Drive Motor Retail has invested over £2 million into redeveloping its Darlington site, introducing new partnerships with Citroën, Peugeot, Fiat, and Abarth, alongside Fiat Professional aftersales services.

The project marks the first major refurbishment of the dealership in more than 20 years.

Jeff Parkin, general manager at Drive Motor Retail Darlington, said: “This investment represents a major step forward for our Darlington site and reflects the growing demand in the area.

“The dealership hadn’t seen a full refurbishment for more than two decades, so this redevelopment allows us to completely modernise the site and bring together an exciting range of brands in one location.

“Customers will now be able to view and test drive vehicles from several leading manufacturers in one place, alongside our extensive selection of used cars.

“We’re also incredibly proud that this investment is creating new jobs locally, and we’re continuing to recruit talented technicians to support our service capabilities.”

The upgraded site will enable visitors to explore and test drive up to seven new vehicle brands and browse more than 130 used vehicles.

The development includes five dedicated showrooms, expanded workshop facilities, and increased service capacity following the relocation of the MOT bay and the addition of extra vehicle ramps. The project has already created 13 new jobs, with ongoing recruitment for vehicle technicians and master technicians.

For the first phase of the redevelopment, it will see the dealership become an authorised repairer for Citroën, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Abarth, and Peugeot from early April.

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Sales of new Peugeot vehicles will begin from 1 May, with the full brand line-up becoming available from 1 June.

The site will continue to offer vehicles from Vauxhall, Leapmotor, and MG, giving customers a wider range of options.

Further updates on the redevelopment and brand launches will be announced in the coming months.

Health chiefs are investigating 27 cases of meningitis linked to an outbreak in Kent, up from 20 previously, following an “explosive” outbreak that has left two dead.

The fatal outbreak of meningitis B has spread to a second Kent university. Leaders at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) said there was one case of meningococcal disease involving a student there, linked to the initial cluster associated with Club Chemistry.

It has also been confirmed that a student in London who has been diagnosed with the illness is “directly linked” to the same outbreak. Escape Studios, an animation school in North Greenwich, confirmed the individual had been hospitalised.

Top doctors said it is unusual to see such a rapid spread of cases of meningitis, blaming a “super-spreader” event for the surge in numbers.

Some of the cases have been confirmed as meningitis B. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is investigating the outbreak, said it would confirm the strain seen in other cases “when we have the full results”.

Hundreds of people who visited Club Chemistry in Canterbury on 5, 6 or 7 March have been told to come forward for preventative antibiotic treatment as a “precautionary measure”, while a targeted vaccination drive for students at the University of Kent is being urgently rolled out.

An urgent public health alert has been issued, with officials urging NHS staff to be vigilant for signs and symptoms. People have also been warned that university students are particularly susceptible to the deadly infection.

Here are the symptoms of meningitis and what to do if you suspect you have the infection, according to the NHS.

What is meningitis?

Meningitis is an infection of the meninges, the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord.

Meningitis affects around 2.3 million people globally every year. It’s estimated that up to one in every 10 cases of bacterial meningitis is fatal, according to the NHS.

Although anyone can get meningitis, it is more common in babies, children, teenagers and young adults.

What are the symptoms of meningitis?

Early warning signs of meningitis include a high temperature, headache, vomiting, diarrhoea, muscle pain and stomach cramps.

As the condition develops, it can make people drowsy, irritable and confused, as well as cause severe muscle pain, pale, blotchy skin, spots or a rash, stiff neck, an aversion to bright lights and convulsions or seizures.

Meningitis Now urges people not to wait until someone develops a rash and to seek medical help if someone is ill and displaying these symptoms.

What causes meningitis?

There are many different causes of meningitis, including viruses, bacteria and fungi. However, in the UK, viruses and bacteria are the most common causes.

Other causes of meningitis include some medicines or brain tumours. It can also occur following a skull fracture or head and neck surgery, according to Meningitis Now.

Bacterial meningitis is rarer but more serious than viral meningitis.

What are the different strains?

There are five main strains that cause the disease in the UK.

MenB is the most common and also the deadliest. Health officials have said that at least some cases of meningitis seen in Kent have been confirmed as meningitis B.

Other strains include MenA, MenC, MenW and MenY, which are also caused by bacteria.

What is meningitis B?

Meningitis B is a serious bacterial infection, which is caused by Neisseria meningitidis group B bacteria.

It can lead to severe illness, including meningitis, which is an infection in the brain and spinal cord, blood poisoning, and sepsis, a life-threatening reaction to an infection.

MenB, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in the UK, is responsible for around nine in 10 of meningococcal infections in the country, according to Public Health Wales.

It is one of the most aggressive and dangerous strains of meningitis, causing the majority of meningococcal cases and deaths in the UK.

How does meningitis spread?

Infections that cause meningitis can be spread through coughing, sneezing or kissing.

It is usually caught from those who carry the viruses or bacteria in their nose or throat, or from someone with meningitis, although this is less common.

How serious is meningitis?

If it is not treated quickly, it can lead to sepsis, brain or nerve damage, hearing loss or even death.

Some with bacterial meningitis can be left with hearing or vision loss, problems with memory, fits or loss of limbs, even after being treated.

Can meningitis be treated?

Those with viral meningitis will usually get better on their own.

Most people with bacterial meningitis who are treated quickly will also make a full recovery. However, it usually needs to be treated in hospital for at least a week.

Treatments include antibiotics and fluids given directly into a vein or oxygen through a face mask.

Are there vaccines for meningitis?

There are vaccines available to prevent some types of meningitis, which are available as part of the UK routine immunisation schedule.

Vaccines include the menB, six-in-one, pneumococcal and MMRV vaccines for babies and children, while the MenACWY jabs are offered to teenagers, sixth-form students and new university students.

The menB vaccine is now offered to babies at two, three and 12 months.

Men W disease has historically been rare in the UK, but from 2009, cases of MenW began to increase year on year. From autumn 2015, a MenACWY vaccine replaced the MenC vaccine for children in school and is offered at around 14 years of age.

Any young person who has missed this vaccine at school remains eligible to receive it up to the age of 25. This is especially important for new university entrants, for whom the risk of contracting meningococcal disease increases.

A former health minister said the government should consider a “catch-up” vaccination campaign for young people.

Speaking of the latest outbreak on Tuesday, Helen Whately, Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, told Times Radio: “One of the things that the government (and) UKHSA will need to look at is if there is now a greater risk around this outbreak – and in future should there be some kind of vaccination catch-up for that group.”

What should you do if you think you have meningitis?

The NHS recommends that people call 999 for an ambulance or go to their nearest A&E. People are advised to trust their instincts, as someone with meningitis or sepsis can get a lot worse very quickly.

Michael Kenny’s daughter Juliette died from meningitis B on 14 March, just hours after first showing symptoms, prompting the family to campaign for better teenage vaccination access

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The father of a teenager who tragically died in Kent following a meningitis outbreak has shared the family’s deep sorrow over their loss.

Juliette Kenny passed away on Saturday, 14 March, just one day after first showing symptoms. Now, the family of the 18 year old is campaigning for better protection for young people.

Michael Kenny, Juliette’s father, has spoken about the grief his family is dealing with, saying that his daughter had been “fit, healthy and strong” before her sudden death. She had completed the practical assessment for her PE A-level on Thursday, 12 March – and just a day later, was showing symptoms including vomiting, and discolouration in her cheeks.

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Juliette, who was described by her father as having a “beautifully positive energy”, is one of two students who have sadly died following the outbreak of meningitis B in the county. Mr Kenny stated that “no family should experience this pain and tragedy” and that “this can be avoided”, adding that he wanted his daughter’s legacy to be “lasting change”.

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This comes as more than 100 students in Kent were turned away whilst trying to get a meningitis vaccine after officials closed the queue on Thursday.

In a statement given to the Press Association, Mr Kenny expressed: “We are incredibly proud parents to two wonderful daughters. Juliette is a force in this world. With her beautifully positive energy she spread fun, love and happiness to those around her and she continues to do so now.

“The devastation of her loss to us, her family and friends is immeasurable. Sharing stories of the empathy, warmth and fun that she created is helping her family and friends through at this time. Her energy continues to make the people who love her find a way.

“The illness took her from us so quickly.”

Mr Kenny detailed how he first became aware of his daughter’s illness when she was sick during the early hours of Friday, March 13. At that stage, Juliette, a year 13 student at Queen Elizabeth’s Grammar School in Faversham, displayed no other symptoms, he added.

“In the morning on Friday, she was taken, by us, to our local emergency drop-in as a discolouration appeared on her cheeks,” Mr Kenny explained.

“She was given antibiotics and sent by ambulance to AandE. Juliette fought bravely for hours, but despite the fantastic NHS hospital staff fighting alongside her, meningitis took her from us less than 12 hours later.

“We were with her at the end, and the last sounds that she heard were the voices of those who loved her telling her how very much loved and cherished she is.”

In collaboration with the Meningitis Research Foundation, Mr Kenny and his family are calling on the UK to take immediate steps to enhance access to the menB vaccination for teenagers and young people.

“No family should experience this pain and tragedy,” he expressed.

“This can be avoided. There are young people currently battling this and young people still at risk.

“As parents, we knew our children would change the world and be a force for good. The work to protect young people has started. It needs to be more.

“Juliette’s impact on this world must be lasting change. Now is the time to ensure families are safe from the impact of meningitis B.”

Vinny Smith, chief executive of Meningitis Research Foundation, revealed that in 2015 the charity’s calls for the menB vaccination to be “routinely available” on the NHS for all at-risk age groups was “not taken forward” as it was “judged not to be cost-effective”. The menB jab was introduced on the NHS for babies in 2015, meaning the majority of young people born before then are not protected against it unless they have had the jab privately.

The Kenny family were not aware that the vaccination is not routinely available on the NHS for teenagers and young adults, and that to have this they would need to pay for it privately. Mr Smith urged the Government to “decide now to save lives” and highlighted menB’s “lifelong impact”, including disabilities caused by the bug.

He stated: “When we made the case for menB vaccination to be routinely available on the NHS in 2015 for all at-risk age groups, wider protection for teenagers and young adults was not taken forward (it was judged to not be cost-effective within the criteria used at the time). Our concern, then and now, is that this has not fully reflected the impact of menB or the full value protection from a vaccine brings.

“It hasn’t accounted for the severity of meningitis, its lifelong impact, or the trauma and bereavement experienced by families. People across the country will have seen that impact this week; we believe the UK Government can decide now to save lives and limit the lifelong disabilities caused by meningitis, protecting people for generations to come.”

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed that as of 5pm on Wednesday, 15 cases of meningitis have been verified with a further 12 currently being investigated. This takes the total to 27 cases of either confirmed or suspected meningitis, an increase from 20 on Wednesday.

Currently, nine of the 15 confirmed cases are understood to be caused by menB. On Thursday, 40 MPs put their names to a letter sent to the Health Secretary calling on the Government and health officials to work with universities across the country on catch-up vaccination programmes, and to improve awareness.

The letter further indicated that the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) should promptly review eligibility for meningitis vaccines. As of Thursday, the vaccine programme in Kent has been expanded to include anyone who visited Club Chemistry between 5th and 15th March, year 12 and 13 pupils at impacted schools, students and staff at the University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church university, as well as close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases.

Asked if he has a message for US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and “whoever’s in charge in Tehran”, Mr Bailey said: “The best thing we can do actually for the world economy… is to sort out the problem in terms of reopening the energy supply lines, because that is in the best interest of people in the world.”

Adam Spivey, from Southend Dog Training, has been teaching owners how to correct or manage their pet’s behaviour through in-person training alongside his ‘non-nonsense’ videos

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A dog trainer issued an urgent warning to keep your distance if you come across animals being walked with a certain colour, as they may be ‘unpredictable’. Adam Spivey, from Southend Dog Training, has been instructing owners on how to address or manage their pet’s behaviour through face-to-face sessions alongside his “non-nonsense” videos on social media.

As part of his work, he cautioned people to steer clear of dogs being exercised on yellow leads while out in public – regardless of whether you’re accompanied by your own dog or not. In a video, he said: “If you see a dog with a yellow lead, this normally represents they’re nervous.

“Please do not make your dog approach them. Allowing your dog to run over to them does them no favours. Simply calling you dog back will make a massive difference.”

Building on this message, Sarah, from My Anxious Dog, explained how her animal, Bella, began to show progress in all areas after she started outfitting her in yellow.

She subsequently launched her own enterprise selling a range of dog accessories in yellow in a bid to help owners better control their anxious pets while out and about.

On her website, she said: “The more people know that a dog wearing yellow needs space, the less stressful life becomes for anxious dogs and their humans.

“A dog might be wearing yellow for a number of reasons. They could be reactive, fearful, elderly, recovering from an accident, illness or an operation.

“The last thing they need is to be approached or jumped on by other dogs who wants to play.”

Alongside other animal enthusiasts, Adam and Sarah have independently been working to promote awareness about ‘dogs in yellow’ while recognising some owners may employ different colours to indicate their dog’s anxieties or other behavioural issues.

Responding to this, one user said: “Didn’t know about this. Are there any other colours we should know about?”

Another user added: “Thank you for posting this, more people need to know. I have so much trouble walking my rescue around Canvey, feel like I am getting no where.”

A third user said: “I have a yellow lead that says nervous down it and people never listen it’s so disrespectful especially when my dog barks and the other owner has a go.”

Someone else added: “We have a red one for no dogs along with a matching harness and it says it across it but people still let their dogs come up to him.”

Hitting out at the “unjust and unjustified conflict which is taking place in the Middle East”, Mr Swinney told MSPs during First Minister’s Questions: “If I was to prevent flights from entering Scotland by the appropriate steps that would be necessary, I would need to exercise national security, aviation, air transport, defence and foreign affairs powers.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — ABC has scrubbed the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette,” starring Taylor Frankie Paul, three days before its planned premiere, citing a newly released video from 2023 in which she appears to punch, kick and throw chairs at her former partner as her young daughter watched and cried.

Thursday’s cancellation of the already filmed 22nd season of the reality show is unprecedented. While ABC parent company Disney cited the older video, the move comes amid a current domestic violence investigation involving Paul and Dakota Mortensen, father to a son who is the youngest of her three children.

“In light of the newly released video just surfaced today, we have made the decision to not move forward with the new season of ‘The Bachelorette’ at this time, and our focus is on supporting the family,” a statement from Disney Entertainment Television said.

A Paul representative responded that she has been abused for years while remaining silent about it.

In 2023 video published by TMZ Thursday, Mortensen is apparently trying to stave off Paul with one hand while he shoots phone video. She is shown punching him, kicking him then throwing three chairs at him while repeatedly screaming “You did this!”

“The only thing you know how to do is hurt me,” Mortensen says, while repeatedly pleading with Paul and reminding her that her daughter was watching. A child can be heard sobbing, screaming and shouting “mommy!” Paul’s daughter would have been about 5 at the time.

The video was consistent with Paul’s arrest in 2023, when she was charged with aggravated assault and other offenses, including domestic violence in the presence of a child. She pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge; the other counts were dismissed.

A spokesman for Paul said in a statement Thursday that she is “very grateful for ABC’s support as she prioritizes her family’s safety and security. After years of silently suffering extensive mental and physical abuse as well as threats of retaliation, Taylor is finally gaining the strength to face her accuser and taking steps to ensure that she and her children are protected from any further harm.”

The statement said “Taylor has remained silent out of fear of further abuse, retaliation, and public shaming” and that she is now “exploring all of her options, seeking support, and preparing to own and share her story.”

Mortensen denied wrongdoing.

“As anyone who has seen the video will understand, this is a deeply upsetting situation. I am, unfortunately, used to these baseless claims about me and our relationship, which I categorically deny. I am focusing on our son and his safety, and hope that Taylor will do the same,” his statement said.

A police spokesperson in Draper City, Utah, told People magazine earlier this week that there was an open domestic violence investigation of Paul and Mortensen, and that both have made allegations.

Mortensen’s representatives didn’t immediately answer requests for comment.

ABC will air an “American Idol” rerun Sunday instead.

Paul was promoting “The Bachelorette” as recently as Wednesday on “Good Morning America” and on the red carpet before Sunday’s Oscars.

She was an unusual choice to helm “The Bachelorette,” the reality TV institution that started in 2003. Most leads are cast from previous runners-up from “The Bachelor.”

Her selection instead offered synergy with “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” on Hulu, also owned by Disney. In a statement confirming her “Bachelorette” casting in October, ABC credited Paul with “igniting ‘MomTok’ and going viral for pulling back the curtain on Salt Lake’s soft-swinging scene.”

Paul became known as an influencer in the #MomTok community, a group of women from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sharing their lives on TikTok. She made news when she announced, in 2022, that she had “stepped out” of an agreement with her husband on relationships with other couples and they were getting divorced.

Season 4 of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” was released last week. Filming of Season 5 has been put on pause.

“It was a decision that all of us girls came up with,” Paul’s co-star Mikayla Matthews said Wednesday on Instagram. “We didn’t feel comfortable filming with everything that was happening.”

Paul posted on Instagram in December that filming had wrapped on “The Bachelorette.”

Her casting was essentially an experiment gone wrong, said Kate Casey, a former crisis communications specialist who has covered unscripted television in more than 1,500 episodes of her podcast “Reality Life with Kate Casey.”

“I think they were trying to shake things up, and it makes sense because the ecosystem is saturated with dating shows like ‘F-Boy Island’ and ‘Love Island’ that push the boundaries and ‘The Bachelor’ and ‘The Bachelorette’ historically have been saccharine,” said Casey.

Casey says network executives probably believed casting Paul would also tap into her 6.1 million-strong TikTok following.

“The thinking was probably, ‘We’re going to get a new audience’ and the new audience is really the most coveted in all of entertainment,” she said.

___

Rancilio reported from Detroit.

– Louise Jones-Roberts, who owns Club Chemistry, told PA: “I’m really pleased, I’m over the moon there are more vaccines. I’d like to see it given to all under-25s though. It needs to be looked at right across the country. As for reopening the club, there will come a time when it feels OK to open and we will know when the time is right, but it’s definitely not going to be this weekend.”

Operation Epic Fury unleashed overwhelming firepower on Iran and a Trump broadside against Britain’s prime minister. The president belittled Keir Starmer as being no comparison to Winston Churchill, raged against caveated British support and placed Britain’s standing as America’s “greatest ally” firmly in the past tense.

Starmer refused the bait. His government is privately contemptuous of the Trump administration. But he still needs to deal with the US president and how he should do that following the recent vitriol is a very live question.

Winston Churchill appropriated the term special relationship after the second world war to refer to the myriad Anglo-American connections. Some were government-to-government, spanning privileged diplomatic, economic, military, nuclear and intelligence cooperation. Others were historical and cultural, from which evolved a sentimental myth of special relations based on uniquely entwined histories, a common language, similar values and so forth.

For 80 years, Britain and the US stood shoulder-to-shoulder in defence of a liberal international order they fashioned from the ruins of war. The US became a hyperpower. Post-imperial Britain settled as a leading medium-sized power. But the song remained the same – at least until the Trump administration’s discordant note.

Brexit made Britain even more dependent on US power. Starmer, therefore, followed almost every prime minister since the second world war in seeking close personal relations with US presidents and the preservation of Britain’s standing as America’s foremost ally.

In fairness, of all the national leaders aspiring to be a “Trump whisperer”, Starmer has been one of the more successful. Routine extensive government-to-government dialogue has been combined with carefully choreographed leveraging of cultural connections to massage the president’s ego. Particularly noteworthy has been recruitment of British royalty to the cause, including the president’s historic second state visit in September 2025.

Still, Trump’s personality and his administration’s policies remain challenging. Starmer risks association with Trump’s political toxicity if he gets too close and will be questioned about whether any rewards from such courtship outweigh the costs.

Fidelity above all else

The Trump administration is anomalous. Unlike previous administrations, it does not consistently work with the British government to put a positive face on Anglo-American relations. The feel-good sentiment generated by the second state visit, for example, dissipated rapidly once Trump carelessly attacked British policies shortly afterwards in the United Nations.

Meanwhile, Trump’s prioritises fidelity above competence and centralises power in his White House. These tendencies, and his suspicion of expertise within the “deep state” weaken Britain’s ability to feed into the American foreign policymaking process.

Trump’s inconsistency, preference for diplomacy by social media, and frequently provocative and erroneous statements often trap Starmer between trying to smooth consequent tensions (in which case he appears as a Trump apologist) or rebutting the president. This was clear when Trump threatened Canadian sovereignty, when he repeatedly implied he would invade Greenland and when he attacked the commitment of British troops in Afghanistan.

Finally, and most importantly, the Trump administration is undermining the liberal international order, casting its anti-liberal, anti-modernist and anti-globalist tendencies against Britain’s preferences for international law, multilateral institutions, collective security and international free trade.

What should Starmer do now?

On balance, Starmer’s best option for now is to hope, hedge and wait. In the short term, Downing Street will hope that US mid-terms return a Congress less pliant to Trump’s ambitions and that legal actions through American courts continue their disruption.

In the longer term, the next three years will constitute a damage-limitation exercise while the world waits for Trump’s successor to arrive. The hope will be that whoever the next president is, Anglo-American relations will improve simply from being liberated from the personal and organisational chaos wrought by Trump.

During this interim, Starmer will routinely align Britain with the US provided doing so neither overly compromises British interests nor further weakens the liberal international order. He will also probably swallow bile and continue to woo Trump. That will potentially include leveraging the 250th anniversary celebrations of American independence. Even this, however, will need balancing against the risk of inferred endorsement of Trump ahead of the midterms.

Meanwhile, the British government will de-emphasise the significance of personalities to the robustness of Anglo-American relations and hedge against over-reliance on the US. This means building ever closer relations with Europe, continuing cautious engagement with China and outreach to other centres of economic power.

Starmer should also seek stronger relations with Canada’s Mark Carney, who has emerged as the most capable leader of the world’s medium-ranking powers and who most shares Britain’s conundrum of needing close but not over-dependent relations with Washington.

One final cautionary note. Trump dominates headlines, but he is merely an awkward symptom of the biggest challenge to the special relationship since its inception. The international order is in flux. How it is reshaped will determine whether Britain and the US remain shoulder to shoulder or return to being the distant cousins of the interwar period.

The latter is a scenario that ought to cause British officials sleeplessness. A US retreat to a neo-isolationism that broadly embraces the Maga logic would pass the mantle of principal guardianship of the liberal international order to the European Union. Britannia would then face a not-so-splendid isolation, self-exiled from the union and powerless to prevent retreat of the Atlantic shoreland.