The Northern Ireland Traveller took a six-hour round trip to Athlone where he paid a visit to Sean’s Bar which is recognised as the oldest pub in Ireland by the Guinness World Records

A Belfast man travelled three hours to visit the oldest pub in Ireland — and one unique aspect immediately floored him after walking in the door.

Mark Rowan, better known as Stumpy, runs the Northern Ireland Traveller YouTube channel, and his latest adventure saw him visit Athlone. The town borders Westmeath and Roscommon and the content creator insisted that his first pint had to be in the historic Sean’s Bar.

It has been open for more than 1,100 years and although officially recognised as Ireland’s oldest — some claim that it is the world’s oldest too. Speaking outside the famous pub, Stumpy said: “I’ve always wanted to come here and sample a cheeky pint of Guinness in here.

“They’ve been pulling pints in here longer than the castle behind us. The bar was actually built before the castle even existed. So there’s been some amount of pints served out of this bar.”

And after stepping inside, Stumpy turned to his friend, and said: “Mate, look at the floor!” His pal replied: “Sawdust on the floor, I haven’t seen that since I was like five years old.”

Stumpy added: “So, there you go people, this is the bar in here, and look, there genuinely is sawdust on the floor.”

Publicans historically put sawdust on floors to help absorb spilled drinks, vomit and even spit, to make it easier to clean at the end of the night. Back in the 19th century, chewing tobacco and pipe smoking was common practice, and patrons would often spit on the floor, and sawdust helped contain it.

Most pubs stopped putting sawdust on floors by the mid 20th century because of modern flooring and health reasons. However, some old-school boozers, like Sean’s Bar, still have the unique feature.

Stumpy paid €6.30 for his pint of Guinness and before trying it, he said: “Mate, I absolutely love this. Never thought I’d be splitting the G standing on top of sawdust inside a pub in 2026. Absolutely unbelievable.”

Asked about what he thought about the pub, his friend said: “Pub’s exceptional. It might be my favourite ever pub actually.” Stumpy added: “It’s really good. Like proper old school pub.”

He then said it was a “damn good pint” before he summarised his visit: “Absolutely amazing pub. Yes, we would absolutely love to stay on and just sit there all night and wait for the live music starting at 9, but the show must go on boys.”

After uploading the video, which you can watch in full here, one person replied: “I’m from Athlone, really had a good laugh at this, I know a good few characters in the video. Great video and content. I love pub culture.”

Another said Sean’s Bar was “something else” while a third said: “Sean’s Bar Athlone… serving Guinness before Guinness was invented.”

Denmark and the UK both wear the badge of universal healthcare with pride. Nobody is turned away, nobody is handed a bill on the way out. And the principle – that where you are born or how much you earn should not determine whether you live or die – is sacred in both countries. But principles are not the same as outcomes.

Denmark spends more per person on healthcare than the UK and operates one of the most expansive welfare states on the planet. It consistently outperforms the UK on some of the indicators that matter most: how long people live, how many babies survive their first year, and how many cancer patients are still alive five years after diagnosis. So is Denmark simply spending its way to better health? Or are other factors helping explain the gap?

The numbers in the most recent OECD report help us unpack this question. The UK devotes a larger share of its economy to healthcare than Denmark does – 11.1% of GDP compared with 9.4%. But once you adjust for currency and the cost of living and look at what each country actually spends, the UK spends US$325 (£243) less per person per year than Denmark. So although healthcare takes up a larger share of the UK economy, spending per person is still lower than in Denmark.

Health Gap / Sundhedskløften is a collaborative series from The Conversation UK and Denmark’s Videnskab.dk exploring what the two countries can learn from each other when it comes to health and wellbeing.

From cycling and alcohol to inequality, healthcare and everyday habits, the series looks beyond hospitals and medical treatment to explore how culture, politics and society shape the way people live – and how healthy they are.

If the story were only about money, it might look as though Denmark is simply buying better health. And the numbers in the OECD report are striking: the average Dane lives 1.8 years longer than people in the UK; around 400 more babies per million survive their first year in Denmark; and five-year survival is higher for both cervical cancer (six more women in every hundred) and colon cancer (five more people in every hundred). Just as importantly, about one in four more people in Denmark feel their health system is there for them when they need it.

But when you look more closely, a different picture appears. The gap isn’t just about how much money each country puts into its health system; it’s about how that money is used. Denmark gets more out of its spending by investing in the capacity to diagnose and treat illness early and by supporting the social and economic factors that shape people’s health. The UK has invested differently, and those choices are reflected in the results.

Denmark has 29 more CT, MRI and PET scanners per million people than the UK. Investing hugely in cancer equipment led Denmark to expand its diagnostic capacity and make it possible for cancer patients to receive treatment within two weeks of diagnosis, compared with around nine weeks in UK. Many more Danes than Britons participate in cancer screening – which leads to earlier treatment. For example, in Denmark, 17 more women in every 100 undergo breast cancer screening. Finding out early whether you have cancer and treating it early makes a real difference.

Then there is lifestyle. Ten more out of every hundred Britons than Danes report being obese. Obesity makes people more likely to become seriously unwell, need more medical care, and face tougher treatment when conditions such as cancer or heart disease develop.

Although their smoking and drinking habits are similar, many more Danes are physically active and exposed to less air pollution. Denmark also has the lowest diabetes prevalence among OECD countries: about 23 in every 1,000 adults versus 88 in the UK. Fewer people getting seriously ill means the health budget stretches further and can do more for everyone.

Beyond the hospital

People get sick not only for medical reasons. Social factors such as how educated, well-off and socially connected you are or where and how you live also cause sickness. Both Denmark and UK have chosen to look after their people by funding welfare through tax revenue. But Denmark’s welfare system is more inclusive.

Income after tax is more fairly distributed across people – Denmark has one of the lowest levels of income inequality among OECD countries. Almost every child between three and five years (97%) is in professional childcare, university education is free, and Danes get up to a full year of maternity and paternity leave. Danes generally benefit from high-quality housing and safe living environments .

In Denmark, spending on welfare is like putting money in social investments that pays healthy dividends by reducing the burden on healthcare. Denmark has built a system where the welfare state mostly prevents the conditions that produce postcode lotteries (where you live determines what services you get) in the first place.

The UK experience is different: the governments, particularly since 2010, have found themselves in financial stress and have backed welfare cuts as part of a policy of austerity, instead of viewing welfare spending as social investment, as Denmark did. Unlike Denmark, the UK has focused on fixing gaps in what the NHS could provide, without fully recognising that widening social and economic inequalities outside the NHS were driving poorer health outcomes in the first place.

Denmark gets a lot right, but it still has real challenges. Health gaps between groups are widening: wealthier men now live noticeably longer than men on the lowest incomes, and people with less education have shorter lives when they develop conditions such as heart disease or stroke.

Even so, Denmark spends more on each person’s health, and people tend to reach hospital in better shape than those in the UK. That difference comes from decades of social policies that support welfare, reduce inequality, improve housing and build a strong culture of prevention. By contrast, the UK has tried to use the NHS to treat its way out of deeper social and economic problems, even though no amount of NHS spending on its own can fix issues that start long before someone walks into a clinic.

Denmark and the UK share similar ambitions for improving the nation’s health, but Denmark has been far more successful in putting those ambitions into practice. Denmark treats the health of its people as the result of choices made across the whole of society, not just what happens in hospitals or surgeries.

Over many years, Denmark has kept building policies and structures that support healthier living. The UK had a comparable vision when the NHS was founded in 1948, but it didn’t continue developing the wider system around healthcare in the same way. Denmark did it differently and consistently, and that is what sets the two countries apart today.

This series was commissioned as part of a partnership between Videnskab.dk and The Conversation, where articles are published in English and Danish.

Donald Trump today doubled down on his attack on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, accusing them of being ‘very terrible’ to Prince William and insisting he should ‘never speak to them again’.

The US President also appeared to largely blame the Duchess of Sussex for the rift with the Royal Family, accusing her of having a ‘horrible’ influence on her British husband.

His fresh attack came 24 hours after he claimed he ‘wouldn’t have taken them back’ following their shock return to the UK.

Speaking to GB News host Bev Turner, Mr Trump said the Sussexes had done ‘too many horrible things’ to be welcomed back so easily.

The fact that the King had recently met Harry and Meghan showed Charles is ‘a much better person than I am’, Mr Trump said.

‘I wouldn’t have done it. I would have said forget it,’ he added.

‘Personally, I would not have taken them back. Too much hate, too many really bad things.’

Meghan and Harry have returned to the UK after six years and the President said he was ‘happy’ they had left the US.

He said: ‘First of all, I think King Charles is fantastic, he’s a friend of mine. He [Prince Harry] wrote a book that was so bad, and she was a horrible influence on him. What she’s done to him is unacceptable.’

Mr Trump argued that the way the couple treated Harry’s brother, Prince William, was also ‘terrible’.

He said: ‘But I think that what she [Meghan] has done and him [Prince Harry], he wrote a book that was very terrible to William, it was terrible.

‘The things he said, I wouldn’t… I mean, it’s just me. I’m sure I’m wrong on this, but I would not have taken him back. I would have never spoken to him again.’

Bev suggested that, although there appears to be ‘no relationship’ between Prince Harry and Prince William, the King appears to have ‘offered an olive branch’ to his son and daughter-in-law.

Mr Trump responded: ‘It shows you what a good man King Charles is. He’s a much better person than I am. I wouldn’t have done it. I would have said forget it.’

The President said Harry and Meghan had been guilty of ‘too much hate, too many really bad things’

He said the Sussexes, and particularly Harry, had been ‘very terrible’ to Prince William 

Bev then joked: ‘But your children probably wouldn’t have done what Harry did to his father, the relationship is different.’

Mr Trump laughed, telling Bev: ‘Well, I hope not!’

Heaping further praise on the King, the US President reflected on the monarch’s recent visit to America and how ‘everybody loved him’.

He told Bev: ‘If I were King Charles, I would not take them back. There’s too much. He was here a couple of months ago, everybody loved him in America. He spoke in front of Congress, everybody loved him. He’s a fantastic guy.

‘And he’s been a friend of mine for a long time. I knew him as Prince Charles, I know him as King Charles, and he’s amazing and he’s fighting through a very tough situation with his health, and very few people would have that bravery to do what he’s done.’

The US President had previously addressed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s US exit during a meeting with travel executives in the Oval Office at the White House on Wednesday evening.

When asked about the Sussexes deciding to return to the UK, Mr Trump said: ‘I’m happy about it. I was not a fan. I had a very good relationship with the Queen, really good. I got to know her very well.

‘[I have] a really good relationship with King Charles. I know him as Prince Charles; I’ve known him for a long time.

‘He’s a great guy, and I thought they [Meghan and Harry] treated the Royal Family with great disrespect. I didn’t like the way she acted.

‘I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles. Maybe I’m different; I would not have taken them back.’

President Donald Trump had earlier cheered the news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle‘s surprise return to the UK. 

Speaking of the Sussexes’ decision to leave their home in Montecito and move back to Britain, Trump said: ‘I’m happy about it.’

‘I was not a fan,’ he added, noting that he had a ‘very good relationship with the Queen and with [King] Charles’.

‘I thought they treated the Royal Family with great disrespect. I didn’t like it,’ Trump told reporters of Harry and Meghan. ‘I didn’t like the way she acted.’

‘I thought she was terribly disrespectful to the Queen, to King Charles,’ Trump said of Meghan’s behavior and the couple’s decision to step back from their royal duties six years ago. 

‘I don’t know, maybe I’m different. I wouldn’t have taken them back,’ Trump said, before adding: ‘If I were the Royal Family, I would not have taken them back.’

Harry and Meghan told King Charles last month that they would be moving back to Britain with their children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, who are slated to begin school there this week. 

The Sussexes are now staying in the UK for an ‘extended period’ after flying into the country on August 26.

Prince Harry, Prince Archie, Princess Lilibet and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in a family photo released in December last year . They are back in the UK

Prince Harry and his then-fiancee, Meghan Markle, pose for a photograph in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace in 2017

The family is said to be eyeing a home in the Cotswolds, an area that has gained prominence in recent years among wealthy Silicon Valley tech moguls and Hollywood elites – perhaps further endearing the area to Markle, a Golden State native.

While the couple appeared to be leading a quiet, private life in Montecito, California, the pair had made no secret of their disillusionment with the current administration.

And with the November midterm elections fast approaching, concerns about the direction of the US have been top-of-mind, People magazine first reported. 

Their return to Britain was cheered by some in Trump’s orbit, who mocked the news following reports that the decision was motivated in part by their views of the current president. 

Katie Miller, the wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, shared a report about their move on social media, noting: ‘They are moving back to Britain because they don’t like President Trump.’

Conservative personality Megyn Kelly also responded to their move and their decision to step down as senior members of the working family six years ago – a decision many dubbed ‘Megxit.’

‘We’ve done our time here in America my dear friend!’ Kelly said on X, replying to Right-wing commentator Dan Wootton’s post about Megxit being ‘reversed.’

The family is not severing their California ties for good, however. They plan to keep their home in Montecito, as well as a separate vacation property they own in Portugal. 

King Charles and Trump share a laugh at the White House state dinner in April 2026. The monarch filled his speech with jokes – including about the Boston Tea Party

Trump previously said he and the late Queen Elizabeth II had an ‘incredible’ relationship

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‘What is absolutely crucial is that Harry never fell out of love with Britain – he fell out of love with the circumstances he found himself living in, and those are very different things,’ Harry’s friend Alex Rayner, who went with him on a charity trek to the North Pole in 2011, and remains in regular contact with him, told the Daily Mail of their return.

Others spoke of ‘an increasing and significant shift in sentiment, a feeling the American dream might not be all it was cracked up to be.’

That sentiment does not appear to be one-sided, either. ‘This is coming from Meghan as well as from him,’ a friend told the Daily Mail. ‘I hear that Meghan is all for rekindling with and reconnecting with Harry’s English side. She is fully behind it.’

President Trump and King Charles indeed appear to share a warm relationship. 

Their camaraderie was on full display in April, when Trump hosted Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House for the first state dinner of his second term – and to celebrate the country’s 250th birthday. 

Both Trump and the King made comments about their countries’ shared backstories, with Charles calling the fete a ‘very considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.’ 

The King also called attention to the president’s ‘readjustments’ to the East Wing, which is no longer standing. 

‘I’m sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814,’ the King joked. 

The boy cannot be named for legal reasons

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A high school ‘star pupil’ has been sentenced to youth detention after stabbing a pupil in the back, a court heard.

The 15 year old, who cannot be named, knifed his teen victim in an apparent revenge attack after believing he had been speaking badly about him.

He is said to have lurked near the shops in Brookfield, Preston, in waiting for his victim and was seen circling the area on his bike.

When he saw the other boy approaching with a friend, he ran up behind them and lunged at his victim with a knife before telling him: “You’ve just been chopped”, Lancs Live reports.

Prosecutor Francis McEntee said the attack, which happened at 7:21pm on March 17, 2026, was premeditated and motivated by revenge. He played CCTV footage, taken from outside a house on Ingleton Road, which showed the attacker running up behind the unsuspecting schoolboy.

The youngster thought he had been punched and walked away from the attack but when he arrived home, a short distance away, he realised he had blood coming from his head.

He was taken to Royal Preston Hospital by ambulance where he was treated for knife wounds to his torso, the back of his neck and a defensive wound to his hand.

Michael Lavery, defending, said the boy had received glowing school reports and was considered to be academically high-achieving. However, he had adverse experiences in his childhood and was suspected of having autism.

These contributed to a heightened threat response, poor emotional awareness and emotional detachment, a psychological report said.

Sentencing, Judge Philip Parry said the teenager’s parents had worked with the authorities and sought support with their son. He said the teenager’s psychological profile helped to explain why ‘an intelligent boy could behave in such a catastrophic way.’

He said: “You told the author of the pre-sentence report that there was an issue between you and the other boy which you interpreted to be him being out to get you. You took a knife out in case he had one and was going to hurt you.

“I see no evidence at all of him threatening to hurt you or carrying a knife. There is no justification for you to take that knife from home and go in search of him, then waiting to find him and attacking him from behind.

“You offer no apology to your victim. Your only regret is you wish you had attacked him with just your fists, not with a knife.”

The judge said it was ‘concerning’ that the attack took place after intervention from the Youth Justice team after the teenager was cautioned for being involved with class A drug supply at a previous time.

“That intervention was unable to prevent serious future offending by you”, he said.

The court heard the youngster was initially charged with attempted murder, however he pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of section 18 wounding, along with possession of a bladed article.

Judge Parry said he must pass sentence based on the sentencing guidelines for young people, which prioritise rehabilitation and preventing future offending. However he said the offence was so serious it could only be met with an order for youth detention.

He said: “This was very serious offending indeed. There is too much knife crime on our streets. Young men and boys lose their lives frequently in knife attacks similar to this one.

“It is as depressing as it is terrifying.”

The victim said he now feels on edge and on high alert as a result of the attack. He is receiving counselling in an attempt to move forwards, he said.

Judge Parry handed down a two-year detention and training order meaning the 15-year-old will spend a year in custody and a year under supervision in the community.

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Officers are searching for the missing man, named Anthony, from Aberystwyth, who is believed to have travelled to the Whitby area.

Anthony was reported missing on Wednesday, August 26, and is believed to have travelled to Whitby the following day, North Yorkshire Police said.

The force urged anyone with information about Anthony’s whereabouts to get in touch.

Aberystwyth and Machynlleth Police said Anthony could be using a dark blue Nissan car, and it is believed he may have also travelled towards the Norfolk or Suffolk areas.

Police said Anthony is described as being 5ft 9 tall and of a stocky build. He has short grey hair which is brushed back and has tattoos on both arms.

He was last seen wearing a light blue polo shirt, black trousers and black shoes with a gold necklace, and walks with a slight limp.

The ten-year-old fought back tears of joy in a heartwarming moment as she met her hero

Young fan Clodagh Keating told of her delight after being brought into the ring by Katie Taylor at the boxing great’s open workout on Wednesday evening.

The 10-year-old from Coolock fought back tears of joy in a heartwarming moment as Taylor showed her some boxing techniques at The Helix in Dublin.

“It felt so amazing,” Clodagh told RTE afterwards. “I couldn’t believe when someone just lifted me over and said you’re going to go and meet Katie.

“I’ve always wanted to meet her for so long and it just made me so upset that I went into the ring and she gave me her gloves as well… it’s just so sweet that that I got picked out.”

Taylor said seeing the joy on Clodagh’s face, as well as all the other young girls in attendance, means more to her than any world titles.

“That’s the greatest part to see so many little girls here and imagining all the thousands of stories of those little girls in the stadium on Saturday night who might be at a boxing event for the very first time or might be watching for the very first time,” she said.

“I’m hoping that these little girls actually fall in love with this beautiful sport and surpass anything that I’ve ever achieved and that’s what it’s all about.

“Just looking at Clodagh’s little face, the smile on her face, that’s worth more than any of these titles.”

Taylor is just days away from her last ever fight. She faces France’s Flora Pili at Croke Park in what is set to be one of the greatest nights in Irish sporting history.

Taylor, who turned 40 in July, says she feels as good as ever and is ready to deliver one last massive performance in front of over 80,000 people.

“I feel great, I think 40 is the new 30, isn’t it?” she told DAZN after her workout.

“I obviously just turned 40 a few weeks ago but I feel great, thank God. It’s been an amazing few months, preparing for this fight.

“I’m expecting a tough fight but this is what I’m made for, this is what I’m born for.

“This isn’t going to be a walk in the park, I have a tough, young challenger in front of me, but I purposely chose a tough challenger for my final fight.

“I built my whole reputation on taking tough fights throughout my whole career. Why treat my last fight any differently?”

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

At least 80 people, including a baby, have been found dead on a boat that had been adrift for 26 days off Spain’s Canary Islands.

Spain’s news agency EFE Noticias reported that the victims were discovered in a small vessel off the islands, which lie off the coast of northwest Africa.

The Civil Guard told Spanish NGO Caminando Fronteras that the boat had likely travelled from Gambia, according to inscriptions on the vessel’s hull.

The boat, which was rescued on Thursday morning, was carrying around 128 people. Only 45 survivors and five bodies were found on board, EFE reported.

Survivors on the boat, which was brought to the port of Arguineguin in Gran Canaria, reportedly told the Red Cross they had left for the Canary Islands with more than 100 people on board.

It comes one day after the Moroccan navy intercepted 201 migrants attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands after departing from Western Sahara. The boat was intercepted 185 kilometres (115 miles) southwest of Dakhla, according to the Moroccan general staff, EFE.

The Independent has contacted the Maritime Rescue, Guardia Civil, and Red Cross for further comment.

The western Africa to Canary Islands migrant route has become one of the world’s most deadly in recent years, with lives lost rising by 480 per cent between 2019 and 2025 (202 to 1,172), according to the Migration’s Missing Migrant’s Project.

“We’re seeing that, because the counter-smuggling enforcement on a lot of the West and North African departure countries is getting stricter, people are leaving from as far south as the Gambia, an overseas journey of weeks, which is crazy when it’s often a fishing boat,” a spokesperson for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which runs the MMP, previously told The Independent.

More to follow…

Motorists in England, Scotland and Wales may already be seeing the new ‘76’ vehicle registration numbers on the road after they were released on Tuesday.

Amid the release of the new number plates, the DVLA has warned drivers to be on the lookout for stolen plates.

Posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, the agency said: “Be aware of stolen number plates. If you’ve lost yours, make sure you get one from a registered number plate supplier.

“You’ll need

• an identity document
• proof you can use the registration number”

Be aware of stolen number plates. If you’ve lost yours, make sure you get one from a registered number plate supplier.

You’ll need:

• an identity document
• proof you can use the registration number

For more, go to: https://t.co/jsU9sNaxN1 pic.twitter.com/OZDuBU3CMD

— Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (@DVLAgovuk) August 28, 2026

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For more information, you can visit the DVLA website here.

DVLA number plate fine warning

The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is reminding drivers to check their own plates meet the required specifications.

Plates that do not comply can lead to a fine and an MOT failure.

The DVLA said: “Number plates (also known as licence plates) must show your registration number correctly. You cannot rearrange letters or numbers, or alter them so that they’re hard to read.

“You could be fined up to £1,000 and your vehicle will fail its MOT test if you drive with incorrectly displayed number plates.”

Is your number plate legal?

These are the rules you should be aware of around licence plates from the DVLA.

The number plates on your vehicle must:

• be made from a reflective material
• display black characters on a white background (front plate)
• display black characters on a yellow background (rear plate)
• not have a background pattern
• be marked to show who supplied the number plate
• be marked with a British Standard number – this is ‘BS AU 145e’ for plates fitted after 1 September 2021

The characters must not be removable or reflective. If your number plates were fitted after 1 September 2021, they must also be a single shade of black.

Your number plates can also:

• have 3D (raised) characters
• display certain flags, symbols and identifiers
• display a green flash, if you have a zero-emission vehicle

Graham Conway, Managing Director at Select Car Leasing , said: “Characters must not be removable or reflective, however, your number plates can have 3D (raised) characters, display certain flags, symbols and identifiers and display a green flash, if you have a zero-emission vehicle.

“It’s important to drivers to understand the nuances of what’s required for their licence plates as even the smallest modifications could make it illegal. For example, 3D characters are allowed on licence plates, but if the raised letters are not black or have a reflective coating on them, this could make them illegal.

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“It’s also important for drivers to understand that any modifications around their licence plate, that could make it unreadable, are also considered illegal.

“For example, licence plate lights must be white – not tinted blue or any other colour – and need to illuminate the plate evenly without causing any shadows. The bulbs themselves must not be visible.

“Failure to meet these requirements can result in fines of up to £1,000, as well as an MOT failure for the vehicle.

“Motorists looking to replace or customise their plates should only buy from DVLA-registered suppliers who follow the legal guidelines. Plates that feature illegal fonts, incorrect spacing, tinted backgrounds, or missing supplier information can all lead to penalties.

“For those unsure whether their plates comply, checking with a reputable supplier or consulting DVLA guidelines is the safest way to avoid unnecessary fines or complications.”

Race Across The World victor Alfie Watts has opened up about his relationship with his family and said he no longer speaks to them.

The 23-year-old stormed to victory on the globe-trotting BBC show in 2024, competing alongside his friend Owen Wood on a route that spanned 15,000 kilometres from Japan to Indonesia.

During his stint on the show, the football referee movingly spoke to Wood about losing his mother to breast cancer. He was also seen releasing a lantern in Vietnam in her honour.

He did not know his father until he was a teenager, so was predominantly raised by his grandmother in St Albans, Hertfordshire.

In a new podcast appearance, Watts has spoken about how his differing approach to grief caused a rift between him and his family.

Appearing on Matt Willis’s On The Mend podcast, he said: ‘Me and my family have never got on. Basically, I cannot resonate with a giving-up attitude. It’s not in me and they gave up. That really annoyed me, even from an early age.’

He continued: ‘At that point, they just decided that there was nothing left to live for, even though they had so many years to turn things around and make something for themselves.

‘There was never any passion to go out and see anything, any kind of hobbies, any urge to go and see friends. 

‘Any time I did something, it was almost like I felt guilty for it because I should be feeling this level of grief they were experiencing.’

He went on to say that gap got ‘worse and worse’ as he grew older and more successful, adding: ‘It’s completely boiled over in the past year. As a three, we now just don’t talk to each other.’

Watts went on to say that he has had to discover a found family outside his bloodline, with close friends and a form tutor at school who became a pivotal male role model for him.

After being crowned the victors of Race Across The World 2024, Watts told Metro how his friends factored in his plans for spending his winnings. 

He revealed he ‘had a great summer’ with the winnings, telling us: ‘I took all of my friends away.

‘The whole thing was I was gonna do Race Across The World, then I was going to have a period after where I went travelling again, and then I was going to settle down and become an air traffic controller.’

But life took a different turn, as he instead became a social media influencer, adding: ‘It hasn’t quite gone as I’d imagined back then. There is a part of me now that actually wishes I’d been a bit more responsible with the money. But you adapt to what’s in front of you.’

Race Across The World airs on BBC One.

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