The man also worked as a police officer when he sexually abused boys

A former scout leader who abused teenage boys across three decades has been jailed. Derek Feast, 81, denied multiple indecent assaults on four teenage boys when Hertfordshire Police traced and interviewed him in July 2024.

Feast denied having sexual conduct with three of the boys, and claimed he had been in a consensual sexual relationship with the other victim. One of the assaults took place at a Norfolk newsagents in 1991. Feast worked there aged 46, and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old boy.

On Wednesday (April 22) at St Albans Crown Court, Feast, now of the Isle of Mull in Scotland, was sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted for multiple offences at the same court on February 17. These were: 17 counts of indecent assault and gross indecency on four victims. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life.

The court heard how he targeted three of his victims when he volunteered with the Scouts in Hertfordshire, where he also worked as a police officer during the 1970s and early 1980s. The fourth victim, in Norfolk, was sexually assaulted in July 1991. The boy reported the incident to police and Feast was arrested, but no further action was taken.

Another victim, who was aged 12 or 13 at the time, recalled being sexually assaulted on Scout trips, at Scout meetings and at Feast’s home address in Stevenage. A third victim, who was aged 14, was also sexually assaulted by Feast.

A final victim was sexually assaulted by Feast when he was 15, while on a trip and the abuse continued for several years. Detective Constable Beverley Thomson said: “Firstly, I would like to commend all four victims for their courage during the investigation and their incredible bravery in the face of a trial.

“Derek Feast denied any wrongdoing, but his evil acts have had lasting effects on his victims, but I do hope that seeing him sentenced will go some way in helping them to move on from his abhorrent crime.

“We know it can be incredibly challenging to come forward to report incidents of sexual assault. We take reports of sexual offences very seriously and we will do everything we can to ensure that victims feel like their voices are heard and that offenders are brought to justice.”

Detective Inspector Ben Smith added: “I would like to thank the team for their tireless work to bring Feast to justice. This case demonstrates that however long ago a crime was committed – even more than 40 years later – we will track you down and get justice for victims.

“The fact that he was a Scout leader and, shockingly, a police officer at the time, makes his offending even more despicable and I hope any victim feels confident that they can report offences however long ago they were committed, and we will take them seriously and work tirelessly to bring them justice.”

TransPennine Express confirmed that additional stops at Rochdale will be included on select services from York on Saturday (April 25) to account for York’s title-deciding match against Rochdale.

The all-important game kicks off tomorrow at 12.30pm at Rochdale’s Crown Oil Arena.

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The arena is a nine-minute drive from Rochdale Railway Station or a 40-minute walk.

Trains are set to run without disruption, with many including a change along the way.

But TransPennine Express routes, which will set off from York at 7.17am, 8.19am, 9.20am and 10.20am to Manchester Victoria, stopping off at Rochdale ahead of the match, will run direct.

Speaking about this, a spokesperson for TransPennine Express said: “We’re pleased to be able to add additional stops at Rochdale on selected services from York this Saturday, making it easier for customers to travel to the York City vs Rochdale match.

“These changes will provide more direct journey options and help reduce the need to change trains while engineering work is taking place over the weekend.”

For more information, please visit the link here.

Mohammed Afzal, known to his loved ones as Isa, died after a violent incident outside Power League on Market Street, Bury, on August 1 last year.

A trial at Manchester Crown Court in March found Abbas Hussain, 19, Mohammed Rayhan, also 19, and Biryan Ak, 20, all not guilty of murdering Mr Afzal.

But Hussain was convicted of manslaughter for his part in Mr Afzal’s death.

During the trial, the three men had argued that they were defending themselves from Mr Afzal after he and another man emerged from a car.

When interviewed by police after his arrest, Hussain did not comment but gave a prepared statement.

His statement said that Mr Afzal had launched a violent attack on him, but accepted he had stabbed the 19-year-old several times.

At the opening of the trial, Mr Hamilton said that Mr Afzal and his friends had followed a grey Corsa to the Power League complex to target their car.

Mr Hamilton said that on arriving at the Power League, Mr Afzal then got out of his car and approached it with a baseball bat in his hand and opened the door.

This then started the incident that ended with Mr Afzal being fatally stabbed with a blade described as a “Call of Duty” style knife.

Mr Ak, of Norman Grove, Longsight, was found not guilty of murder, while Mr Rayhan, of Chauncy Road, Failsworth, was acquitted of murder and possession of an offensive weapon.

Hussain, formerly of Bolton and of Windsor Crescent, Prestwich, was found not guilty of murder but convicted of manslaughter and of possession of a bladed article.

Hussain was sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Friday, April 24.

Mr Nasser Afzal, father of Mohammed Afzal, read a victim’s personal statement aloud to the court in which he described the day of August 1, 2025, as “a day that lives in the depths of my memory uninvited and impossible to escape.”

He said: “No parent should ever have to imagine outliving a child.”

The statement went on to say: “He had a whole future ahead of him with big goals, goals that were never just about himself but about lifting everyone he loved.

“That was who Isa was. Selfless, thoughtful, full of heart.

“That future has now been stolen. Dreams left unfulfilled. Goals that will now never be achieved. A life that will never be lived.”

Mr Afzal said that he buried himself in work “to escape the torment” of remembering his son and that it felt “wrong to smile”.

He went on to say his son had “a pure, generous heart” and “could not tolerate people feeling alone or bullied.”

Addressing the court, he said: “Nothing can undo what has been done, but I ask the court, from one father’s broken heart, to try to understand the lifelong impact this had had on our family.”

He said his family had been left “with a lifetime of grief” that they “will never recover from”.

A second victim personal statement was read aloud to the court by the prosecution from Mohammed Afzal’s cousin, Sana Baber.

The statement described him as “full of love and life” and said that “life feels unbearably unfair”.

It went on to say: “I wanted us to achieve our dreams together.”

It concluded: “If love alone could have saved you, I promise Isa, you would have lived forever.”

The court heard Mohammed Afzal was stabbed seven times within four seconds, one of these being in his back.

Sentencing Hussain, The Honourable Mr Justice Lavender said: “They (Mohammed Afzal’s family) have spoken movingly of the profound loss that you have caused.”

He went on to say: “You stabbed him not once but seven times, with two of the wounds inflicted being capable of killing him.”

He said Hussain disposed of his clothes, the knife, and his phone.

He told the court only a custodial sentence would be justified and sentenced Hussain to seven years in a young offender’s institution, with a 12-month concurrent sentence for possession of a bladed article.

When the sentence was read aloud in court, Mohammed Afzal’s family left the courtroom.

The guests for the afternoon were the Iain Anderson Trio from Langholm.

Biggar Accordion & Fiddle Club gathered for their last meeting of the season on Sunday, April 12.

The guests for the afternoon were the Iain Anderson Trio from Langholm, but firstly the audience enjoyed a wealth of local talent.

On accordions at Biggar Bowling Club were Mark Crawford, Keith Dickson, Hilda Fulton, Adam Gibb, Jim Gold, Sam Gray, David Kennedy Tom Kilean, Fiona Paul, Charlie Todd and James Watson.

Playing piano were Emma Dickson, Keith Dickson, Iona Gold, Jim Gold, Grace Kane and Fiona Paul, while on drums there was Andrew Barrie, Andrew Gibb, David Kennedy, Alex Lyall and Charlie Todd.

The club were also treated to a couple of selections from ten members of the Edinburgh-based Scots Music Group’s Piano Accordion classes: Katie Burns, Sheena Dickson, Maya Forrester, Billy Higgins, Nevil Hopely, Mary Hourigan, Douglas Seath, Hamish Scott, John West and Maggie Wright.

And the guest trio for the afternoon consisted of Iain Anderson from Langholm on lead accordion, Neil MacMillan from Rowardennan on piano and Eric Goodfellow on drums.

The trio entertained with a variety of tempos, many great tunes and quite a bit of light-hearted humour along the way. It was an afternoon thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

With the season at an end chairman Jim Gold thanked Andrew Barrie and the Biggar Bowling Club for hosting everyone, the ladies for the half-time buffet, the raffle prize donors, the local players for supporting the club and the Iain Anderson Trio for their entertaining programme.

The club resumes on Sunday, November 8.

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READ MORE: North Lanarkshire residents warned over series of road closures in coming weeks

The new routes will connect passengers to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands, Krakow in Poland, and Reykjavik in Iceland this winter.

Flights to Fuerteventura will begin on October 25, 2026, and will operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays.

Services to Krakow will start the day after, on October 26, 2026, with flights departing on Mondays and Fridays.

Connections to Reykjavik will launch the day after that, on October 27, 2026, and will run on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

Kevin Doyle, Easyjet’s UK manager, said: “Following the opening of our new base at Newcastle, we’re delighted to be adding three more routes, and several package holiday options, for our customers in the North East.

“These new services to Fuerteventura, Krakow, and Reykjavik provide even greater choice, whether customers are looking for winter sun, a city break, or a once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

“Newcastle is a key part of our UK growth, and we’re proud to continue investing in connectivity from the region with great value fares and convenient flight options.”

The Easyjet base at Newcastle only reopened in March.

Fares for the new route start from £25.99.

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Leon McQuaid from Newcastle Airport, said: “We’re delighted to see further investment at Newcastle Airport with Easyjet’s new winter routes to Fuerteventura, Krakow, and Reykjavik following the opening of their new base.

“These additional services further enhance our growing winter schedule and provide passengers with even more great value flight-only and package holiday options.

“This expansion reflects the strong demand for connectivity from the North East to key European destinations and we look forward to celebrating the launch of Easyjet’s new routes.”

Food lovers are invited to vote for their favourite among the finalists

We are fortunate in Cambridgeshire to have so many incredible options for eating out. Naturally, many of us tend to have our go-to spots, traditions, and those eateries that you dine in only for special occasions.

In what was likely a tricky decision, lifestyle site Muddy Stilettos have created a shortlist for the ‘Best Casual Dining’ award. The shortlist of 10 of the best casual dining spots in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk contains four great spots from our county.

The categories for the awards range from best afternoon tea to best beauty salon, highlighting the diversity of businesses scattered across Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Food lovers are invited to vote for their favourite among the finalists, before the votes close on May 26 at 1pm. The winners will be announced on June 16.

Take a look at Cambridgeshire’s finalists.

Aromi Cafe in Cambridge

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Inspired by Italy, in 2013, four founding family members brought Sicilian spirit to life in Cambridge and opened Aromi. Nowadays, the brilliant brand has three locations across central Cambridge including on Bene’t Street and Fitzroy Street.

The restaurant takes its Italian cuisine very seriously and promises to bring “big flavours, proper family recipes, and everything made fresh”. Aromi offers a variety of different pizzas, arancini, and more.

Bohemia in St Neots

Bohemia offers a variety of breakfast, brunch, and lunch dishes consisting of modern healthy options as well as what they describe as the “finest ground coffee” roasted in their own micro roastery. Reviews have described the establishment as having “one of the best full English breakfasts” with “friendly, happy and attentive” service.

Giovanni’s Pizzeria in Cambridge

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Led by owner and head chef Giovanni, this restaurant prides itself on using traditional methods and the finest ingredients to bring “the real flavour of Italy” with a particular focus on Sardinia.

Giovanni’s sells a variety of pizzas, baked dishes including lasagne and a long list of coffees. To fulfil those sweet cravings, the menu also offers a range of different desserts including cakes, brownies and waffles.

The Yard in Ely

The Yard is located in the heart of Ely and was born from a simple idea: that “the city deserved something bold”. The kitchen boasts having seasonal, locally-sourced food alongside having knowledgeable bar staff serving up some classic cocktails.

The venue is known for hosting events including tastings, DJ nights, comedy and quizzes. The Yard has several different menus on offer including pizza, lunch and dinner, Sunday roasts and breakfast menus, with each being reasonably priced.