”

The stunned gran, who was comforted by a passing group of Hoops fans following the alleged beating, says there were no officers nearby when it happened. Police Scotland has since launched a probe into the incident.

She said: “There were no police around because they were all up at the away section.

“An off-duty policewoman from Bellshill witnessed the full thing.

“She followed the boy to the away end. She went to officers there and pointed the boy out to them because she recognised the hole on the back of his trousers.

“The police told her they couldn’t do anything about it.

“I am just so disappointed in the police, they could have grabbed him and stopped him.”

Patricia, who was told by later told by officers that they would check CCTV in the area, says the ordeal has left her deeply traumatised.

She said: “It was so shocking and I was left shaken. The first aid checked on me but my face was all numb.

“The numbness started to disappear as the game went on and my neck started to ache and my back was sore. It was too much for me and we had to leave because I was in too much pain. We missed the last two goals.

“When I got home, I told my husband what had happened after he noticed the bruising on my face.

“I was so calm telling him but the minute I went to my bed, it all came flooding back to me.

“Every time I had a moment to think, I was having flashbacks. It was horrible and I was getting so upset.”

The gran has even considered giving up going to the football altogether after the incident.

She said: “After it happened, I asked my son, ‘Should I cancel my season ticket?’. He said, ‘Why should you?

“You’ve been going for years’. I ended up renewing my season ticket because I can’t let them win.”

But ahead of Motherwell’s away clash against Hibs at Easter Road on Saturday, Patricia admits she is now filled with dread.

She said: “My grandson and I have tickets for the Hibs away game on Saturday.

“When we purchased them, we thought it would be a lovely day out going to watch Motherwell via the train. Now I’m panicking and I don’t want to go.

“I tried to sort a seat on a supporters bus but they were all sold out. I feel vulnerable going myself and would feel safer in numbers.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “On the evening of Wednesday, 13 May, 2026, police received a report of an assault in the Knowtop Avenue area of Motherwell. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing.”

Motherwell and Celtic were approached for comment.

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