The distressing sight was spotted by a member of the public out walking on Thursday morning.

A headless marine mammal, believed to be a seal pup, has washed up on Girvan beach.

Ayrshire Live can reveal that the distressing sight was spotted by a member of the public out walking on Thursday morning.

It’s understood that the gruesome find was discovered near the entrance to Stair Park.

Members of the public, particularly dog walkers, are being advised to stay away from the pup’s body.

One man said on social media: “Dead baby seal without a head on the beach, it’s very upsetting so avoid. It’s near the Stair Park entrance. I am currently reporting this to Scottish Marine Animal stranding.”

Another said: “My dogs were very interested in this a few days ago. A headless seal pup.”

One woman added: “That’s horrific.”

A spokesperson for the University of Glasgow-based Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, said: “We are already aware of this and have this logged in our database.”

A spokesperson for South Ayrshire Council confirmed that members of their grounds maintenance will remove the dead seal today (Friday, September 11).

The new Christmas Penguin bar is inspired by the popular McVitie’s Penguin biscuit.

Made of creamy milk chocolate, the seasonal snack features a chocolate cream centre and crunchy Penguin biscuit pieces.

New Christmas Penguin bar launches at UK supermarkets

The Christmas Penguin bar is available at Morrisons for £1 but is on special offer for just 70p until December 24 when ordered online.

The launch has sparked excitement among fans, with one shopper simply commenting: “Need!”

Another said: “These look good!

“Like [malteser] reindeer but [with] biscuit pieces in.”

McVitie’s Penguin bars are now labelled as “chocolate flavour” rather than “chocolate,” due to a reduction in cocoa content.

The change was made by parent company Pladis in response to rising chocolate costs linked to climate pressures.

The festive Penguin forms part of McVitie’s largest-ever Christmas range, which includes three further Christmas treats that the biscuit brand unveiled earlier this year.

These include the Tasties Festive Selection, a box of 33 biscuits in nine varieties, and the Victoria Classic Selection, a luxury assortment of nine different biscuits.

McVitie’s has also brought back its Gingerbread Flavour Milk Chocolate Digestives for a third year, offering a seasonal twist on the classic Digestive.

Rare Cadbury chocolate bar returns to UK supermarkets

In other festive food news, a fan-favourite Cadbury bar has also returned to supermarkets for the Christmas season.

The Cadbury Dairy Milk Winter Mint Crisp, a limited-edition favourite in the months leading up to Christmas, combines classic Dairy Milk chocolate with crispy mint pieces.

It’s now available in supermarkets once again, with Tesco selling the 350g bar for £5 or £4.50 with a Clubcard.

Morrisons is offering it for £6, or £4.75 with a MoreCard, while Ocado and Iceland are both selling it for £5.

Fans have welcomed its return, with one calling it their “fave of all time.”

Another said: “It’s a shame it’s not sold all year round but I think my waistband would be sorry if it was.”

The Winter Mint Crisp is part of Cadbury’s wider Christmas range, which also includes festive favourites like Dairy Milk Buttons Smash Baubles.

What is your favourite festive chocolate? Let us know in the comments.

Four habits putting us at risk of winter bugs

Touching our faces too often

You only wash your hands before eating

Sharing more than you think

Not treating symptoms early

Rhys Whittock has a special reason for wanting the Duke of Sussex back

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A Cardiff-born estate agent says he is very happy that Prince Harry is back in the UK because it means he is likely to get more work. Rhys Whittock started working as a Duke of Sussex lookalike when Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in 2017, and he describes it as ‘the best job in the world’.

But he feared it was the end when Harry and Meghan moved to the USA. Rhys told Heart Bingo: “Initially I thought, ‘Oh, this is an amazing job, and it’s all going to finish.’ But when Harry started doing deals with Netflix, Spotify, and that Oprah Winfrey interview, I got bookings.

“I had to do reenactment shots for a TV show and Prince Harry’s book ‘Spare’ kept me incredibly busy. There were a few things that did make work go quiet, mainly because Harry did leave the UK. Then COVID hit, and that really killed events completely for a couple of years.

“The other thing that was really detrimental to being busy was the passing of the Queen. She was the most popular royal for people outside of the UK, and everyone really looked up to her.”

Rhys now looks forward to being busier again. He said: “I think the announcement caught everyone by surprise. I am very pleased to hear that they’re back.

“It is now believable that you could bump into them at an event. I think they obviously want to keep their privacy pretty tight, but I’m sure we’re going to see Harry going to events and enquiries for me have been coming in. Personally, I think it’s been quite clear that he really loved growing up in the UK.

“He loves his country, and there are multiple reasons why I think he came back. He is keen for his family to grow up here, and he seems to want to reconcile with everyone, but it was always going to be tricky with an ocean between you.”

The Duke of Sussex’s first “public engagements” since his return to the UK have been announced, with Harry set to lead a run of charity events this month. Harry will attend the inaugural Invictus Spirit Awards and the launch of the Invictus education programme INSPIRE, as well as taking part in one of his favourite annual occasions, the WellChild Awards.

Harry and Meghan stepped away from the working monarchy six years ago in search of personal and financial freedom in the US. Two weeks ago, they moved back, having enrolled their children Archie and Lili in British schools, with Meghan rumoured to be returning to acting again.

In January 2020, the duke and duchess had announced they intended to step back as “senior” members of the royal family, become financially independent, still support Queen Elizabeth II, but split their time between the UK and North America. But the late Queen ruled at the Sandringham Summit, which was convened to resolve the Megxit crisis, that the couple could not be half in and half out – with the King recently asserting the agreement still stands.

Rhys desvribed his parents as Royal fans, adding: “My mum was quite a big fan of the royals. I think she saw the late Queen one day when she visited Cardiff. My dad actually went to the same university as Charles when he was Prince of Wales. Charles was a year or two above him, but he was there at the same time as my dad in Aberystwyth. But he never bumped into him in person.”

Rhys said his time as a lookalike has been ‘up and down’, adding: “I started working as a lookalike the day after Harry and Meghan announced their engagement back in November 2017. People kept stopping me on the street and making comments to me over the years about my resemblance to him.

“Back in 2011, I sent my photo off to an agency, but at the time nobody got back to me. Harry wasn’t in the media as much, and there wasn’t as much demand. So when they got engaged, one of the agencies actually kept my name on file, and they emailed me the next day.

“When they got married in that summer of 2018, it was just super busy. I did a PR stunt for easyJet, a PR stunt for Hot Tub Company where we ended up on BBC Breakfast News, and I also appeared on This Morning. It’s such a varied job. I was even doing advertising for a wedding cake for Morrison’s.”

And while his parents had Royal encountersm Rhys is still waiting for his. He said: “Hopefully one day it would be great to see Harry and meet him in person. I’m aware that he looks at all the media published about him, so I’m sure he’s come across me a little bit. Hopefully he takes it in good nature.”

Rhys explained how he has trabsformed himself into the Prince. He said: “I used YouTube a lot. Also, because of his autobiography Spare, he recorded an audiobook. You’ve got his actual voice to listen to for hours and hours. So, I studied it and practised the speed he speaks at and his tone. His voice is very Etonian and quite deep, so it’s quite different to mine in a way. I’ve got a little bit of a Welsh accent, so I have to try and hide that.

“Initially, you could actually hire military outfits out from a store. My friend then suggested it’d be a really good idea to get the suit myself, so she really helped me to source all of the finer details. The one I have; it’s an actual ex-soldier’s suit. It’s got his name inside. So we built it up to match everything, including replica medals. That was a few £100 to do the proper job and make it as authentic as possible. It’s very thick and heavy to wear as well.”

Rhy’s job has taken him arround the world. He said: “I flew 12 hours to Macau, China for a billionaire’s 75th birthday party. The other lookalikes for Prince William and the late Queen Elizabeth II also came along, so all three of us were in business class at Heathrow Airport about to fly to China. We had a lot of comments from the cabin crew.

“He was one of the richest men in Malaysia and very much a big fan of everything British, so they had tribute acts of Adele and Elton John there as well. They also created a replica set of Buckingham Palace, including the gates and the concrete pillars made from actual metal and stone. The birthday cake was a royal carriage. I was there for 48 hours for a one-hour appearance.”

Rhys said he will now wait and see what happens next, adding: “Obviously now Harry’s a man in his forties, just like myself. I think lookalikes come in and out of fashion a little bit. It’ll be really interesting to see what happens over the next few months.”

SDLP leader Claire Hanna has compared former Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government to the Stormont Executive, accusing both of having “no real sense of purpose” and saying it was difficult to understand what either administration was trying to achieve.

Speaking ahead of the SDLP’s party conference this weekend, Hanna delivered a striking assessment of the Westminster government, where her party has historically maintained close links with Labour while fiercely guarding its political independence.

While she described the arrival of Andy Burnham as Prime Minister as “refreshing”, she was careful to stress that the SDLP would not simply fall into line behind the new Labour administration.

“We have been all of our lives, and so are the Labour Party, a member of the Party of European Socialists. So we’re a sister party in that regard.

“We are very much our own people, our own politicians, and Colm [Eastwood] and I in Westminster, and all of us vote how we see fit, and the benefits for the people that we represent.

“We’ve never taken any other party’s whip, so just to be clear about that. But yeah, we do have, we do have common cause with people on the centre left, around the world.

“Clearly, and we weren’t shy about saying it, we voted against Keir Starmer’s government on many occasions; we, without fear or favour, address the policies.”

Claire Hanna then delivered one of the most pointed assessments of Starmer’s time in office, drawing a direct comparison between Westminster and Stormont.

“That was a disappointing government in terms of how it presented politics and how it got things done, and I actually see a lot of parallels between Starmer’s government and the Executive, there was just no real sense of purpose, you know, it’s hard to understand what they believed, what they were trying to achieve, because it wasn’t coming through in how they communicated and what they actually delivered.

“So look, Andy Burnham has been refreshing. I mean, just this week, we had quite a substantial, I mean, a genuinely substantial announcement on, for example, the approach to the catastrophic situation in Palestine in terms of settler terrorism in the West Bank, but that sort of step change hopefully is the shape of things to come.

“But we’re also very clear that no UK Prime Minister is going to do the things that need to be done here. That’s our job.

“We’re not waiting for him to do the work on a new Ireland, for example, which is why his clumsy remarks about it being off the table, and people kind of lost their minds about it here, as if they expected the Prime Minister from England to come over and tell us that he was gonna break up the union and don’t worry, it was all in hand.”

For Hanna, the question of a future united Ireland is therefore no longer something which can be treated as a distant constitutional possibility.

She believes the political parties and governments on both sides of the border need to begin doing the practical work of preparing for it now, regardless of when or whether a border poll is ultimately held.

Her comments came after Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he intended to raise the issue with the Prime Minister, including the criteria the Secretary of State could use when deciding whether a border poll should be held.

“I think the fact that Micheál Martin has said that is a really clear indication of the energy of this conversation and the trajectory, and we have worked very intensively with his party, with government parties, and opposition parties to just deepen their understanding that a new Ireland can’t just be a rhetorical thing.

“It has to be planned for and stepped through. So I think that was a very significant change in position from the Taoiseach, which hasn’t come out of nowhere, shall we say.

“I think it is appropriate to clarify [the criteria], and we will be doing some work in Westminster in the autumn and after that. I think all of us here in democratic Ireland, more broadly, should be shaping those criteria.

“Again, it’s another if it’s not, let’s hear what London thinks should be the criteria. We would want that to be widely consulted because there will be a panel of indicators.”

Hanna said the SDLP’s argument was not simply that a united Ireland should happen, but that the process leading towards constitutional change needed to be carefully planned and capable of taking account of people who do not currently support it.

She pointed to an SDLP event at the MAC in Belfast earlier this year and the party’s “Success by Design” document as examples of its attempt to move the debate away from slogans and towards detailed policy.

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“There are bigger questions around the how, the why, and when. The SDLP will be making this case between now and the next election. Who do you trust to be around those negotiating tables? Who do you trust to protect the interests of not just those who, like us, believe in this right now, but the people who are sceptical, the people who maybe it isn’t their first choice constitutionally?

“Who do you trust to do that work with both governments and get them into the right place, and who do you trust to get into the detail and not just kind of rally the base, and I think for a lot of people that will be the SDLP.

“I think it’s really important to get into the details of the planning. Our event in the MAC in June, which was a pretty significant all-party event, but not just talking about this is what I want, you know, sort of getting into the real texture detail.

“We made sure that every single panel of the five on that day had people who don’t come from a traditional Irish nationalist background or instinct. We want all different views.

“We made it clear, because we had senior UK politicians, politics is changing now, so, you know, there’s no point, even people who don’t want to talk about change here, and there are the parties of the status quo who don’t want to make change, it’s coming, so you can either shape it or, or be a passenger in it.”

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Manchester City are looking ahead to the Manchester derby after beating Porto 2-0 in the Champions League

Jeremy Doku will miss the Manchester derby but Nico O’Reilly is ready to come back in to face Manchester United. The Manchester City homegrown star has shrugged off a back issue and is “100 per cent available” for one of the biggest games of the season.

Doku has not played since the Community Shield after feeling tightness in his calf in the first 45 minutes against Arsenal. The injury was not described as serious, yet it has been enough to keep him out of the first four matches of the season and he will not be available to face United either with coach Enzo Maresca saying that he “needs more days”.

O’Reilly pulled out of the Coventry match in the warm-up last week. Again, it was not said to be a major issue and he did not travel to Porto for the Champions League game, but is confirmed to be available for Sunday’s game.

City look to continue their perfect start to the season as they head to Old Trafford. Maresca has overseen three Premier League wins in his opening three games since taking over from Pep Guardiola and the Blues also won in Porto in the Champions League this week.

United won this fixture last season when Michael Carrick haD just taken over temporary charge of the club, replacing Ruben Amorim. Carrick has since become permanent manager but United only have four points from their opening three games and will be under pressure to get a positive result on Sunday.

Zack Polanski has been selected as the Green Party’s candidate in the Holborn and St Pancras by election as he prepares to fight the crucial contest in the historically Labour seat.

The by election was triggered by the resignation of Sir Keir Starmer as an MP, after he was ousted by his party and replaced as prime minister by Andy Burnham.

Speaking as he was confirmed as the party’s candidate in the contest, which will take place next month, the Green Party leader said: “I am here to fight for you, because when I first moved to London 20 years ago, it was Camden I made my home, and I have lived and worked across Holborn and St Pancras for many of the years since.”

He declared the winner of a local party members’ vote after online hustings on Thursday night, after coming up against local councillor Hamza Chowdhury for the Green nomination.

Mr Chowdhury stated that Holborn and St Pancras does not need “another MP who arrives during an election campaign” and then “disappears once the votes are counted”.

The by-election will pose early test for Mr Burnham’s popularity with the public, with the Greens likely to pose the greatest threat to Labour in the contest.

Labour has held the Holborn and St Pancras seat continuously since it was created in 1983, but voters there have moved towards Green and independent candidates in recent years.

Only two Labour MPs have ever represented Holborn and St Pancras: former health secretary Frank Dobson, from 1983 to 2015, then Sir Keir.

But Green Party made gains in the May local elections in the London Borough of Camden, the local authority that covers the constituency.

The contest also poses a challenge for the Green Party leader himself as he takes on Labour’s Sagal Abdi-Wali, who has led Camden Council since May this year and been a councillor for Camden Square since 2022, at the October 8 contest.

Support for the Greens surged in his first year as leader but the party’s national polling has dipped since Mr Burnham replaced Sir Keir in Downing Street.

Mr Polanski, a London Assembly member, has previously said he was “excited” by the prospect of winning the seat and entering the Commons.

He dismissed suggestions from rival Mr Chowdhury that the constituency did not need “another MP who arrives during an election campaign” then “disappears once the votes are counted”.

“I think the local party already knows that doesn’t describe me at all. It’s a place that I know very, very well,” Mr Polanski said on Wednesday.

“I’m excited for this campaign because I think the Green Party and I have a real story to tell and I’m confident, but not complacent, I’ll be out there campaigning for every vote, that it’s a message that will resonate with people in Holborn and St Pancras.”

More follows on this story…

RNLI and Coastguard were called out to rescue the group, who encountered difficulties off Benllech Beach in challenging sea conditions

Three individuals have been rescued off the North Wales coast in a joint operation involving a lifeboat and a search and rescue helicopter. The group encountered difficulties off Benllech Beach in challenging sea conditions on Sunday, September 6 after attempting to swim towards a drifting vessel.

Moelfre RNLI’s volunteer crew deployed their all-weather lifeboat following reports of the group in distress. An HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter also arrived at the scene and commenced an immediate search for the casualties, according to an RNLI statement.

The helicopter spotted and safely retrieved one person further offshore, while the crew aboard the Moelfre all-weather lifeboat launched its smaller vessel to locate and rescue the remaining two people. Read the biggest stories in Wales first by signing up to our daily newsletter here.

All three individuals were subsequently safely transferred to waiting Coastguard personnel on Benllech Beach, reports North Wales Live.

Moelfre RNLI Coxswain Mike Hughes-Roberts said: “The individuals were trying to swim out to a boat that had slipped its anchor in rough seas with a strong offshore wind.

“Conditions can change so quickly, and it is vitally important to stay vigilant when dealing with the sea. It can be so dangerous and unforgiving if not shown the respect it deserves.

“Always check the weather conditions and consider your capabilities.

“If in doubt – it is better to stay out of the water. Have a means of contact such as a mobile phone, if you get into trouble or see anyone else in difficulty, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.

“If you do get into trouble in the water, Float to Live. Tilt your head back with your ears submerged, try to relax and control your breathing.

“Use your hands to help you stay afloat, don’t worry if your legs sink – as we all float differently. Once you’ve gained control of your breathing, call for help or swim to safety if you can.”

The RNLI cautioned that the autumn and winter periods typically bring more severe conditions that present a heightened risk to those visiting beaches, as larger swells and more powerful winds increase both the frequency and intensity of rip currents.

Safety guidance issued by the organisation emphasises that anyone trapped in a rip current should avoid attempting to swim directly against it to prevent exhaustion.

Those able to stand are urged to wade rather than swim, while those unable to reach the seabed should swim parallel to the shoreline until clear of the rip before making their way to land, always raising a hand and calling out for assistance.

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Silent Jay, a beloved star from Channel 4’s Gogglebox, has undergone a major transformation since leaving the show over a decade ago

Gogglebox’s ‘Silent Jay’ was a firm favourite before his departure over 10 years ago – but where is he now? The TV star joined the Channel 4 show in 2013 with the Woerdenweber family: Viv, her German husband Ralf, daughter Eve, and Eve’s boyfriend Jay.

They were one of the original families on the programme and became a hit with fans thanks to their hilarious insights into the week’s television.

As for Jay, he was given the nickname ‘Silent Jay’ due to him hardly ever saying a word while being featured on screen. Talking in 2014 about Jay, Viv said: “He’s not a very vocal person anyway, he tends to watch the TV in his own little world.

“I think he was a bit camera shy on the first couple of episodes and didn’t say anything, then people caught on, so now I think he thinks he might as well stick with it. He’s become a legend in his own lunchtime!”

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In 2015, though, Eve and Jay split, leading to Jay’s departure from Gogglebox. As for the rest of his former co-stars, the Woerdenweber clan remained on screen until 2020.

Nowadays, Jay looks totally different and even lives miles away from the Wirral as he resides abroad. He is now based in Rotterdam and has also adopted a completely new appearance.

Jay opted to shed the longer hairstyle he sported during his time on the programme in favour of a much shorter style. His Instagram profile, which remains private, states in the bio: “33 [peace sign emoji]. From Liverpool, living in Rotterdam.”

His X bio similarly states: “33 [peace sign emoji] [location emoji] Rotterdam [Netherlands flag]. Make every second devine [music notes emoji]. #Gogglebox series 2-5.”

The main reason the Woerdenweber family left the show was the impact of COVID, as they couldn’t be filmed and their daughter, Eve, was living in a separate household. Around the same time, Eve started working as a teacher and was studying for a PhD.

Viv – who recently graduated from the University of Liverpool with an MA in Archaeology – found studying and life to be things that held the family back from continuing their Gogglebox journey together, saying, “It was an awful lot to deal with.”

The family spoke fondly about their time on the show, calling it a really good experience and one that brought them a lot of laughs. They shared that the crew would always offer takeaway and would bring sweet treats with them, including donuts.

Gogglebox airs every Friday at 9pm on Channel 4.