Kearsley residents and councillors gathered at Unity Brook memorial to remember those who lost their lives in the Unity Brook Colliery Disaster.

The disaster took place on March 12 1878, when a pit explosion claimed the lives of 43 men and boys.

The service was well-attended, with residents, councillors, and local schoolchildren coming out to honour those who lost their lives.

Full view of the memorial with children from Spindle’s Point and St Stephen’s school reading out the names of the dead (Image: Stacey Wilkinson)

Kearsley Councillor Tracey Wilkinson said: “This is one of the most poignant events in Kearsley’s calendar.

“Each year, hearing the children from Spindle Point and St Stephen’s read the names of the 43 men and boys who lost their lives reminds us that this was not just a tragedy of the past, but a loss felt by family generations and by our whole community.

“It is a real honour to attend and to ensure that their memory is never forgotten.”

The Unity Brook memorial now stands on the spot where the colliery once stood on Manchester Road, Kearsley.

The disaster took place 148 years ago, caused by an explosion at the colliery.

It occurred in one of the lower ‘cannel’ mines.

Replica minecart with coal at the memorial (Image: Stacey Wilkinson)

Cannel is a type of dark coal used in the 19th Century for gas lamps and fireplaces.

Everyone in the Unity Brook Colliery cannel mine that day died.

According to the Northern Mine Research Society, the explosion may have been caused when the tunnel filled with gas from a hole in ceiling.

This gas could then have been ignited by the naked flames of miners’ lamps and candles.

The explosion took place at 1:07pm – the same time at which the memorial service includes a minute’s silence.

Hearing a noise, workers from nearby mines flocked to Unity Brook Colliery to help survivors.

Residents came to pay their respects (Image: Stacey Wilkinson)

In one of the most striking scenes of the disaster, a nearby pub was used as a makeshift chapel of rest as bodies were pulled out of the rubble.

The memorial itself was constructed in 2018, on the 140th anniversary of the tragedy.

An annual memorial service has been held since then on March 12.

A new guest chef series is being launched at The General Tarleton in Ferrensby, near Harrogate and Knaresborough, where leading figures will join head chef Aled Williams for a programme of one-off collaborative dinners.

Aled Williams, Matthew Lockwood, Sam Orbaum and Tommy Banks at The General Tarleton. Photo: Esme Mai

The restored 18th-century coaching inn reopened last year under Jeopardy Hospitality, the pub group founded by the award-winning chef and TV star Tommy Banks, along with his business partner Matthew Lockwood, brother James Banks and businessman, Neil Armstrong.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive chef at the Michelin-starred Northcote, will be the first to kick off the series when it starts on April 28.

Tommy Banks’ General Tarleton welcomes top guest chefs. Photo: Andrew Hayes-Watkins

She will be followed by Nokx Majozi on June 16, former head pie maker at Holborn Dining Room’s Pie Room and currently chef in residence at Fallow in St James’s.

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Roberta Hall-McCarron, the Edinburgh chef-patron behind The Little Chartroom and sister restaurants Eleanore and Ardfern, will join on November 3. Further guest chefs will be announced throughout the year, bringing a roster of leading culinary talent to the venue.

Reservations for Lisa Goodwin-Allen are now live and bookable via The General Tarleton’s website now.

The General Tarleton, which also offers overnight stays, prides itself on being a ‘proper Yorkshire pub made for exceptional food’, celebrating seasonal, local produce.

The menu features elevated pub classics, familiar favourites and signature dishes alongside a wine list, beers on tap and keg, fit for a relaxed afternoon in muddy boots or a special occasion. It has a score of 4.6 out of five possible stars, as rated by 78 reviewers on Tripadvisor, and has been widely reviewed including by The Press.

Tommy Banks also owns The Black Swan at Oldstead, Roots in Marygate in York, and The Abbey Inn, Byland.

People will soon be asked to prove they live in the region by showing identification, or with a council tax bill or other document.

The measure, approved by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority waste committee, is aimed at stopping people from outside the region from using household waste and recycling sites. 

Tips have seen increased numbers of visitors who live elsewhere, bosses say. That, in turn, drives up costs for councils to deliver services and adds traffic. 

Leaders believe the closure of sites in other areas has led to an influx of people outside Greater Manchester using the region’s tips.

In 2024, Cheshire East Council temporarily shut three waste sites. They were later permanently closed. Neighbouring Derbyshire and Lancashire are also considering closing facilities. 

GMCA bosses said it was now time to take steps to ‘try to eliminate cross-border use’ of tips. 

Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, who sits on Manchester Council, said: “Shame on those authorities that have done this because it’s not the responsibility of my residents to pick up the bill for them, and they need to look at that. We pay for our waste through our council tax. I’m not willing to put that up.

“The plans that the officers have put together are really good, but obviously that’s another cost to us, taking the time to check these vehicles because others have decided to [close their sites]. It shouldn’t impact the nine authorities in this room. It’s just outrageous.”

Officers have proposed a two-stage approach. The first phase will be a ‘soft introduction’, with proof of address checks on entry. Driving licences and council tax bills would be acceptable, documents suggest. 

Later, random checks could be introduced at sites. ‘Stage two’ would formalise checks, bosses said. 

Cllr Igbon added: “I’m not for a softly, softly approach. This is a major problem, [and] I want people to know from the onset that if you turn up to the sites that we pay for, you’re not getting in. If your name’s not down, you’re not coming in, basically, and we need to get that message out.”

Cllr Ken Rustidge, from Oldham Council, said: “This is a decision by these adjoining authorities that’s going to hurt our people, and they should be held to account for these decisions, and they really should be shown up.”

Trafford councillor Stephen Adshead said it should be made clear to people in Greater Manchester that the changes were ‘not their fault’, adding: “I think it’s sad we’re doing it, but it’s come to a point where we’ve got to start considering [implementing new rules] and probably soon as well.”

Officers advised elected members that the first phase would not be introduced until after May’s local elections. That would then need a ‘good three months’ to see how they ‘bed in’ and to assess any data and feedback.

The details of the phase of the plan will be decided later.

“The last thing we want to do is to put in place barriers for people using those facilities freely, but we just want the people who are entitled to use those facilities to be able to use them,” officers said. 

Ms Long said agreeing the budget was the “biggest challenge” facing the Executive

The consequences for Stormont departments if the Executive cannot agree a budget will be “catastrophic”, Naomi Long has warned.

The Alliance Party leader and Justice Minister also insisted that she cannot make any further cuts to her department without doing “structural damage” to the justice system in Northern Ireland.

Finance Minister John O’Dowd published draft proposals in January for a multi-year budget, but they have not yet been agreed by the powersharing Executive.

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In February the UK Government announced it would make £400 million available from reserves to the Executive to deal with overspends.

The money has to be repaid over the next three years and the Treasury said it would be conducting an “open book exercise” looking at the Executive budget.

Ms Long said agreeing the budget was the “biggest challenge” facing the Executive.

She said: “It’s the one thing that the Executive must do. We can’t avoid it, we can’t duck it, we have to get a budget in place.

“We have an opportunity to have a three-year budget, and that three-year budget would be beneficial, we would be able to plot out over the next three years what is possible.

“It would also, I think, be really helpful to people in the community and voluntary sector to know what their likely funding will be for the next three years, and to be able to plan on that basis, rather than this annual race for funding.”

She added: “If we can’t agree a budget then the consequences for all departments will be catastrophic.”

The Justice Minister said Stormont departments had to prove that they can be responsible with their funding allocations.

She said: “Unless Treasury can see clearly that we’re spending the money in the right places and on the right things, we’re not going to be able to make a compelling argument for more.

“We do have a strong case to make, but I think we undermine ourselves quite often, because the things that we spend money on are often not the real essentials.”

Ms Long said the amount of funding given to justice had fallen in recent years from 11% of the block grant to 8%.

She added: “We are caught in a very difficult situation, we have already had to trim the fat away from DOJ.

“We have had a significant reduction, for example, in the number of staff in DOJ, the number of staff in our arms length bodies.

“That’s not true in other departments. We’ve had to put downward pressure all the time on what we’re doing and what I’m saying is it’s not fair to come to me after 10 years of doing that, and say, find more, there is no more to give.

“There are other people who have not started that journey yet and they are the departments I think that really now need to focus on how do they right-size, because I would argue now that justice actually is too lean, that we don’t have the resources that are necessary to provide the basic services that we have to provide.

“I can’t find additional savings without doing structural damage to the justice system and to confidence in justice, and that’s a life or death issue.”

She said: “We hear this about health, it’s a life or death issue. So is justice, and so it’s really important that we are properly funded.

“If you take health and education, 71% of the block grant goes on health and education, 8% on justice.

“There has got to be something there that needs to be dealt with in terms of where we prioritise resources so that people can feel safe in their community, because people’s safety, people’s well being, is connected to them feeling safe and secure in their community.”

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However, the charity’s latest State Of Our Beaches report, using data collected by almost 15,000 volunteers who surveyed 141,656 metres of coastline, reveals “encouraging progress”, with average litter levels dropping 15% between 2024 and 2025, including an 18% fall in single-use plastics.

Strictly Come Dancing has hit the headlines again with reports that five professional dancers from the BBC show face the axe

One former Strictly Come Dancing professional has suggested that the BBC series should be rested following outrage over the reported shake-up to its professional dancer line-up.

This comes after the announcement of a significant reshuffle, following the departure of hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, which has reportedly seen five professional dancers dropped from the programme.

Kristina Rihanoff, who was a part of the Strictly team from 2008 until her departure in 2015, has voiced her opinion that the show needs a hiatus if a revamp is on the cards. The 48-year-old proposed that the programme should “go back to basics”.

She further stated: “If I were a producer, I would give it a rest for a year, regroup and think about what we can do differently.

“There’s something to say about going back to basics and back to its roots – the roots of the show were pure ballroom and Latin dancing without the razzmatazz of 101 props and 3D projections,” reports the Express.

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Speaking to The Independent, Kristina said: “When I came onto the show, it was about ballroom and Latin dancing. It was minimum props, all the group dances were live.

“The professionals were choreographing it, and the celebrities had to learn proper ballroom and Latin dancing. It would not do any harm to go back to the good old-fashioned [ways].”

Reflecting on her own journey, the dancer explained she departed Strictly because she “didn’t want to be there anymore,” highlighting that all professional dancers receive only year-long contracts and the uncertainty surrounding their future on the programme can be mentally draining.

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This follows reports that Karen Hauer, who became part of Strictly in 2012 and ranks amongst its longest-serving professionals, was notified of the decision not to extend her contract just days earlier.

A source told the MailOnline: “It’s an awful fate for the professional dancers who have dedicated their careers to the show.

“Karen was obviously very upset after being told the news, but she is trying to remain positive about the future. She works as a choreographer and knows she can focus more on that, as well as her work in the fitness industry.”

The insider further suggested: “It’s also looking increasingly likely that Alja Škorjanec will not return, whilst Carlos Gu and Johannes Radebe have been given the green light to stay.”

Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC iPlayer

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An Apprentice star admitted in the boardroom that he would “regret” a key decision “for the rest of my life”.

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BBC The Apprentice bid farewell to another contestant this week, but not before Lord Sugar called out someone’s “nasty” behaviour.

During the seventh week of the popular BBC business programme The Apprentice, the remaining hopefuls tackled a virtual reality fitness challenge where they were required to create demonstrations and brands whilst pursuing investment.

Unfortunately, when the boardroom showdown arrived, it was the end of the road for Team Eclipse, led by project manager Lawrence Rosenberg, who secured investment four times smaller than Team Alpha.

The tension truly escalated in the boardroom when Lawrence had to select who would return with him.

His initial choice was Rajan Gill due to his “lack of contributions” before revealing the contentious reasoning behind his second selection of Levi Hague.

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Lawrence said: “With respect Lord Sugar, I think you have made it quite clear about your mind on Levi so I will need to bring back Levi as well.”

Before his decision, Lord Sugar had challenged Levi about what he had accomplished during the previous seven weeks of the competition, but despite his own doubts, The Apprentice icon was displeased with this “naughty” strategy.

“This is not how this process is supposed to work, you’re supposed to bring people back in who you think did not contribute to this task.”

For the latest showbiz, TV, movie and streaming news, go to the new **Everything Gossip** website.

Lord Sugar branded it a “nasty move” with Lawrence apologetically responding that “I’ll regret it for the rest of my life”.

The Apprentice veteran stated he would be “fair” to Levi and retain him for another week, nominating him as project manager for the following task, with the candidate responding “happy days”.

Despite this exchange between Lawrence and Levi, it was ultimately Rajan who faced dismissal for his insufficient contributions to the challenge.

This didn’t prevent Lord Sugar from delivering one final reprimand to Lawrence, cautioning: “You were this close to getting out of here.”

The tension continued when the surviving pair returned to the house, with Lawrence confessing to the remaining group that he was “beyond embarassed”, having made a “weak decision”.

Levi wasn’t prepared to let the matter rest, however, as he firmly told the other candidates: “Don’t ever use me as a scapegoat in there, don’t ever do that to me.”

The Apprentice continues every Thursday at 9pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

The armed man who rammed his vehicle into a US synagogue full of children has been named by officials as Ayman Mohamad Ghazali after he was shot dead at the scene

The man who rammed his vehicle into a US synagogue in a ‘targeted act of violence’ has been identified as a 41-year-old citizen born in Lebanon, according to officials.

Ayman Mohamad Ghazali was shot dead by security officers after driving through a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township near Detroit, Michigan, in a vehicle that then caught fire on Thursday, March 12, authorities said.

None of the synagogue’s staff, teachers or the 140 children at its early childhood centre were injured.

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Ghazali came to the US in 2011 on an immediate relative visa as the spouse of a US citizen and according to the Department of Homeland Security was granted citizenship in 2016.

Jennifer Runyan, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Detroit field office, called the crime a “targeted act of violence against the Jewish community”.

The FBI are leading the investigation into the attack at one of the nation’s largest Reform synagogues and are yet to determine a motive.

“What drove this person into action has to be determined by the investigation,” said Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard.

Smoke billowed from the synagogue moments after the attack with parents in “utter shock” after hearing the news and fearing for their children’s safety.

A security officer was hit by the vehicle and knocked unconscious but did not suffer life-threatening injuries, the sheriff said. And 30 law enforcement officers were treated for smoke inhalation.

Temple security officers “engaged the individual and neutralized the threat” according to West Bloomfield Police Chief Dale Young.

Ghazali was found dead inside his vehicle, according to Bouchard.

Cassi Cohen, director of strategic development at Temple Israel, was standing at the hallway where the crash happened. She said she heard a loud bang, grabbed a few staff members, ran into her office and locked the door.

“When I heard the crash, I knew it was bad,” Cohen said.

Cohen added that there was a classroom near where the car hit the synagogue with children as old as four and more than 30 staff members.

“Thankfully, we have had many active shooter drills and our staff is prepared for these situations,” she said.

Rabbi Arianna Gordon, from Temple Israel, thanked the security team, law enforcement and early childhood teachers for getting the children out safely and reunited with their parents, calling them the “true rock stars of the day.”

As soon as authorities cleared the building around a dozen parents raced to collect their children. Other families were reunited at a nearby Jewish Community Center.

Allison Jacobs, whose 18-month-old daughter is enrolled in Temple Israel’s day care, said she got a message from a teacher saying the children were OK even before she knew what happened.

“There are no words. I was in complete and utter shock,” she told the AP. “I was hoping that it was a false report.”

Jacobs said she often tries to not think about all that’s going on in the world due to never thinking it will happen to you.

“You never think that this is actually going to happen to you,” she said. “But I know that it’s — it’s just terrible. This morning I was mourning the loss of the school that got hit in Iran.”

Logan Parker was tragically killed after being struck by a car on the A38 in Nottinghamshire

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A young boy who lost his life after a collision on the A38 has been identified by police.

Logan Parker was hit by a car on the A38, Kings Mill Road East, near Kingfisher Way in Nottinghamshire, at 8.26pm on Tuesday, March 10. The seven-year-old passed away at the scene.

The A38 was temporarily shut in both directions whilst investigations were carried out, but it has since reopened, reports Nottinghamshire Live.

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Nottinghamshire Police officers said the driver of the vehicle stopped at the scene and is cooperating with their inquiries into the incident.

Logan’s mother honoured her son in a moving tribute: “In memory of a boy who will remain seven forever.

“Always unconditionally loved and cherished, you will never, ever be forgotten.

“There are no words other than you are the most beautiful, happy and mischievous special boy – full of love, light and adventure.

“You will be always part of me and our hearts, my little superhero who loved to play and make us laugh.”

“This is not goodbye but a ‘see you soon’.”

“Love from mum and family.”

Detective Inspector Jamie Moore, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit, said: “This is a devastating incident and our thoughts are with Logan’s family, friends and loved ones.

“The circumstances are being investigated and we would ask the privacy of the family is respected at this tragic and difficult time.

Police have appealed to any witnesses of this incident to come forward, including anyone with dashcam footage which could help in the investigation.

“If you can help, please call us on 101 quoting incident number 770 of 10 March,” Detective Moore said.

The UK is considering possible options to help defend shipping in the Strait of Hormuz from Iranian attacks, the defence secretary has said.

John Healey also signalled that British forces needed to be ready in coordination with allies to evacuate UK nationals from the Middle East if the US and Israeli war with Iran worsens.

He said he had spoken to his counterparts in the so-called E5 group of European powers, which includes Germany, France, Italy and Poland, on Wednesday to discuss the crisis.

On the threat to oil tankers in the Gulf, the senior cabinet minister said the best way to unblock the vital waterway would be an end to the war between the US, Israel and Iran.

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However, as conflict rages and with tankers ablaze, he said he has asked his military planners to look at what the UK could offer alongside other nations to protect commercial tankers needing to pass through the Strait from attacks by Iranian drones, mines and missiles.

This could include autonomous vessels that can counter mines.

In addition, the British military has personnel based at a headquarters in Bahrain with expertise in commanding maritime security operations.

The UK is already sending HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, with significant air defence capabilities, to bolster its defences in the region. This ship could also potentially be an option if there is a move to protect shipping.

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“Recognising the huge impact this potentially has on oil prices and the cost of living, there is an international imperative to try and see this resolved,” Mr Healey said, referring to the disruption to the flow of tankers carrying oil and gas through the Strait.

“I have – pre-positioned in the region – some autonomous mine hunting systems,” the defence secretary told reporters, speaking after meeting with commanders at the permanent joint headquarters, PJHQ, in Northwood, in northwest London, which is the main headquarters overseeing British military operations around the world.

“I have been talking to planners today about additional options we can bring to bear alongside allies should it be needed.”

However, Mr Healey stressed that this work was “early days”.

“You should not read into that that we have got some hard options poised to go. But… I am discussing additional options with our planners.”

Mr Healey said he had spoken with E5 defence ministers about greater coordination in the Eastern Mediterranean.

He signalled this could also mean in any future evacuation efforts.

“If this conflict worsens, we have to be ready should evacuations be required,” he told commanders.

The UK has placed RFA Lyme Bay, a vast support ship, on heightened readiness to deploy, in a sign of the kind of assets being readied.

However, the options to assist in defending shipping through the Strait of Hormuz or conducting evacuations are more limited than they have been in the past following defence cuts.

A decade ago, the Royal Navy had at least one major warship operating out of Bahrain and up to four minehunters – each one a large, crewed ship – as well as a huge support vessel.

Today, there are no warships based out of Bahrain, with the last crewed minehunter, HMS Middleton, sent back to the UK for maintenance.

It means the UK could only contribute to an effort to protect shipping in the Gulf alongside allies like the US and France.