Hedgehogs are a beloved symbol of British wildlife and are often welcomed into gardens for their natural pest control abilities — here’s how to encourage them with two simple household items

Many people adore hedgehogs for their endearing appearance, placid temperament and standing as an iconic emblem of British wildlife, with the overwhelming majority of gardeners warmly welcoming them into their outdoor spaces. Long regarded as “the gardener’s friend,” these prickly creatures are highly coveted visitors owing to the natural, environmentally friendly pest control they provide.

Summer tends to be an especially hectic period for hedgehogs as they forage for food, protect their territory and build up reserves ahead of the colder months to come. With this in mind, Hampshire-based Fareham Borough Council has outlined a number of ways you can support hedgehogs during summer and entice them to pay your garden a visit.

Leave out food

The first recommendation is to leave out food. Suitable options include dry cat or dog food, or specialist hedgehog food, which is particularly ideal.

However, the council cautioned against fish-based food, as hedgehogs possess an exceptionally keen sense of smell and experts note they are frequently deterred by the powerful odour of fish.

Fish protein also passes through a hedgehog’s short digestive system remarkably rapidly and, while not harmful, can result in noticeably pungent, fishy-smelling droppings.

The council further advises never to offer hedgehogs milk. Hedgehogs are severely lactose intolerant, lacking the enzyme required to process lactose, meaning that consuming milk triggers acute stomach cramps and severe diarrhoea.

For a small mammal, rapid fluid loss resulting from diarrhoea can cause severe dehydration, which frequently proves fatal.

Provide fresh water

Rather than milk, the council advises leaving out a shallow dish of clean water, which “can be a lifeline” to hedgehogs during warm weather.

Specialists recommend positioning the water bowl close to their food source, particularly during hot summer nights or prolonged dry periods.

Check before you trim or mow your lawn

The post urged people to thoroughly inspect long grass, shrubs and undergrowth prior to operating any garden machinery.

Hedgehogs do not flee from danger; instead, they curl into a tight ball. This instinctive defence mechanism renders them entirely vulnerable to rotating metal blades and nylon lines, resulting in severe, frequently fatal lacerations and wounds.

Given that hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, they spend daylight hours sleeping in precisely the spots people tend to want to clear — such as long grass, dense undergrowth, bramble patches and beneath hedgerows.

Water plants wisely

Watering plants thoughtfully helps maintain moist soil so that earthworms, beetles and insects remain active near the surface. This provides foraging hedgehogs with a crucial food supply during dry spells, when hardened ground makes hunting particularly challenging.

It also serves as a useful reminder to top up any shallow water dishes positioned around the garden.

Prince Harry wants to visit Britain ‘every few months’ over the next year after his reunion with King Charles last month, according to sources close to him.

The Duke of Sussex, 41, is set to return ‘more and more’ to the UK following his visit last month that left him ‘buoyed’, ‘very happy’ and ‘really energised’.

Harry will return in September for around a week, when he will take on a series of engagements for the Invictus Games, which will be held in Birmingham next summer, and WellChild, the charity supporting seriously ill children.

It has not yet been decided whether the Duchess of Sussex, 45, or their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, will join Harry next month.

During their visit to the UK last month, King Charles secretly hosted Harry, Meghan and their two children at Highgrove in a long-awaited meeting.

Queen Camilla, 79, was also present at the Highgrove estate in Gloucestershire when father and son exchanged words in what was the first public in-person meeting in four years. 

Charles had not seen his youngest grandchildren, Archie and Lilibet, since 2022, when they were just three and one. 

Meghan posted a photograph online of Harry and their children in Althorp’s gardens carrying bouquets of flowers. They were believed to be making their way to lay the blooms at Diana’s grave.

King Charles and Queen Camilla secretly hosted Harry, Meghan and their two children at Highgrove in July 

Prince Harry pictured with Meghan and their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five

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It is understood Harry wants to spend more time in the UK so he can see his father and wider family more often, and as he feels he can support his UK-based charities with more in-person meetings. 

A source close to Harry told The Times: ‘The template for his visits has been working well, so the frequency of trips will increase, especially in the run-up to Invictus which he’s determined to make the best games yet. So he’ll be coming back and forth a lot more, every few months.

‘The way the wind is blowing, he’s going to want to be here more and more. He’s happy these trips can now have more focus on the patronages and be less obscured by the other nonsense. 

‘He wants more of a foothold here, more trips back, less courtroom drama. And he always loves seeing his family.’

It is not known whether the King and Harry will meet when the latter returns next month, as Charles is expected to be at Balmoral in Scotland on his summer break

Sources claim that no decision has been made on whether Harry will reside at Buckingham Palace during the visit.

Harry is also understood to be hoping to return to Ukraine in the coming months, having visited the war-torn country twice in the past two years. 

Earlier this month it was reported that Harry is believed to want his father to stand alongside him at next summer’s Invictus Games.

King Charles has reportedly received an olive branch from his son in the form of an invitation to the multi-sport event, held in Birmingham.

One source told the Mirror: ‘Next year is a big deal for Harry. He is determined the Birmingham Games will be the best ever. It would mean the world to him to have his father there.’

Harry and Meghan, who quit as senior royals in 2020 and moved to California, have also recently spoken about their wish to introduce their children to their British roots.

During a visit to Warwickshire last month, Harry said: ‘I love being here, this is the highlight of my month. 

‘Actually probably the last few months. It’s very easy to sit in your grief, to sit in your stress but, guys, if you are feeling it, share it.’

Pregnant Anne Hathaway stepped out to D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event on Friday wearing another one-of-a-kind ensemble that will surely provide fodder for the fashion critics.

Hathaway, 43, who announced she was expecting her third child in June, was draped in a glaringly red, ribbed halter dress with an asymmetrical ruffled hemline.

Underneath this eye-catching garment were a pair of wide-legged, cream-colored slacks that gave off some neutral relief.

Hathaway wore her long hair bundled in a top knot with side-swept curly bangs.

Her surprise appearance at Friday’s function in Anaheim, California was made in part to accept her induction as an official Disney Legend, but also to provide fans with news that production on The Princess Diaries 3 is moving forward.

However, Julie Andrews recently confirmed she will not be in it after announcing her retirement from acting.

The actress’ glaringly red halter dress with asymmetrical ruffles and wide-legged, cream-colored slacks will surely provide more fodder for the fashion critics

The massive, multi-day event is held every two years in anticipation of new releases, and headliners at this year’s celebration also included Kristen Bell, Josh Gad and Idina Menzel for Frozen 3; Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans for Marvel projects; Queen Latifah and Denis Leary for Ice Age: Boiling Point; and the Jonas Brothers who were promoting Camp Rock.

But Hathaway and her protruding baby bump were hands down the star attraction.

Fans didn’t take kindly to the ‘ridiculous’ maternity outfit she wore while attending the Los Angeles premiere of her new film The End of Oak Street.

On that occasion, The Devil Wears Prada star was clothed in a sleeveless, baby-blue, red satin-lined cutaway top that showed off her growing bump in all its glory.

She paired the creation with wide-legged jeans and pointed red heels.

Celebrity watchers were quick to share their thoughts on social media and not all of them were favorable, with one expressing that the red-carpet get-up ‘looks ridiculous.’

‘It’s awful. She’s too pretty for this to happen,’ another opined.

‘Please let me UNSEE this,’ someone else begged.

One fan jotted down, ‘This one is so wrong sorry,’ as another fan let fly, ‘Jeans? JEANS?! That dazzling top deserves a better companion,’ while an X user commented, ‘The jeans make it worse.’

Hathaway’s surprise appearance at the Anaheim, California function was made in part to accept her induction as an official Disney Legend; pictured with Dana Walden, President and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Company

The Oscar winner was clearly thrilled to be the center of attention; pictured with Josh D’Amaro, CEO of The Walk Disney Company

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Hathaway told the crowd that production on The Princess Diaries 3 is actively moving forward

Over on Instagram, a fan sympathetically wrote, ‘I love her. I do not understand why her stylist did this to her.’

‘Ya no to her outfit,’ one penned, and another vented, ‘That’s very tacky.’

An Instagram follower chimed in, ‘Unflattering styling for a beautiful pregnant woman,’ and another said, ‘love her – outfit just No.’

Other fans were more flattering with one sharing on X, ‘She looks radiant…,’ as well as, ‘Anne hathaway [sic] at a world premiere is always a win, she looks stunning.’

Jersey Shore alum JWoww got in her two cents via Instagram, ‘I love her so much omg.’

Meanwhile, Hathaway knows if she’s having a boy or a girl, but she won’t be telling anyone else, as she revealed during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Monday night.

Guest host Anthony Anderson questioned her about the tot’s gender, saying: ‘I consider myself to be a baby whisperer. Now, this is my first time seeing you pregnant and what not. It looks like it’s a boy. Am I correct, or you’re waiting?’ 

‘We know [but] we’re not saying,’ Hathaway replied with a smile.

The star’s choice to show off her growing baby bump in midriff-revealing looks has sparked noisy online backlash; pictured left on August 9 and pictured right on August 10

Julie Andrews recently announced her retirement from acting and confirmed she won’t be returning for Princess Diary 3

The audience met the news with cheers, to which the actress admitted she always ‘feels bad’ for not revealing the baby’s sex when asked.

‘It always feels so rude saying that,’ she admitted.

The baby will be the third child for Hathaway and husband Adam Shulman, who are already parents to Jonathan, 10, and Jack, six.

The star did say that her older kids are more than a little excited to be getting another sibling: ‘[They’re] over the moon. It feels really beautiful. It feels like the family’s having a baby. I mean, it’ll feel like I’m having a baby while it’s happening, but the emotional feeling is that we’re all going to welcome this little one.’

The country singer announced in May that ‘health problems’ barred her from some performances

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Dolly Parton had a touching message for fans after cancelling her appearance at Dollywood theme park due to ongoing “health issues.” Rather than attending in person, the 80-year-old singer made a virtual appearance for the launch ceremony of Dollywood theme park’s latest roller coaster.

DailyStar reports this was the NightFlight Expedition on August 14.

Dolly explained: “I’m still in Nashville, [Tennessee], and I’m sorry about that,” according to footage shared by Knoxville News Sentinel and the Tennessean.

“I’m supposed to be there in person, like we planned,” she continued, “now I’ve told you before, all my fans, that I have had a few little health issues. And sometimes I get a little dizzy, and I get dehydrated.”

This followed Dolly’s revelation that she was planning to head to Broadway following her health scare, reports the Express US.

The Grammy-winning performer went on, explaining that she was “dehydrated” while sporting fairy wings.

“And so my Nashville doctor clipped my wings, saying you ain’t traveling this week,” Dolly revealed.

“So I guess if your doctor tells you you ain’t traveling this week, you ain’t traveling this week.”

Dolly’s most recent public outing was at the launch of her Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop ribbon-cutting ceremony in late June.

During her appearance, the 9-to-5 performer appeared to be in high spirits outside the Cornersville, Tennessee, shop. Her latest public appearance represented the first in months since her health struggles commenced last year, after she endured kidney stones in September 2025.

The Jolene hitmaker was due to attend Dollywood to unveil the newest attraction, but she clarified in a video that she was recuperating.

“Turns out there was an infection, and the doctor said, ‘You don’t need to be traveling around this minute, so you need a few days to get better,’” Dolly told the gathered crowd.

In May, Dolly revealed through a video message released in May that she had chosen to axe her rearranged Las Vegas residency performances because she would require time before being “up to stage performance level.”

She went on to elaborate: “The good news is I’m responding really well to meds and treatments and I’m improving every day.

“I’m doing really well, and they assure me that everything I have is treatable, so I’m going with that, and I just want you to know I thank you for standing by me and that I will always love you.”

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The new eight-part series will be out later this year

Belfast actor Anthony Boyle is set to star in a new Netflix show inspired by one of the biggest scandals in cryptocurrency.

He will appear alongside Julia Garner as Sam Bankman-Fried and Caroline Ellison in eight-episode limited series The Altruists, which chronicles the meteoric rise and disastrous fall of global cryptocurrency exchange, FTX.

The series, created by Graham Moore and co-showrun by Jacqueline Hoyt, will unpack how two hyper-smart, ambitious young idealists tried to remake the global financial system before they were accused of stealing $8 billion.

In 2024, US District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan declared that Caroline Ellison and Sam Bankman-Fried might have committed the “greatest financial fraud ever perpetrated in this country.”

Their wild story will be chronicled in The Altruists, which follows the rise and fall of FTX, a global cryptocurrency exchange, and the two star-crossed lovers who ended the empire.

Boyle and Garner are joined by a cast that includes Alex Lawther, Karan Soni, Naomi Okada, Madison Hu, Matt Rife and Eugene Young.

The Altruists will premiere on Netflix on November 19.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here and sign up to our daily newsletter.

The crash, which appeared to involve several vehicles, was reported on Derby Street near the junction with Moor Lane and Trinity Street on Friday, August 14.

Images from the scene show several cars that appeared to have been damaged, with police officers called to the junction.

Speaking on Saturday morning, a Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said: “It was a damage only road traffic collision involving three cars, no injuries or arrests.”

A damaged car at the scene (Image: Phil Taylor)

The incident appeared to have happened close to a branch of Dominos Pizza and near where the University of Greater Manchester, formerly Bolton, is based.

Images from the scene on Friday evening show several cars that were damaged strewn across the area near the junction.

Police were called to the scene (Image: Phil Taylor)

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that they had not been called to the incident.

By 9pm on Friday evening, the cars involved in the crash had been moved by a recovery vehicle and traffic was able to move freely through Derby Street.

It is the latest crash in the area, which has been earmarked for improvements

Members of the public have been advised to always call 999 in the event of an emergency as soon as it is safe to do so.

By CAROLINE GRAHAM, US EDITOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

Published: 23:46 BST, 15 August 2026 | Updated: 03:41 BST, 16 August 2026

Iran hit back at Donald Trump‘s claim that he could declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory.

The President made the assertion during a speech at a Long Island police academy on Friday when he said: ‘After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon, I will be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. 

‘We have control over it. Nobody else. Only us.’

But last night Iranian deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi ridiculed the claim, saying the US has ‘no authority’ over the vital waterway that has become a flashpoint in the six-month war.

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On X he wrote: ‘The Strait of Hormuz has been Iranian, is Iranian, and will remain Iranian. 

This strait will only be closed and opened under Iran’s command. The Strait of Hormuz cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech.’

He added that as long as Mr Trump ‘will not accept the reality of defeat’ and stop indulging his ‘delusions’, Iran will continue to ‘enforce its blockade’ of the waterway which, before hostilities began in February, carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

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Iran hit back last night at Donald Trump’s claim that he could declare the Strait of Hormuz a US territory

Iran launched a strike against an oil tanker in the strait yesterday according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Centre, which said that a vessel belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was hit by an ‘unknown projectile’. 

No injuries were reported in the strike, which allegedly hit the vessel’s hull.

The strait – which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea – is currently under the shared jurisdiction of Oman and Iran.

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But Mr Trump has repeatedly insisted that he will seize ownership as part of any peace deal.

The US has twice deployed a total blockade of the waterway and Mr Trump insists vessels which continue to pass through do so only with America’s permission.

Only six vessels travelled through the strait last weekend – a fraction of the 140 oil tankers that would typically cross each day before the war. 

Oil prices have surged since the start of the conflict, with the price of crude rising 6 per cent this week as hopes of a peace deal between the US and Iran faded.

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Only six vessels travelled through the strait last weekend – a fraction of the 140 oil tankers that would typically cross each day before the war

Mr Trump told Fox News on Friday that he will continue to ‘hit Iran’s economy hard‘.

He added that he ‘didn’t care’ whether or not the war ended before November’s midterm elections in the US, in which the cost of living will be the number one issue for voters.

In a speech earlier this month, he said ‘to the victor goes the spoils’, and declared that the US would impose tolls on the strait once the war had ended.

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Mr Trump said: ‘We will take control of the strait and we will charge ships to go through it and we will make lots of lovely money.’

LABUAN BAJO, Indonesia (AP) — Searchers dug through collapsed buildings and landslide debris Sunday in eastern Indonesia as they searched for bodies and possible survivors a day after a powerful earthquake killed at least 47 people, injured more than 100 and displaced thousands.

At least 24 people died in Manggarai regency and 17 in neighboring East Manggarai, with additional fatalities reported in Sikka, Ngada and Ende regencies, the National Disaster Management Agency said. Rescuers were still searching for villagers feared buried beneath landslides triggered by the quake across six regencies on Flores, a predominantly Catholic island in Muslim-majority Indonesia.

The USGS said the magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 68 kilometers (42 miles) north-northwest of Ende in East Nusa Tenggara province. The quake, at a depth of about 10 kilometers (6 miles) off the coast of Flores, rattled much of the island and sent residents fleeing in panic. Tremors were also felt in neighboring West Nusa Tenggara and parts of southern Sulawesi.

The disaster agency said the quake destroyed more than 900 homes and damaged nearly 450 more, forcing about 5,000 people into temporary shelters. Thousands more spent the night outdoors, fearing strong aftershocks. At least 167 public facilities, including schools, health centers and churches, were also damaged.

Relief workers have begun distributing rice, ready-to-eat meals, drinking water, blankets and medicine, while emergency shelters were being set up for displaced residents. Authorities said restoring electricity and communications as well as delivering aid to remote villages isolated by landslides remained among the biggest challenges.

The quake also struck Labuan Bajo, the gateway to Komodo National Park, one of Indonesia’s best-known tourist destinations. Landslides blocked sections of the Trans-Flores Highway, a roughly 700-kilometer (435-mile) road linking communities across the mountainous island.

Many residents continued to sleep outside rather than risk returning to damaged homes.

“The shaking was terrifying, so intense that my house nearly collapsed,” said Anastasia Imad, a farmer in Labuan Bajo, speaking from a makeshift green tent beside her damaged home. “We feared the aftershocks would bring it down on us while we slept.”

Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions because of its location on the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” a horseshoe-shaped arc of seismic faults and volcanoes.

Flores has experienced some of the country’s deadliest disasters. A powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1992 killed about 2,500 people on the island.

In 2018, a magnitude 7.5 earthquake triggered a tsunami on Sulawesi that killed more than 4,400 people. In 2004, a magnitude 9.1 quake off Sumatra unleashed a tsunami that killed about 230,000 people in a dozen countries.

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Associated Press writers Niniek Karmini and Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

With temperatures forecast to reach around 37°C in places, reaching for an ice cream or an icy drink might seem like an excellent idea. There is, however, one small hazard to eating your frozen treat with too much enthusiasm: brain freeze.

That sudden, stabbing pain is officially classified as a cold-stimulus headache. The International Headache Society describes it as a headache caused by eating, drinking or inhaling something very cold. “Ice-cream headache” and “brain freeze” are much easier to say while clutching your forehead.

And it is surprisingly common. In one study of 618 people aged 17 to 63, just over half said they had experienced brain freeze.

Scientists still do not know exactly what causes it, partly because a headache that disappears almost as quickly as it arrives is difficult to study.

Very cold food or drink touching the roof of the mouth or the back of the throat can trigger the pain. One important player seems to be the trigeminal nerve, a large nerve that carries information about sensations, including pain and temperature, from the face and parts of the mouth to the brain.

When the roof of the mouth is suddenly chilled, researchers think the cold activates pathways involving this nerve. That may help explain one of the strangest things about brain freeze. The cold is in your mouth, but the pain is commonly felt in the forehead or temples and can sometimes be felt around the eyes.

This is often described as referred pain, where pain is felt somewhere other than the place that triggered it. That may be why brain freeze can make your forehead hurt even though the cold is in your mouth.

Blood flow may also be involved, although the story is more complicated than was once thought. In one study that deliberately triggered brain freeze with ice water, researchers recorded changes in blood-flow velocity in an artery supplying the brain. Other experiments have also found evidence of changes in the brain’s circulation during brain freeze.

So the familiar explanation that cold simply makes blood vessels narrow and then rapidly widen is probably too tidy. Current research points towards an interaction between nerve signalling and changes in blood flow, but the precise mechanism is still uncertain.

What about migraine?

The relationship between brain freeze and migraine is also less straightforward than it might appear.

Some research suggests a connection. In one study of 669 women, those who had experienced migraine during the previous year were about twice as likely to develop a headache after drinking ice-cold water as women who had never had migraine.

Other studies have produced different results. A 1992 experiment triggered ice-cream headaches less often in people with migraine than in its comparison group. And a larger 2020 study found that people with migraine were no more likely to experience brain freeze, although those who did tended to report more intense pain.

For some people with migraine, brain freeze may occasionally trigger a migraine attack. The 1992 study found a small number of people for whom this appeared to happen, although the researchers concluded that ice-cream headache was not a common migraine trigger.

The two types of headache may share some pain pathways, but the relationship between them is still not fully understood.

Why do children seem to get it so often?

Brain freeze is common among children and teenagers, although research in younger people is still relatively limited. A large survey of 8,359 adolescents found that 41% had experienced an ice-cream headache.

How quickly they eat may be part of the explanation. In a wonderfully simple Canadian experiment involving 145 schoolchildren, children were given 100ml of ice cream. One group had to eat it in less than five seconds, while the other took more than 30 seconds. About 27% of the fast eaters developed brain freeze, compared with around 13% of those who took their time.

There is therefore some scientific justification for the instruction usually delivered by parents while watching a child demolish an ice cream: slow down.

Can you stop brain freeze?

Prevention appears to be easier than cure. In the Canadian experiment, eating ice cream quickly more than doubled the likelihood of developing brain freeze. In another study, 73% of people who experienced brain freeze said eating or drinking cold things more slowly reduced how often it happened or how intense it was.

Most attacks are over very quickly. In the study of 618 people, 93% of brain-freeze headaches lasted less than 30 seconds. But some last longer. One experimental study found a less common form that lasted an average of almost four minutes, while the International Headache Society’s diagnostic criteria allow for the headache to take up to ten minutes to disappear after the cold stimulus is removed.

There is little good research showing that popular tricks such as pressing your tongue against the roof of your mouth make the headache disappear faster. Fortunately, brain freeze usually resolves on its own.

So during the heatwave, there is no need to fear the ice-cream van. Just resist the temptation to eat your purchase as though someone is about to take it away from you. Eating it slowly may help you enjoy it without the headache.