One woman said the road is a ‘safety risk’

Drivers say the state of one Cambridgeshire road is “atrocious”, with concerns raised about how safe it is. Some roads in Cambridgeshire are built on peat soil, which makes them susceptible to becoming uneven and cracking more quickly.

In Ramsey, Wells Bridge, a road built on peat soil, has been described by locals as “diabolical” and “dangerous”. Joseph Beer, who lives locally, has had problems with his car caused by the state of the road.

He said: “The road has been dangerous for about two years now. The road has a reduced speed limit because they are aware the road is diabolical. There are potholes in the road. Cyclists and motorbikes risk getting wheels stuck in the cracks and coming off, causing potentially serious or fatal issues.

“My car has bottomed out on it because of the road subsidence.”

Although plans are in place to repair the road, Joseph thinks the current state of it is “dangerous”. He added: “It needs emergency intervention works, temporary traffic lights or an emergency road closure due to the immediate dangers it poses.”

Another woman, who wished to remain anonymous, also believes the road is a “safety risk”. She added: “The large cracks are ridiculous. Anyone who travels along that road, if they aren’t scared to go on it, then they must be crazy. Something needs to be done about it urgently.”

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesperson said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns regarding the deteriorating condition of Wells Bridge Road.

“We are regularly monitoring the road for safety defects and will make repairs to keep all road users safe. As a precaution, a reduced speed limit and warning signs are currently in place. Our highways design team are also assessing the most appropriate way to stabilise and repair the road to ensure a longer-term solution.

“As part of this year’s budget, £2.5m will be spent on repairing peat soil affected roads across the county. This includes £700,000 towards reconstruction of Wells Bridge Road. These major repairs are anticipated to be delivered in the summer of 2027.”

The collision happened on the M56 eastbound between junctions 6 and 7, near Manchester Airport, at around 9.37am on Wednesday, September 16.

Cheshire Police confirmed that emergency services attended the scene and that no serious injuries were reported.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police said: “At 9.37am on Wednesday, September 16, emergency services were called to reports of a multi-vehicle collision on the M56 eastbound carriageway between junctions 6 and 7.

“Officers attended and found there had been a collision between an HGV and three cars.

“There were no reports of any serious injuries, and the scene was cleared by 1.20pm.”

The incident led to the closure of all four lanes, with traffic brought to a standstill for around two hours.

National Highways reported delays of up to 60 minutes at the height of the disruption.

A spokesman for National Highways said: “Traffic is currently stopped on the M56 eastbound between J7 and J6 following a multi-vehicle collision.

“Emergency services are in attendance.

“There are delays of up to 60 minutes eastbound at the present time while the carriageway is blocked.”

By late morning, one lane had reopened to allow traffic to pass the scene, though lanes two, three, and four remained closed to allow for vehicle recovery.

Despite the partial reopening, drivers continued to face delays of up to 45 minutes.

All lanes were eventually reopened by 1.20pm.

A spokesman for National Highways posted on X, formerly Twitter, saying: “The M56 eastbound between J7 and J6.

“All lanes are now open.

“There are residual delays of 15 minutes on the approach.”

The incident caused significant disruption for motorists travelling towards Manchester and the airport, with many forced to seek alternative routes.

The call comes after the First Minister announced plans to “declutter” Scotland’s public sector by reducing the number of health boards, councils and public bodies.

SNP Perth and Kinross Council (PKC) leader Eric Drysdale has pledged to ensure the local authority is fully involved in discussions about public sector reform.

First Minister – and Perthshire North MSP – John Swinney recently announced plans to “declutter” Scotland’s public sector as part of his Programme for Government by reducing the number of health boards, councils and public bodies.

Leaders of opposition groups within PKC responded with scepticism to the proposal and Cllr Drysdale has vowed to listen to their views “and help ensure that Perth and Kinross is represented in a balanced, constructive and informed way”.

Presenting his Programme for Government, Mr Swinney said he wanted to “rewire” the public sector and cut the current 14 territorial health boards to “two strategic health boards” and “empowering regions and communities” with “a need for regional local government”.

Conservative Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser slammed the move as “an attempt to distract from the dire state of local authority funding and shows that the government is now in panic mode to repair the public finances, which they have so poorly managed over the past 20 years”.

Speaking on behalf of PKC’s Independent group, Provost Xander McDade said they were “strongly opposed to any further centralisation of services either of councils or of health and social care”. They argued Perth and Kinross Council was already a merger of two historic counties and 10 historic burghs.

PKC’s Liberal Democrat group said they were “champions of strong local democracy and accountability” and argued PKC was already collaborating with other councils in Tayside through the Tay Cities Deal and Tayside Contracts.

They also suggested reducing the number of mainland health boards “looks like the reintroduction of a National Care Service by the back door”.

Labour councillor Alasdair Bailey was “surprised” by Mr Swinney’s announcement and said he “would far rather he focused on properly funding the bodies we have rather than merging them”.

However, SNP council leader Eric Drysdale believes “it would be premature to take a firm view on the proposals at this stage” and is open to further discussion.

The Perth City Centre ward councillor said: “Understandably these announcements will raise questions and concerns for residents, staff and partner organisations about what they could mean in practice.

“But there is still a great deal of detail to be worked through and it would be premature to take a firm view on the proposals at this stage, recognising there are likely to be both challenges to face and opportunities to embrace. The priority for me is to ensure that Perth and Kinross Council is fully involved in the discussions ahead, helping to shape the future rather than simply sitting back waiting for the changes.

“Our local perspectives need to be heard, and I shall ensure that they will be, so that the interests of our communities are properly reflected in how these reforms are developed.

“I am keen for Perth and Kinross to play an active role in that conversation, both locally and nationally, both in the run up to the Public Sector Reform Summit taking place in Edinburgh at the end of this month and in the weeks and months that follow. I shall also be engaging next week with the other political group leaders on the council to understand their views and help ensure that Perth and Kinross is represented in a balanced, constructive and informed way.

“These are important discussions about the future of public services in Scotland and I am committed to keeping an open mind and working positively with partners to help secure the best outcomes for our communities.”

Ed Sheeran’s follower count is taking a nosedive while Macklemore’s is on the ascent after the rapper was pulled from Sheeran’s tour following his onstage show of support for Palestine.

Sheeran’s U.S. Loop tour is imploding after Macklemore — the artist best known for his 2012 song “Thrift Shop” — announced Tuesday that he had been removed as Sheeran’s opening act on the tour because he called for a “free Palestine” at their concert earlier this month.

The decision came after billionaire Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, said Macklemore would not be allowed to perform at the Massachusetts venue.

Although Sheeran has insisted he is “not complicit” in the controversy and that it was not his decision to drop Macklemore, the singer-songwriter has been met with massive backlash over his apolitical stance. All four of his supporting acts have dropped out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, other celebrities are calling him out for his inaction and now, his social media following has dwindled by tens of thousands.

In the day since Macklemore announced that he had been dropped from Sheeran’s tour, Sheeran lost 149,636 followers on Instagram, bringing his count to 47.3 million, according to data from social media analytics firm Social Blade.

During the same 24-hour period, Macklemore gained 750,098 followers on Instagram, according to the data. The “Same Love” rapper now has more than 7.9 million followers on the platform.

The Independent has reached out to Sheeran and Macklemore for further comment.

The other opening acts who quit Sheeran’s tour — Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, Danish band Lukas Graham and Finneas — have also gained followers since taking their stands.

Rowe, who led the exodus by first dropping out, has grown his following by 73 percent, with more than 132,000 people following him. He shared, in part, in his post Tuesday: “I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal.”

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Beoga, who was serving as Sheeran’s touring band, has gained 86,548 followers since announcing their departure. Similarly to Rowe, the band mentioned their Irish heritage as part of their decision to stand with Macklemore and Palestine, writing in their statement: “We are Irish people who understand colonialism. As founding members of the Irish Artists for Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be.”

Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator who was set to tour with Sheeran in South America, wrote on Instagram: “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.” With more than four million followers already, Finneas gained 96,163 more Instagram followers after the statement.

Sheeran’s next show is set for Saturday at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

By JUSTIN ENRIQUEZ, US ASSISTANT SHOWBIZ EDITOR

Published: 15:23 BST, 16 September 2026 | Updated: 15:41 BST, 16 September 2026

Lena Dunham has welcomed her first child via surrogate.

The 40-year-old Girls creator and husband Luis Felber announced that they had welcomed a new child in an op-ed for Vogue published Wednesday morning.

Dunham had kept relatively quiet about her hopes to become a parent after she underwent a hysterectomy in 2018.

The actress and writer made the difficult decision to have a total hysterectomy to remove her uterus and cervix and an ovary after enduring years of endometriosis-related pain.

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Dunham married Peruvian-British musician Felber in a low-key London ceremony back in September 2021. 

Lena Dunham hand usband Luis Felber announced that they had welcomed a new child via surrogate (they ae seen in London in June 2025)

Dunham was seen at a J.Crew x Eckhaus Latta House Party event on Friday

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In 2018, Dunham had opened up about her decision to have a hysterectomy. 

A hysterectomy is the surgical removal of the uterus, and often the cervix, fallopian tubes, and ovaries according to the Cleveland Clinic. The procedure completely and permanently prevents pregnancy.

The prime suspect in the notorious “Putney pusher” case has been found dead at his home in west London.

Banker Nicholas Brandram, 44, was arrested on suspicion of attempted grievous bodily harm following a decade-long manhunt after a female pedestrian, who has never been named, was shoved into the path of a bus on Putney Bridge in 2017.

On Tuesday, Mr Brandram, a descendant of Queen Victoria , was found dead at his property in Chiswick in west London.

The Met Police said the death of a 44-year-old man was being treated as “unexpected”, and was not believed to be suspicious.

In a statement, the force said: “At 19:12hrs on Tuesday, 15 September officers and the London Ambulance Service attended an address in Chiswick, Hounslow after a man was found unresponsive inside a property. “Sadly, a 44-year-old man was pronounced dead at the scene. His next-of-kin have been informed.”

The force will prepare a file for the coroner in due course, a spokesperson said.

CCTV of the incident on Putney Bridge on 5 May 2017 showed a jogger forcefully shoving the woman with both of his hands into the path of a double-decker bus. Around 15 minutes later, he passed her as she was receiving help on the bridge and ignored her calls for him to stop.

The woman, who was 33 at the time, sustained a few minor injuries.

The suspect was described by the Met Police as in his early to mid-30s, with short brown hair and a stocky build. He was wearing dark blue shorts, trainers and a grey T-shirt.

At the time, police interviewed more than 50 men and arrested three suspects, but the case was closed in 2018, and no one was ever charged.

But on 15 June, Mr Brandram was arrested at his home in connection with the case.

Mr Brandram was a senior relationship manager HSBC Private Bank, according to an interview he did with Citywealth earlier this year.

The Sun reported that he was a former British Army Captain who served in Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan. He was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal at the time of her celebrations to mark 60 years on the throne in 2012.

Mr Brandram was a grandson of Princess Katherine of Greeceand Denmark, who was the great-granddaughter of Queen Victoria.

This is a breaking story, more to follow…

Within minutes of the 1pm start, St Lawrence Church was starting to fill up with lots of happy drinkers.

The beer festival runs until Saturday, but the first session is for those in the trade.

Among them, Katie and Amanda Speed of Brewhemian Hopsody, a much-loved micropub in Fulford enjoying their first visit to the church location.

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Karen Crombie and staff from the Waggon and Horses. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Katie said: We have just been judging the beers, which was really good. I enjoyed it immensely.”

Katie said she was enjoying the festival due to the range of beers- over 200 beers and ciders are available.

The volunteers are keen to serve (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Amanda agreed: “There is such a different range and it is fantastic to try different beers that you never see.”

Amanda added: “It’s also research. It’s great research. We will definitely get ideas of what beers to stock. The festival is also lovely networking.”

Eager customers keen to try an extensive range. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Karen Crombie of the Waggon and Horses was enjoying the festival with some of her staff.

Mike Webvale and Colin Povey of the North Riding Brew Co of Scarborough. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Karen said: “It’s a fabulous place for a beer festival. There much excellent beer. The beers here are great. They (CAMRA) have made good choices.”

The festival may also affect the guest ales she offers at the pub in nearby Lawrence Street.

Steve and Sally Scantleburn of the Half Moon at Strensall. (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Karen added: “Even though the Waggon and Horses is a Bateman’s   p[ub, I can have some input on the beers we stock.”

Steve and Sally Scantleburn of the Half Moon at Strensall agreed the festival was ‘really good.’

Sally said: “We have been coming here for three years. It always makes for a pleasant afternoon.

Steve said: The festival is really well run. There’s a great selection of beers. It’s also a bit of a fact-finding mission not a day out.”

Mike Webvale of Scarborough-based North Riding Brew Pub said of the festival: “It’s looking excellent as always. I have been coming here for so many years. I like the choice of beers. There’s something for everybody. The beers are also reasonably priced.”

Craig and Millie Lee of Rudgate Brewery (Image: Darren Greenwood)

Colin Povey of the North Riding Brew Pub also liked the large selection of beers, agreeing the festival is well-run.

Colin added: “It’s lovely for us coming from Scarborough.”

Craig Lee of the Tockwith-based Rudgate Brewery was enjoying the festival with daughter Millie.

Craig said: “It’s a fantastic beer festival. It’s great to support it again. I’m pleased to showcase our beers again.”

He continued: “Millie has just started at Rudgate doing social media and marketing. This is her first beer festival. It’s an eye opener for her. I’m teaching her all aspects of the trade.

York CAMRA officials were delighted to see the festival get off to a great start.

Rev Geoff Mumford, who had blessed the beers, noted a great start and thanked the many volunteers.

Branch chairman Chris Tregellis said the fine weather was helping the turnout and he was pleased to see so many enjoying themselves.

Festival organiser Karl Smith agreed and added: “We are very happy and a looking forward to another successful festival.”

The American city of Charlotte in North Carolina has been chosen as the new home of the season-ending WTA Finals.

The WTA says it wants to create the “Super Bowl of women’s sports” and is hoping the three-year deal will bring more stability to an event that has had six hosts in seven years.

A planned 10-year stay in Shenzhen ended after just one year, with Guadalajara, Fort Worth, Cancun and Riyadh all taking turns since. Crowds have often been disappointing.

“The WTA has always owned the WTA Finals, but now we are going to operate it, too,” said WTA chair Valerie Camillo.

“We are not going to do everything ourselves, but we are taking control of this event, of the creation of the revenue and the controlling of the expenses. And that allows us to control our own destiny.”

This year’s Finals will be held in Indian Wells, California, before the tournament moves to Charlotte from 2027.

Prize money is yet to be announced, but the pot for this year’s Finals will be $10m (£7.4m) – which is $5.5m (£4.1m) less than the sum put up by Saudi Arabia last year.

“2026 is a year of transition for the WTA,” Camillo said.

“We are doing the normal belt tightening you would expect of any business while also absorbing the unexpected cost of relocating the WTA Finals to Indian Wells.

“What is most important to know is that we have a clear path to deliver consistent, sustainable financial performance in 2027 and beyond, supported by strong revenue and audience growth.”

Riyadh had been due to stage the Finals for a third time in November, but the arrangement finished one year early.

This was partly because of the instability caused by the conflict between the United States and Iran, but also reflected the waning interest of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

The country’s sovereign wealth fund has recently stopped bankrolling LIV Golf, while the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters was another casualty earlier this year.

The Finals, which involve the best eight singles players and doubles teams of the year, will be staged at the Spectrum Centre where the Charlotte Hornets play their home NBA games.

The basketball season will be in full swing next November and, because of the frequency of home games, the Finals will be reduced from eight days to five, which is likely to affect revenue.

Camillo says the WTA has already started exploring alternative formats with the players, but if the round-robin element of the tournament survives, the finalists would need to play every day.

The WTA will also move its global headquarters from St Petersburg in Florida to Charlotte as part of the agreement.

It must be tough being a judge on the world’s most prestigious environmental prize: imagine having to choose between an ingenious machine that removes microplastics from a river in Europe, or a company in East Africa that sells clean cookstoves through affordable weekly instalments.

Over the last six months, we have been working with colleagues at Green Futures Solutions at the University of Exeter to make that job a little easier. We have found a way to distinguish between solutions that carry on working as long as people keep putting money into them, and those with “tipping potential” that get better, cheaper and easier to adopt the more successful they are. Our new report applies the science of positive tipping points to the five Earthshot categories – nature, air, oceans, waste and climate – for the first time.

After a northern summer of record-breaking heat, wildfires, floods and a deadly glacier collapse in the Nepal-Tibet border region, it would be easy to conclude the planet is only headed towards collapse. But tipping points science says otherwise. The same dynamic principle that leaves coral reefs and rainforests vulnerable to a relatively abrupt breakdown can also work in our favour – if we know the right levers to pull.

What is a positive tipping point?

Most environmental interventions assume change is incremental and proportionate: bigger problems require bigger budgets and lead to slower progress. But many complex systems we rely on (technologies, markets, societal norms, ecosystems) can shift abruptly once a critical threshold is crossed.

Solar power is a great example. Its cost fell around 90% in a decade because every panel sold stimulated innovation that made the next one cheaper. This attracted more investment, which cut costs again and improved performance. The tipping point happened when self-propelling feedback took over. Clean electricity, our report finds, is now a “master cascade”: as solar and wind have tipped in many markets, clean power can accelerate further progress in electric mobility, residential heating, industrial emissions and air quality.

Our report identifies the potential for such self-propelling feedback across 51 solution areas. Specifically, we identify whether the innovative solution is, or could quickly become, more affordable, accessible, and attractive than the polluting incumbent system it seeks to replace. We have also assigned measurable 2030 targets to each solution area, so progress can be tracked.

Three that could soon tip

Around 2.1 billion people still cook on wood, charcoal or dung and the smoke kills nearly 3 million people a year, including more than 300,000 children under five. Pay-as-you-go finance (borrowed from off-grid solar), turns an unaffordable stove into a small weekly payment. Clean cooking is now close to tipping in several African markets. People switch primarily because it saves them time and money.

Methane is responsible for about 30% of global heating so far, but lasts only around 12 years in the atmosphere. Cutting methane emissions therefore helps cool climate within a decade, rather than a century. A new generation of satellites can now pinpoint methane leaks from individual oil and gas facilities from space, and they are cheap to fix. The gas saved is worth more than the repair.

Inside a well-enforced marine-protected area, where commercial fishing is banned, fish biomass typically reaches four to seven times that of the surrounding waters within five to ten years. Fish spill out across the boundary, nearby fish catches rise, and the fishers who initially opposed the marine-protected area become the constituency demanding more of them. Only around 3% of the ocean is fully protected, but the landmark high seas treaty (itself an Earthshot prizewinner) entered into force this year and aims to protect 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. Satellites can now monitor some industrial fishing fleets, so enforcement of marine-protected areas is getting easier. The science, the technology and the politics are coming together.

Not everything is about to tip. The biggest brake is investment: Africa receives only 3% of clean energy finance despite holding 60% of the world’s best solar resources. Our report shows where innovative financing could create the conditions to address these barriers, and highlights how the current investment gaps in adaptation financing can be closed.

By using our research to shape how the prize searches for, selects and supports solutions, Earthshot can help trigger positive tipping points to accelerate out of trouble.

The restoration of the filling station in Bridge of Earn was described as a “vital necessity” in the documents for the change-of-use planning permission.

Councillors have granted permission for Oilfast to reinstate a filling station on Bridge of Earn’s Main Street, on a site previously used as a vehicle sales forecourt.

Motherwell-based Oilfast sought change-of-use planning permission to reintroduce a petrol station in the Perthshire village, arguing it was “a vital necessity”.

Perth and Kinross Council’s Planning and Placemaking Committee was told by a senior planning officer that the application was part-retrospective, as the applicant had carried out the “majority of the works without the benefit of planning permission”.

Presenting the application to the committee on Wednesday, September 9, Development Management team leader Paul Williamson said the application had been brought forward as a result of enforcement negotiations. It was recommended by council officers for conditional approval.

According to the Design and Planning Statement – submitted by JMS Planning and Development on behalf of Oilfast – the site had operated as a filling station until around 2008.

They argued there was “a national need for additional and enhanced petrol filling station facilities” and “a significant absence of petrol filling station facilities within the local area, particularly between Perth and Kinross”.

Presenting the application for the automated, unmanned facility, JMS Planning and Development’s statement described filling stations as “vital community facilities” that “often function as a community hub”.

The agent’s statement read: “Petrol filling stations are a vital necessity and can often function as a community hub, but are facing significant threats in a harsh economic climate. Petrol stations have been likened to post offices and local shops as vital community facilities which are rapidly disappearing.”

The number of UK filling stations is reported to have fallen by 75 per cent between 1967 and 2023.

There were five objections from members of the public alongside a further objection from Earn Community Council.

Addressing councillors, objector Sarah Stewart stressed her concern about the cumulative impact of lighting, noise, traffic and contamination on neighbouring homes.

Mrs Stewart said: “Our concern is not one element in isolation; it’s the cumulative effect of all these activities operating together.”

Neighbouring objector Iain Bethune felt there were “material gaps” in the information provided by the applicant regarding traffic, lighting, and contamination.

Highlighting issues with parking and visibility, he said: “We request stronger action, such as double yellow lines.

“This would be an obvious solution.”

Oilfast chief executive Stephen Anderson told councillors that the company already operates two 24-hour petrol stations in Perthshire—in Guildtown and Balbeggie—“without issue”.

The pumps in Bridge of Earn will not operate 24 hours a day, but will be available from 6am to 11pm.

The use of jet washes and air, water and vacuum units will be limited to between the hours of 7am and 8pm.

Mr Anderson said: “We pride ourselves on being considerate operators and, quite frankly, it’s in our best interest to be good neighbours.”

He added that Oilfast had commissioned a mail drop to 600 neighbouring households: “Eighty-four per cent of respondents were in favour of reopening the Cargill’s site for fuel sales, with 74 per cent voting ‘strongly in favour’.”

The current site owner, Cargill’s, has entered into a lease agreement with Oilfast for the forecourt area only.

Cargill’s Autos will continue operating car sales and general vehicle maintenance and repairs in the area behind the forecourt.

Conservative councillor Ian James moved the plans for approval, seconded by SNP councillor Mike Williamson.

Local Conservative councillor David Illingworth (Almond and Earn ward) sought to restrict fuel sales to between 7am and 10pm for the benefit of nearby residents.

However, he was legally advised by council officers that there would need to be “a clear justification as to why there’s a need to reduce the hours”.

He subsequently withdrew his amendment.

Planning permission was unanimously granted—subject to conditions—allowing the site to be used for fuel sales from 6am to 11pm.