The former star had been jailed for sexually abusing two underage girls.

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Convicted paedophile and former Grange Hill actor John Alford has been found dead in prison, only weeks after being jailed for sexually abusing two underage girls.

The 54‑year‑old was discovered unresponsive in his cell at HMP Bure, a Category C prison in Norfolk, when staff carried out morning checks on Friday (March 13). His death came shortly after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a 14‑year‑old and a 15‑year‑old during a sleepover at a friend’s home over the Easter holidays.

A jury at St Albans Crown Court found Alford, who appeared in court under his real name, John Shannon, guilty on all counts following a week‑long trial and more than 13 hours of deliberation, reports the Daily Star.

As the verdicts were delivered, the disgraced actor, who also appeared in London’s Burning, placed his head in his hands and shouted from the dock: “Wrong, I didn’t do this.” He found fame portraying Fireman Billy Ray in London’s Burning throughout most of the 1990s.

Speaking to the Sun, a source elaborated on the unresponsive state Alford was found in, saying: “He didn’t wake up in the morning. He was in his bed and they thought he was just asleep.

“But when they tried to wake him there was no response and they realised he was dead.” Alford landed the role of rebel Robbie Wright on BBC’s Grange Hill when he was 13 years old.

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John Alford, known for his roles in London’s Burning and Grange Hill, has died in prison weeks after being convicted of sexually assaulting two underage girls

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The former London’s Burning actor and convicted sex offender John Alford has been discovered dead in prison just weeks after being given his sentence for abusing two underage girls.

Alford, who was born in Glasgow, was discovered lifeless in his bed on Friday (March 13) when prison officers unlocked his cell at Category C HMP Bure in Norfolk. Before his passing, the 54 year old had been convicted of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl at a sleepover in a friend’s residence over the Easter break, reports the Daily Star.

Following a week-long trial and more than 13 hours of jury deliberations at St Albans Crown Court, Alford was found guilty on all counts. The actor, charged under his birth name John Shannon, buried his face in his hands and cried out “wrong, I didn’t do this” from the dock as the guilty verdicts were delivered.

Alford, recognised for his role in the BBC school drama Grange Hill during the 1980s, would later achieve prominence portraying Fireman Billy Ray in London’s Burning throughout the 1990s.

A source speaking to the Sun said: “He didn’t wake up in the morning. He was in his bed and they thought he was just asleep.

“But when they tried to wake him there was no response and they realised he was dead.”

Alford secured the part of rebel Robbie Wright on BBC’s Grange Hill aged just 13. During his stint on the 80s BBC programme, Alford was part of the cast that participated in its anti-drugs campaign.

However, towards the end of his time on Grange Hill, Alford confessed to consuming up to 18 bottles of beer and nine shots of spirits each night.

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The RAF base is also where Glenn Miller flew from before he went missing over the English Channel

Cambridgeshire is home to a wide range of historic RAF bases including Duxford, which was transformed into an Imperial War Museum, and RAF Alconbury that has now made way for new homes to be built. However, there are also a range of RAF bases found just outside of the county that also played an important role in the First and Second World Wars.

RAF Twinwood Farm can be found close to the Cambridgeshire border, just north of Bedford. It first opened in mid-1941 when the RAF began using the grassed field and was home to RAF night fighters.

By April 1942, the RAF base had three concrete runways and additional temporary buildings. Throughout the war, the base was used by a range of different units including the Bristol Blenheims, the Douglas Bostons, and Bristol Beauforts.

In 1944, the airfield was transferred to the US Eighth Air Force and was operated alongside the nearby RAF Thurleigh. During the US Army’s time at the base and around Bedford, Glenn Miller, a famous composer and big-band conductor, was deployed to Europe and stationed in the county, at the request of General Eisenhower, for radio broadcasting and personal appearances.

In December 1944, Glenn Miller’s unit was being moved to France but his scheduled flights from Bovingdon were cancelled due to bad weather. Miller decided to fly with Lt. Col. Norman Baessell on his UC-64 piloted by Flight Officer Stuart Morgan.

Miller didn’t tell anyone he was flying with them and boarded the plane with Baessell and Miller before it took off at 1.55pm on December 15. The plane and its occupants were never seen again.

An inquiry into the disappearance determined the aeroplane went down over the English Channel due to a range of factors including human error, mechanical failure, and weather. No remains of the UC-64 were ever found and Glenn Miller is still Missing In Action to this day.

Nowadays, RAF Twinwood Farm is home to the Twinwood Arena, which is a large natural amphitheatre that hosts various music events. Every year, the arena is used for a the Twinwood Festival which showcases vintage music and dance.

A collection of the buildings around the base also house a range of historical displays to create the Twinwood Airfield Museum. The restored control tower, now called the Glenn Miller Museum, features displays about Glenn Miller, the base’s history, and the Second World War.

Some of the other buildings including a recreation of a German bunker, rooms of a 1940s family home, and displays of military vehicles. The group of museums are open seasonally for visitors.

‘The Fire Station Summer Parties’ is set to return to Sunderland for 2026, promising a season of outdoor live music, entertainment, and community celebration.

Now in its fourth edition, the series has been described as the biggest yet, with a vibrant mix of indie icons, alternative favourites, and feel-good party nights lined up for The Fire Station’s outdoor stage.

Summer Parties in 2025. (Image: The Fire Station)

Tamsin Austin, venue director at The Fire Station, said: “We’re incredibly excited to welcome back our Summer Parties for 2026.

“The season goes from strength to strength every year, and this line-up is one of our most exciting yet.

“Whether you’re visiting The Fire Station for the first time or you’re a regular, this is your invitation to come down, grab a drink, and enjoy live music outdoors with us this summer – there really is something for everyone.”

The first six shows have been announced, with more artists and dates expected to be revealed in the coming weeks.

The series opens on Friday, July 31, with a Silent Disco for Grown Ups – tickets are priced at £23.

For the night, the Parade Ground will be transformed into a full outdoor dance floor, complete with light-up wireless headphones and multiple music channels.

On Sunday, August 2, psychedelic Britpop favourites Kula Shaker take to the stage for what will be their only major outdoor headline show of the summer – tickets are available for £37.

A special performance on Sunday, August 9, will see John Grant and Richard Hawley join forces to celebrate the music of the late Patsy Cline – tickets for this event are priced at £35.

Lottery Winners. (Image: The Fire Station)

Saturday, August 22, sees The Lottery Winners bring their infectious indie anthems to Sunderland.

Following two number one albums and recent high-profile support slots with Robbie Williams and Nickelback, the band is set to deliver one of the season’s most anticipated performances – tickets are £35.

On Friday, August 28, North East favourites Maxïmo Park return to The Fire Station for a high-energy outdoor show.

Fronted by Paul Smith, the band previously performed at the venue in 2024 as part of the Summer Parties – tickets are £35.

Maxïmo Park at Summer Parties 2024. (Image: The Fire Station)

Closing the 2026 season on Sunday, August 30, is Ibiza in Symphony.

A live band and orchestra will reimagine classic Ibiza anthems in what has become a sell-out tradition for the past two years – tickets for the finale are priced at £29.

Each show will take place on The Fire Station’s Parade Ground.

With additional acts yet to be announced, anticipation is building for a summer of standout live music under the city’s open skies.

General sale for the first six Summer Parties shows opens at 10am on Friday, March 13,
via thefirestation.org.uk.

Manchester City weren’t good enough in attack or defence for the second time in a week as they drew with West Ham in the Premier League

However close it is to his final curtain, Pep Guardiola continues to do things his way. After spending a good chunk of two press conferences this week defending his selection decisions in the 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid, the Blues boss went without wingers at West Ham yet still looked like the Manchester City side of the last 10 years.

As teams have started to launch the ball high from kick-off, City kept it and barely gave it back to West Ham in the opening 15 minutes as they racked up a century of passes before West Ham made it into double figures. This is another Guardiola team that have played their way into a title race with a strong identity, but will it be enough to best Arsenal this year?

Not if Mikel Arteta’s side have anything to do with it, and two late goals for the Gunners at home to Everton as City were going through their final preparations for the game will have felt like another punch to the gut for the title challenge. Having fallen down when they needed to stand up at the Bernabeu, this game at the London Stadium required a win whatever the final possession count.

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Bernardo Silva led by example to open the scoring after half an hour with a delicious chip that he almost certainly didn’t mean, and all was well. Then some sloppy play brought a West Ham corner three minutes later, Gianluigi Donnarumma inexplicably misjudged it and Konstantinos Mavropanos headed away City’s advantage just like that.

Poor defending cost Guardiola’s side against Forest last week, it has probably knocked them out of the Champions League, and it is not going away. It doesn’t matter what shape you line up with if you defend – and attack – as poorly as City have in a damaging fortnight for their hopes in multiple competitions.

Having done so well for so long to keep themselves in the hunt for an unlikely Quadruple as late as March, City’s recent stumble has been puzzling and has come right from the top. For the second league game in a row, substitutions were readied and then delayed with Tijjani Reijnders and Phil Foden this time told to go and warm up again on the hour mark.

By then, Jeremy Doku and Rayan Cherki had already come on in City’s search for a way back in front. There was plenty of possession and pressure, just not enough testing of Mads Hermansen in the West Ham goal as Nuno – a familiar foe for Guardiola – looked on contentedly with the City manager in the stands as he sat out the first of his two-game suspension.

When Reijnders did come off the bench, he forced Hermansen to tip his free-kick onto the bar and away, and City’s best chance fell to the very man they wanted it to. Haaland had just thrown his arms up in frustration as a cross evaded him into the box when Doku zipped it back in along the floor ready for the No.9 to swing his left boot at it.

So he did, but it was rushed, he didn’t catch it properly, and it fluffed harmlessly wide. At a critical time in the season, Haaland and City have fallen short of where they wanted to be.

Guardiola will continue to do things his way, and it may yet bring trophies this season. The Premier League and Champions League no longer look possible though.

A fourth try by Bielle-Biarrey – from a kick by Dupont when England thought they had been playing a penalty advantage – swung the momentum again, but there was time for England to make one final assault in the most remarkable fashion, starting with a scrum penalty and then two more penalties coming from line-out mauls, with replacement prop Demba Bamba being sent to the sin-bin.

Luke Cowan-Dickie was held up over the line but then another unrelenting attack culminated in a try by Freeman under the posts. Smith’s conversion put England in front and looked to have handed the title to Ireland before Ramos’s kick sealed the most remarkable finish to the most remarkable Six Nations campaign.

Match details

Scoring sequence: 5-0 Bielle-Biarrey try, 7-0 Ramos con, 7-5 Roebuck try, 12-5 Bielle-Biarrey try, 14-5 Ramos con, 14-10 Murley try, 17-10 Ramos pen, 17-15 Chessum try, 17-17 F Smith con, 17-22 Coles try, 17-24 F Smith con, 17-27 F Smith pen, 24-27 penalty try, 29-27 Bielle-Biarrey try, 31-27 Ramos con, 36-27 Attissogbe try, 38-27 Ramos con, 38-32 Chessum try, 38-37 M Smith try, 38-39 M Smith con, 43-39 Bielle-Biarrey try, 45-39 Ramos con, 45-44 Freeman try, 45-46 M Smith con, 48-46 Ramos pen.

HT: 24-27

France: T Ramos; T Attissogbe, P Barassi, Y Moefana, L Bielle-Biarrey; M Jalibert, A Dupont; J Gros (R Neti 63), J Marchand (P Mauvaka 46), D Aldegheri (D Bamba 46); T Flament, E Meafou (J Brennan 67); F Cros, T Matiu (M Guillard 41), C Ollivon (H Auradou 78).
Sin-bin: Bamba 73.
Unused replacements: B Serin, E Gailleton.

England: E Daly (M Smith 55); T Roebuck, T Freeman, S Atkinson, C Murley; F Smith, B Spencer (J van Poortvliet 52); E Genge (B Rodd 76) , J George (L Cowan-Dickie 52), J Heyes (T Davison 76), M Itoje, A Coles (H Pollock, 55), O Chessum, G Pepper (S Underhill 63), B Earl (C Cunningham-South 76).
Sin-bin: Genge 40.

Referee: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia).

The tournament opened with Italy shocking Scotland in Rome to put Gregor Townsend under pressure.

His side then delivered an emphatic win over England at Murrayfield to end their rivals’ 12-game unbeaten run.

The pressure then mounted on Borthwick as his side were outclassed by Ireland at Allianz Stadium.

While all that was happening, France cruised past Ireland, Wales and Italy to start a narrative that anything other than a Grand Slam would be a failure.

Scotland then blew away Galthie’s side, before conceding a late flurry of tries, to head into the final round with a genuine shot of a first Six Nations title.

To add more drama into the mix, Italy overcame England in Rome to mount further pressure on Borthwick.

Wales may have lost their opening four games, but they improved as the championship went on, producing an impressive bonus-point win over Italy to end the tournament.

They finished with a third consecutive Wooden Spoon – but a first win in the championship since 2023 offered huge relief.

Despite an improved display in Paris, England finished the tournament with four defeats – their worst-ever campaign.

“It was one of the most captivating Six Nations in history, fitting it came down to one final moment of drama,” BBC rugby correspondent Chris Jones said.

The 2015 Six Nations has been regarded as the greatest tournament for entertainment because of the three-team Super Saturday title race.

It similarly went right down to the wire.

However, this year’s competition delivered from round one right to the final kick, with each nation having their own story – and surely leaps to the top of the list.

“England were blistering – their pace, their skill, their intensity, their physicality and they had a genuine chance of winning,” said former England scrum-half Matt Dawson on BBC Radio 5 Live.

“I feel for the players because they are going to be down, but I want them to be super, super positive because if they carry on playing like that for the next 18 months they are going to challenge in big tournaments and big games, and they are going to win big games.”

And yet. When the adrenaline levels drop, questions will also be raised.

Should England have made victory stick?

With the restart regathered by Chessum, the ball safely at the base, Sam Underhill, Henry Pollock and Chandler Cunningham-South on their feet as a potential pod, and only two minutes left on the clock, could England have kept ball in hand and run down the clock?

Instead, Jack van Poortvliet, who had brought some zip off the bench, opted to kick the ball away and infield. Matthieu Jalibert, a broken-field fiend, accepted the invite to run back and England were back under the pump.

Closing out victories was a repeated failing in a series of close defeats in autumn 2024. It is a habit that England don’t want to reacquire.

One they definitely haven’t kicked yet is indiscipline. Only one of the 162 team campaigns in Six Nations history – Italy 2002 – has picked up more cards than England have this year.

Eight yellows, two of which combined to make Henry Arundell’s 20-minute red against Scotland, have hobbled England throughout.

Ellis Genge was dispatched to the sin-bin seat of shame in Paris, adjudged to have cynically dragged down a France driving maul that was destined for the line.

It may have been a marginal call, but, backed up to their own line, England knew the stakes were high and the punishment for any infringement would be heavy.

France raced back into the lead in the prop’s absence.

The Formula 1 races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have been cancelled in the wake of the ongoing Iran war, organisers have confirmed.

Both races were set to be held in April and alternatives were considered but rejected, the FIA said in a statement.

The Formula 2, Formula 3 and F1 Academy rounds have also been cancelled.

Organisers said they could not go ahead due to the “ongoing situation in the Middle East region”.

Bahrain in particular has been targeted heavily by Iran since the war broke out at the end of last month.

Read more: Live updates on Iran war

The cancellations create a five-week gap in the F1 calendar with no races in April, affecting teams, broadcasters and fans worldwide.

Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said the “difficult” decision was the “right one” amid intensifying strikes across the region.

He added: “I want to take this opportunity to thank the FIA as well as our incredible promoters for their support and total understanding as they were looking forward to hosting us with their usual energy and passion.

“We cannot wait to be back with them as soon as the circumstances allow us to do so.”

Read more from Sky News:
Tehran responds to US bombing of Kharg island
How is Iran war affecting British bills?

Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the FIA President, added: “The FIA will always place the safety and wellbeing of our community and colleagues first. After careful consideration, we have taken this decision with that responsibility firmly in mind.

“We continue to hope for calm, safety and a swift return to stability in the region, and my thoughts remain with all those affected by these recent events.”

The move has also been backed by the Saudi royal family.

Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal said: “We understand the considerations behind this decision and remain in close partnership with Formula 1.”

The current F1 season continues this weekend with the Chinese Grand Prix on Sunday.