LNER has submitted proposals to upgrade  the men’s loos next to Platform 12 at Newcastle Central Station, which it says are being constantly vandalised.

It comes after complaints last year about the poor state of the toilets, which date back to the 1890s and  were reopened in 2021 following a restoration project.

The men’s toilets next to platform 12 at Newcastle Central Station, which are to be refurbished. Photo: AHR / LNER. Free to reuse for all LDR partners.

The Rev Mark Edwards MBE told the Local Democracy Reporting Service last year that he had been left “physically nauseated” during a visit to the station and described the toilets as “shocking and unhygienic”.

Having pledged to press ahead with another refurbishment, LNER has now applied to Newcastle City Council for permission to carry out a major overhaul of the loos.

Their plans include a “deep clean” of the room, new wash basins, toilets with auto-flush sensors, and individual urinals to replace the existing communal trough.

Documents submitted to city planners say that the existing toilets have become a “constant maintenance and repair issue for the station team and are constantly being damaged”, with seats broken off and chains stolen.

LNER’s plans also include a new fresh air ventilation system to “remove stale air and provide clean air to all cubicles and the urinals”, as well as repairs to timber cubicle doors and frames. 

Their planning application states: “The condition of the existing gentlemen’s toilet area on Platform 12 has deteriorated with constant use and is now in need of repair and restoration.

As such, there is a strong requirement to refurbish the area and deliver facilities that meet modern passenger standards while ensuring that the area remains sympathetic to the building’s historic character and Grade I Listed status.”

The application adds:“Our designs will aim to provide simple proposals that can be implemented in a manner that has minimal effect to the building’s heritage yet is effective in addressing the need for improved toilet facilities to the station. Complaints from passengers using the toilets is commonplace at the station and exemplify the need for refurbishments and repairs.”

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An exchange of gunfire at a food court inside a Louisiana mall on Thursday killed one person and wounded five others and sent workers and shoppers scrambling for safety, police and witnesses said.

Authorities described the shooting inside the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge as a confrontation between two groups of people and not a random attack. Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said some innocent bystanders were struck by gunfire.

Police Chief TJ Morse said five people were in custody and there was no ongoing threat to the public.

Three high school seniors from Ascension Episcopal School were among the victims of the shooting, according to a Facebook post from Lafayette Parish President Monique Blanco Boulet.

“We are heartbroken by the senseless violence that happened today at the Mall of Louisiana in Baton Rouge,” she said, adding that she was asking her community to “join us in holding all of these families close in prayer.”

Rachel Delcambre, a spokesperson for the school, said in an email that the school would not be giving additional information at this time “out of deep respect for the families and the sensitivity of this situation.”

Authorities initially said as many as 10 people had been injured but later revised that number. Morse did not immediately say what set off the shooting at the mall in the Louisiana capital.

Alex Theriot, a commercial electrician, was working on a construction project in the mall a few hundred feet from the food court when gunfire erupted and he heard what sounded like plates of glass shattering. Thinking a shooter might be going store to store, he quickly screwed the door shut of his work site and hunkered down with two other workers. They waited and hoped for the best.

“Everybody was running and screaming,” Theriot told The Associated Press. “I thought it could have been a terrorist attack.”

Desire Batton, who works at a clothing store, said she and other workers dashed inside a breakroom to protect themselves.

“We hid in there until cops came and got us,” Batton said.

The shooting began around 1:30 p.m. when the two groups argued inside the food court and started shooting at each other, Morse said. The chief made public appeals for witnesses to come forward with any video of the shooting.

By late afternoon, dozens of police cars still were clustered in the parking lot, multiple helicopters hovered overhead and armed officers in bulletproof vests patrolled the area.

Mall spokesperson Lindsay Kahn called it a “frightening day” for everyone there and said the mall would not reopen Thursday.

Kennedy Barnum, 22, said she had gone to the mall to get lunch at the food court when she heard a woman on the phone outside say, “I’ll call you back. There’s an active shooter in the mall.”

It’s at least the second high-profile case of gun violence in Louisiana this week. A father fatally shot eight children, including seven of his own, in an attack on his family Sunday morning that stretched across two houses in a Shreveport neighborhood, police said. Two women, including the gunman’s wife who was the mother of their children, were critically wounded.

___

AP reporters Jack Brook in New Orleans and Jim Mustian in Natchitoches, Louisiana, contributed to this story.

Wojciech Jankowski, a spokesman for the Lesko Forest District where the attack occurred, told Onet: “At this time of year, bears that have awakened from their winter sleep come to places like this, close to human homes, in search of food. This was an unexpected encounter for both the bear and the human.”

Northumbrian Water said this follows one of the driest years on record and comes thanks to its “careful management” in 2025.

Despite prolonged dry weather, the region avoided the water restrictions and drought measures that affected other parts of the UK.

Kieran Ingram, water director at Northumbrian Water, said: “Given the challenges we faced last year, and how hard our operational teams have worked to recover, we’re in a strong position now we’re in spring.

“We’re fortunate to have fantastic teams made up of industry experts, doing everything they can throughout the year to carefully manage our supplies.

“And while we do everything that we can, we need our customers to help us by doing the same.”

Reservoir recovery has been aided by winter rainfall, which naturally replenishes stocks through run-off and river abstraction.

However, the volume of water that can be drawn from rivers is limited to protect wildlife and maintain environmental quality.

Northumbrian Water continues to urge customers to use water wisely, highlighting that demand significantly influences reservoir levels.

The highest demand day in March saw 716 million litres used across the North East.

Mr Ingram said: “From finding and fixing leaks quickly to prioritising essential work on our networks, we’re doing everything to maximise how much we can refill the reservoirs.

“But we all have a part to play.

“Small changes, like turning off the tap while brushing your teeth, can make a real difference to the levels of demand on our water network and keeps water in the environment where it belongs.”

The company has already repaired 2,711 leaks in the first three months of 2025 and is investing £50 million in network improvements between 2025 and 2030.

Northumbrian Water also reminds the public that domestic leaks can have a significant impact – one leaky toilet can waste 78,500 litres per year, equivalent to 52,300 kettle boils.

Other advice includes spending one minute less in the shower, which can save up to 40 glasses of water each time.

To keep customers informed, the company has launched a monthly infographic on its website showing rainfall, reservoir levels, leakage rates and demand figures.

Additional water-saving tips and details about current reservoir storage are also available online.

Now looking ahead to 2026, the teams are preparing for a similar test of their skills and are not going to rest.

The company also encourages customers to report visible leaks to help reduce water wastage further.

The burnt Basque cheesecake has become a global phenomenon, but this homemade cheesecake is surprisingly easy to make with a simple recipe that takes less than 15 minutes to prep

Whenever my family and I are on our travels, amongst the initial spots we seek out is a quality neighbourhood bakery or patisserie. It’s an excellent method to familiarise ourselves with the locale, and my husband invariably chooses a San Sebastian or Burnt Basque cheesecake.

This velvety, decadent cheesecake has swiftly established itself as a fixture in cake establishments throughout the UK, and indeed globally, despite its modest beginnings in a small bar in Spain. The delectable dessert originated in the 1980s in San Sebastian, a coastal city in the Basque region of Spain, and from that point, its fame has expanded, particularly with the emergence of social media during the 2010s.

Today, you can anticipate finding this luxurious sweet on restaurant menus everywhere, yet it wasn’t until recently that I prepared it at home and discovered just how straightforward it was to produce a spectacular creation that would wow the entire household.

I initially prepared this dessert for Easter as it’s frequently accompanied by chocolate sauce, and it proved immensely popular, with numerous people returning for additional helpings, notwithstanding its richness.

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However, I prepared it once more not long ago, to earn favour with my husband. All that’s required is combining all the components in a bowl and blending, then after it’s placed in a cake tin with baking parchment, it’s prepared for cooking, reports the Mirror.

The most challenging aspect is determining the right moment to remove it from the oven and subsequently allowing it to firm up for no less than six hours, ideally through the night. Yet it’s absolutely worth the patience.

To achieve as much authenticity as possible, I followed the straightforward recipe on Spanish Sabores, a website dedicated to making numerous Spanish classics simple and accessible to recreate at home.

How to make a perfect Burnt Basque Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 1kg of soft cheese
• Seven eggs
• 400g of sugar
• One tbsp of flour
• 200ml of double cream

Method:

Preheat your oven to 210°C or Gas Mark 7.

After measuring out your ingredients, combine them in a bowl and mix until smooth.

Line a cake tin with baking paper, then pour in the mixture and place on the middle shelf of the oven.

Baking time can reach up to 45 minutes, but begin checking after 30 minutes have elapsed, then every five minutes thereafter. The key is to “burn” the top of the cheesecake while maintaining a slight “wobble” in the centre.

Once you’ve browned the top to your liking, remove it from the oven and allow to cool before refrigerating to set for a minimum of six hours, though overnight is preferable.

When set, slice and serve. This style of cheesecake is often accompanied by a chocolate sauce, though you can equally savour the rich, creamy flavours on their own.

​Europa Oil & Gas’ proposal to install a 125ft (38m) rig in the village of Burniston, close to the North York Moors National Park, has been recommended for approval by North Yorkshire Council despite more than 1,600 local objections.

​Residents will organise a lobby ahead of the planning meeting outside Scarborough Town Hall at midday on Friday, more than a year after full plans were submitted and months after a previously scheduled meeting was postponed.

​The proposed wellsite, which is located 350 metres to the east of the village of Burniston, 700 metres southwest of the coastline, and 800 metres south of the North York Moors National Park boundary, were first announced in 2024.

​Europa’s plans would employ a proppant squeeze method to extract the gas – a technique which has been likened to “small scale fracking” and which is allowed under current legislation.

​The planning application has attracted more than 1,600 objections from local residents, local MP Alison Hume, parish councils including Burniston, Cloughton, Newby & Scalby and Scarborough Town Councils, and Friends of the Earth, among others.

​Professor Chris Garforth, of Frack Free Coastal Communities, said: “Councillors have a clear choice: reject this reckless scheme – or ignore the voices of the more than 1,600 objectors who refuse to let our community become a testing ground for the serious risks to health, homes, environment and climate that fracking brings.”

​He added: “We’ve had to formally complain about systemic failures in how the council has handled this application. Their response has been inadequate, so we’re now escalating to stage two of the council’s complaints procedure. A ‘yes’ vote based on a fundamentally flawed process would be unsafe and indefensible. This only strengthens our call for councillors to reject this application.”

​A spokesperson for Europa said: “The proposed development in terms of planning is very straightforward. The development is temporary in nature and is for a single appraisal well to test a gas accumulation, something which has been delivered safely and in an environmentally sound manner many times historically in the UK.

​“The planning application has been put forward for approval by the council’s officers following a thorough analysis of the application by specialist officers to ensure that it fully complies with the strict regulations that govern these activities in the UK.”

​Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), the spokesperson also claimed that Frack Free Coastal Communities continues to “mislead councillors when raising concerns with respect to elements of the operational procedures associated with the project, such as the proposed proppant squeeze, which is highly regulated but falls outside of the planning process and will be dealt with under national regulations and authorities”.

​Earlier this month, Friends of the Earth published new research from leading geologist Professor Stuart Haszeldine of the University of Edinburgh, which warned that the evidence from analysis of the seismic activity triggered by Cuadrilla’s fracking at Preston New Road in Lancashire in 2019 and from Preese Hall in 2011, “shows that earthquakes from high-volume fracking and low-volume fracking are ‘equally large and equally unpredictable’”.

​Friends of the Earth campaigner, Tony Bosworth said: “The government has rightly committed to banning fracking for good. It blights our countryside, won’t lower UK energy bills, and is deeply unpopular.

​“With significant parts of England already covered by oil and gas licences, the UK government must reassure communities by banning all forms of hydraulic fracturing for fossil fuels.”

Europa has previously said the scheme would be positive for the local economy and “no-one is going to notice” its presence.

​

Hope Day is in Year 8 at The Mount School in Dalton Terrace, which counts Oscar winning actress Dame Judi Dench among its former pupils.

And she is helping the charity Made By Dyslexia launch a new campaign that aims to transform what millions of children and parents find when they search “What is dyslexia?” online.

At the heart of the campaign is a new star-studded animation called What is Dyslexia? designed to bring a more balanced, strengths-based understanding of dyslexia to the top of search results. 

Recommended reading:

 13-year-old Hope, who recently she took on the role of Annie in York Light Opera’s rendition of the musical voices the main character, Lola, in the film which also features the voices of Jeremy Irons, Liv Tyler and Jaalen Best.

Hope Day took on the title role  in York Light Opera’s rendition of Annie Image: Matthew Kitchen

Hope discovered she is dyslexic when she was seven years old – following this she discovered Made By Dyslexia and learnt that her dyslexia means she is really creative, this then fuelled her passion for acting.

She said she wanted to be part of this film to help other children see that being dyslexic gives you brilliant strengths.

 “There is so much online that makes dyslexic children and young people feel like there is something wrong with them. When I was younger, I discovered Made By Dyslexia and it helped me find what I am really good at,” said Hope.

“I realised my creativity and passion for singing and dancing is thanks to my Dyslexic Thinking. I wanted to be part of this film to help other children see that being dyslexic gives you brilliant strengths.”

Hope during the recording (Image: Supplied)

Hollywood actor Jeremy Irons, the voice of the wise inventor said:  “Coming from a family of creative dyslexics, I know just how important it is that we ensure all dyslexic children understand their extraordinary strengths. Throughout history, dyslexics have played a role in many of the world’s most significant innovations, from the light bulb to the motor car.  

“I am so proud to be involved in this wonderful project and hope that everyone will support us in watching, sharing and reviewing the film, so that each year, millions of children and parents will find it at the top of their searches.” 

Jeremy Irons (Image: Mike Fordham)

Kate Griggs, executive producer of the film and founder of Made By Dyslexia, said: “Every year millions of children search online to understand what dyslexia means for their future, but what they find is often framed around difficulty. When that is the first story a young person hears about their mind, it can damage confidence before they understand their strengths. 

 “This campaign is about changing that first impression. As a dyslexic, parent of dyslexic children, and the founder of Made By Dyslexia, I know how vital this is. By bringing a more balanced and empowering understanding of dyslexia to the top of search, we can help young people see confidence, capability and their bright futures.” 

Hope with charity founder, Kate Griggs (Image: Supplied)

The film and campaign launches today (Friday, April24) followed by a premiere at the UK’s biggest cinema screen the BFI IMAX in London on Saturday, April 25.

You can now watch the film at www.whatisdyslexia.org. Every comment, share and review helps towards ensuring the film reaches the top of search right across the world.  

Hope is a pupil at The Mount School in York (Image: Supplied)

Ryan King targeted the children between October and November last year.

A Scots paedophile has been jailed after attacking four boys.

Ryan King, 31, carried out sexual offences against the children in Glasgow and Renfrewshire between October and November, 2025

King pled guilty and was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison at Paisley Sheriff Court today, Thursday, April 23, for carrying out sexual offences against children in Renfrewshire and Glasgow.

Detective Inspector David Hardie blasted the ‘depraved’ pervert.

He said: “King gave no thought to his victims, just using them for his sexual gratification. “Our thoughts remain with his victims and I hope this sentencing brings them some comfort as he faces the consequences of his depraved actions. “Police Scotland will fully investigate all reports of sexual crimes and abuse. I’d encourage anyone with concerns about this type of criminality to contact officers so we can carry out an investigation.”

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