When it opens, it’ll offer coaching programmes, including school outreach and inclusive sessions

A much anticipated new padel centre in Peterborough has applied for a licence that will enable it to sell alcohol and offer live entertainment. Smash Haus Padel Ltd is looking to make further use of the Lincoln Road warehouse unit it secured as a sports venue at the end of last year.

In its application to Peterborough City Council on March 10, the company applied for a Premises Licence that would allow it to offer three activities:

• ‘On sales’ of alcohol from 10am to 10.30pm, Monday to Sunday
• Film screenings from 7am to 10.30pm, Monday to Sunday
• Indoor sporting events and live & recorded music from 7am to 11pm

Peterborough City Council granted Smash Haus Padel Ltd permission to construct four padel courts within a then empty warehouse at 1184 Lincoln Road on November 4, 2025. When it opens, padel fans will be able to book padel sessions by the hour between 7am and 10pm, Monday to Saturday and between 8am and 9pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays.

In addition, the venue will also offer coaching programmes, including school outreach and inclusive sessions for women and girls, and disability introduction sessions. It is believed the centre – the third padel development to be approved in Peterborough over the past year – will eventually employ four full-time staff members.

Any person wishing to have their say on the issue of Smash Haus Padel Ltd’s Premises Licence application must make their representation to Peterborough City Council at Sand Martin House by April 6, 2026.

Vantage Toyota York has won Best Retailer in Toyota’s Retailer in Town (BRIT) awards.

The dealership at Clifton Moor Gate has been runner-up for the past two year.

The centre also won an Ichiban Award (Large Retailer).

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Toyota says throughout 2025 the team focused on core values – meeting the customer’s needs and making consistent improvements in operations and behaviours.

Dipash Chauhan, Centre Principal, Vantage Toyota York said: “Awards are amazing, but they’re earned daily. We’ll keep focusing on people first: our customers, our colleagues and developing the next generation of leaders within the business.”

The Ichiban Award (Small Retailer) was won by Vantage Toyota Scarborough.

Peter Stableford, Centre Principal for the Centre said: “It was great when we found out we had won the Ichiban Award. We always try to do the basics right and put customers at the heart of everything we do. We never set our goal out to be number one in the BRIT awards, we just do our best every day and the results then follow.”

The Vantage Motor Group (North Yorkshire CDA) also won Best Toyota CDA.

The blaze at Tenants March, just outside West Calder, took hold at around 8pm on March 18.

Residents of a sleepy West Lothian street were forced into action after a gang of youths reportedly started a fire in a field opposite their homes.

The blaze at Tenants March, just outside West Calder, took hold at around 8pm on March 18.

A local claims around eight teens dressed all in black are said to have set alight grass next to a wooden fence bordering a lane running from the road into the village, before fleeing and worrying sheep in another field.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were called by a passing motorist. One local explained how he and his neighbour had to act quickly to control the flames before crews arrived.

READ MORE: Police appealing for information following housebreaking in Polbeth

He told Edinburgh Live: “I was more worried about it spreading down the lane . It was grass that they had lit and it was travelling quickly along the fence line and causing further fire in the opposite hedge. It could easily have spread.

“The kids were also in fields at back of my house same ones chasing and shouting at the sheep which are all in lamb just now.”

Pictures from the scene show the flames roaring around wooden fence posts, and the charred state of the grass on Thursday morning.

Police Scotland have confirmed nobody was injured, but enquiries are underway.

The resident also shared his concerns about other incidents involving youths in the village, including riding motorbikes and e-bikes in farmers’ fields.

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He added: “I get it young people do make mistakes but they also need to be held responsible for their actions. And parents need to try their best to be aware of what their children are doing and not ignore concerning behaviour like this.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 8.10pm on Wednesday, March 18, to reports of a fire in the open at Tenants March, West Calder, West Lothian.

“Operations Control mobilised one appliance to the scene and firefighters extinguished a hedge fire. Crews left the scene at 8.24pm once ensuring the area was made safe.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We were made aware of a fire on Tenants March, West Calder, around 8pm on Wednesday, March 18.

“There were no reports of any injuries and enquiries are at an early stage.”

READ MORE: Historic West Lothian town named as Scotland’s best place to live

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Utility Meters Warehouse Ltd, based in Manchester, launched back in March 2013 and is “the UK’s Premier One-Stop Solution Company for Gas Pressure Control & Measurement Equipment”.

The company deals with gas pressure regulators, gas meter modules, and gas volume converters.

The Utility Meters Warehouse Ltd website adds: “Our mission as the UK’s Premier One-Stop Solution Company for Gas Pressure Control & Measurement Equipment is to make a significant contribution to the reduction in consumption of natural gas by technically advancing gas control methodologies and the adoption of the same across the Utilities Industry.”

British gas company enters administration

After 13 years, Utility Meters Warehouse Ltd is now at risk of closing.

The Manchester-based gas company has entered administration, according to the London Gazette.

Michael Lennon and Mark Blackman from KR8 Advisory Limited were appointed joint administrators on March 12 and will now manage the company’s affairs.

What happens when a company goes into administration?

Put simply, when a company enters administration, it means that it is unable to pay expenses, debts, or other liabilities, according to SquareUp.com.

Companies House adds: “When a company goes into administration, they have entered a legal process (under the Insolvency Act 1986) with the aim of achieving one of the statutory objectives of an administration. This may be to rescue a viable business that is insolvent due to cashflow problems.

“An appointment of an administrator (a licensed insolvency practitioner) will be made by directors, a creditor or the court to fulfil the administration process.”

A statutory moratorium is put in place once a company enters administration, giving it “breathing space” to allow for financial restructuring plans to be drawn up free from creditor enforcement actions.

A company can continue to trade while in administration, but daily management and control is handed over to the administrators.

Companies House continues: “Within 8 weeks it is the administrators’ role to formulate administration proposals.

“Creditors are then asked to vote by a decision procedure to approve the administrators’ proposals.

“If the administration involves a sale of all or part of the company’s business, the proceeds (after the costs of the procedure) will be distributed to creditors in a statutory order of priority.”

Administration will end automatically after 12 months unless the administrator asks the court or creditors for an extension.

Through administration, a company can be:

• Rescued and passed back to the directors
• Enter liquidation
• Be dissolved

Turbulent start to 2026 for UK high street

It has been a rough start to 2026 for the UK high street, with several retailers entering administration and others announcing widespread store closures.

Major high street retailers, including River Island, Primark, and Poundland, have already been forced to close stores in 2026, while Revolution and BrewDog have shut the doors to 21 and 38 pubs, respectively.

Several other retailers have fallen into administration recently, including:

Meanwhile, four UK travel companies have closed in the opening weeks of 2026:

EcoJet Airlines, billed as “the world’s first Electric Airline”, has also entered liquidation after just three years, resulting in the cancellation of all planned flights.

UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.

Tesco also recently revealed plans to cut 380 jobs in stores across the UK, while it’s been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.

It’s not been all bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.

Would the closure of Utility Meters Warehouse Ltd impact you? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.

Hungry gulls do not only steal our chips and sandwiches. They learn our habits, and look for reliable sources of food. That includes waste treatment centres, landfill or anywhere food waste is concentrated. Many gull populations have moved inland from the coast to exploit these sources of food.

Wherever our waste is processed, gulls and other birds can forage. At landfills, gulls feed on waste before it is covered up. If there are plastic or glass pieces covered in food that are small enough, gulls will swallow them whole. Only the food itself gets digested, and when the gull flies back to its roost site, the waste gets regurgitated, polluting that site. This movement of pollutants is known as “biovectoring”.

For the first time, scientists like me are now quantifying just how much plastic and other waste is being leaked into important nature areas through the daily movements of birds.

Many lesser black-backed gulls breeding in the UK and other parts of northern Europe migrate to Andalusia in southern Spain, where they form a wintering population of over 100,000 feeding mainly in rice fields and landfills. Fortunately, many of these birds are fitted with GPS tags while breeding. This enables detailed tracking of their movements.

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Fuente de Piedra lake in Málaga is a hotspot for migrating lesser black-backed gulls. This wetland has such special natural significance, it’s designated as an internationally important site under a global convention known as Ramsar. It’s most famous for the largest breeding colony of flamingos in Spain. Gulls fly up to 50 miles to landfills to feed, then fly back to roost.

By combining GPS data with waterbird counts, and analyses of regurgitated pellets, scientists have estimated that an average of 400kg of plastics, plus more than two tonnes of other debris such as glass, textiles or ceramics, are deposited by this gull species into the lake each year. This lake has no outflow, making it salty and hence flamingo friendly. Those imported plastics remain in the lake, breaking down into microplastics. They can be ingested by flamingo chicks, aquatic insects and other animals.

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In coastal Andalusia, these gulls join the resident yellow-legged gulls (equivalent to our herring gulls) and a mixture of migratory and resident white storks as the three major waterbird visitors to landfills.

In the Cádiz Bay wetlands (another Ramsar site), surrounding the historical city that is now a favourite stop for cruise ships, the three species combine to spread different types and sizes of plastics into different microhabitats. Annually, 530kg of plastics are deposited into wetlands via regurgitated pellets. Although a stork is bigger, so transports more waste per bird, most of the plastic is again moved by the lesser black-backed gulls that winter there in larger numbers.

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This waste ingestion has strong effects on the birds themselves, through direct mortality from diseases, choking or becoming entangled with plastics, and toxic effects of the additives within them. Then after regurgitation in pellets, those plastics are a threat to all fauna and readily enter our food supply through aquaculture and table salt production, both important in Cádiz Bay.

These studies in Spain address a problem that is ongoing all over Europe. There are no comparable quantitative studies yet in the UK, but similar problems occur wherever gulls concentrate to feed on our waste. If white storks become abundant in the UK future, they will probably visit our landfills, together with gulls and perhaps cattle egrets.

The sealing of many landfills, and improvements in waste management may have contributed to recent declines in many gull populations in the UK and elsewhere. But these problems of plastic leakage will continue so long as our consumer society generates so much waste. Reducing waste, and reusing things is better than recycling, partly because food containers may get eaten by birds before they can be recycled. Cleaning our food containers before we bin them, and composting our own food waste, can also help to reduce this phenomenon.

It’s understood the young man, who was aged in his 30s, was working on a roof at the farm

Tributes have been paid to a young man who died in a tragic farm accident.

Emergency services were called to reports of a sudden death on a farm in Co Tyrone on Thursday. The incident occurred in the Drumenny Road area of Cookstown.

The victim, who has been named locally as Richard Wallace, was from the Moneymore area of Co Derry. It’s understood Mr Wallace, who was aged in his 30s, was working on a roof at the farm.

READ MORE: Man dies in incident on Co Tyrone farmREAD MORE: Search for missing Newry man stood down after body found

Police, the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service and the charity Air Ambulance attended the scene.

The death is not being treated as suspicious and the Northern Ireland Health and Safety Executive is investigating.

A death notice described Mr Wallace as the ‘precious and much adored youngest son of Stephen and Julie, dearly loved brother of Graeme, much loved grandson of Danny and Elizabeth (Robinson) and the late Sammy and Josie (Wallace) and a cherished nephew and cousin’.

Many tributes have also been paid on social media with many remembering him as a true character and gentleman” and “one of the best.”

One heartbroken friend said: “Was an absolute pleasure to call this man my friend for the best part of 20years. From cycling the roads in the summer as cubs to countless nights out, you were always the soul of the party and I have memories il cherish forever. You will be missed greatly. Until we meet again Our boy.”

Another said: “Ballyeglish will never be the same without u buddy! The hardest working and honest lad taken from us to soon. Sleep easy.”

“Great memories in school and the band growing up, always with a smile on his face! Thinking of the family at this heartbreaking time,” said a third.

Another added: “Such awful news! Such fond memories of school days. Richard was always the class clown, who made everyone laugh! RIP Richard!”

Meanwhile Bruce’s True Blues Accordion Band in Bellaghy said: “Our thoughts are with Stephen, Julie and Graeme following the tragic death earlier today of Richard.

“A dedicated bandsman, Richard in his youth was a member of Ballymoughan Purple Guards Magherafelt, following his Dad & brother, although as a drummer not a fluter like them. In more recent years he drummed with Dunamoney Flute Band and we also think of his band families in both bands.

“We also have in our thoughts the wider Robinson & Wallace family circle, especially his grandparents Danny & Elizabeth Robinson & Aunts & Uncles Amanda (David), Glenn (Kathryn), Susan (Melvyn) and their families.”

Desertmartin Accordion Band added: “As a band we wish to pass on our condolences to Stephen, Julie, and Graeme on the tragic passing of Richard. Trying to process how and why a young lad was tragically killed is very difficult for any of us, never mind the family.

“We pray for God’s grace for the family and fellow band members to get through this. None of us know the hour.”

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police and other emergency services attended a sudden death in the Drumenny Road area of Cookstown on Thursday morning, March 19.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious and the Health and Safety Executive has been informed.”

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Neighbours on Hunt Street in Atherton have won today, March 20, on the People’s Postcode Lottery.

Ticket holders on the street, which is covered by the M46 9JF postcode, are each entitled to £1,000 as part of the lottery’s daily prize.

They won alongside 19 other postcodes nationwide.

The People’s Postcode Lottery manages lotteries for 20 charities, with each one having one draw a month.

The lottery supports “a wide range of charities and good causes across Britain and around the world”.

To date, they’ve provided more than £1.1 billion in funding, which is helping thousands of organisations and projects.

Forwards: Christiana Balogun (Bristol Bears), Sarah Bern (Bristol Bears, 79 caps), Hannah Botterman (Bristol Bears), Abi Burton (Trailfinders Women), May Campbell (Saracens), Mackenzie Carson (Saracens), Kelsey Clifford (Saracens), Amy Cokayne (Sale Sharks, vice captain), Maddie Feaunati (Exeter Chiefs), Liz Hanlon (Harlequins), Daisy Hibbert-Jones (Loughborough Lightning), Lilli Ives Campion (Loughborough Lightning), Sadia Kabeya (Loughborough Lightning), Haineala Lutui (Loughborough Lightning), Alex Matthews (Gloucester-Hartpury, vice captain), Annabel Meta (Trailfinders Women), Maud Muir (Gloucester-Hartpury), Marlie Packer (Saracens), Connie Powell (Harlequins), Demelza Short (Bristol Bears), Morwenna Talling (Sale Sharks), Jodie Verghese (Saracens, uncapped)

Backs: Holly Aitchison (Sale Sharks), Jess Breach (Saracens), Millie David (Bristol Bears), Zoe Harrison (Saracens), Tatyana Heard (Gloucester-Hartpury), Natasha Hunt (Gloucester-Hartpury), Megan Jones (Trailfinders Women, captain), Ellie Kildunne (Harlequins), Claudia Moloney-MacDonald (Exeter Chiefs), Lucy Packer (Harlequins), Sarah Parry (Harlequins), Flo Robinson (Exeter Chiefs), Helena Rowland (Loughborough Lightning), Emma Sing (Gloucester-Hartpury), Mia Venner (Gloucester-Hartpury), Bo Westcombe-Evans (Loughborough Lightning)

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live 2026 have been released – and a Cambridgeshire city has made it onto the list

A Cambridgeshire city has been named among the best places to live in Britain by The Sunday Times. Cambridge has been identified among the best places to live in the East of England in the list, released on Friday, (March 20).

Expert judges from The Sunday Times visited all the locations and assessed factors including schools, transport, broadband speeds, culture, access to green spaces, and the health of the high street to determine the best places to live.

Cambridge was named among the best locations in the East of England, alongside Norwich, Manningtree, Essex, Bedford, Chelmsford, Essex, Saffron Walden, Essex, and Woodbridge in Suffolk. The overall East of England winner was Manningtree in Essex. Norwich in Norfolk was named the best place to live in the UK.

Helen Davies, editorial projects director and Best Places to Live editor, says: “This guide is a great opportunity to highlight the best places in Britain. It is full of places that show that our village, town and city centres can still be full of life, as well as places bursting with natural beauty, culture, connectivity and most importantly a sense of community.

“Our expert team of judges visit every location on the list and talk to the locals to find out what they love about the place they live. These judges have travelled the length and breadth of the UK, from the Scottish Highlands to the Cornish coast, selecting the top towns and villages, suburbs and cities for the 2026 guide.”

There are more new entries than ever before in this year’s guide. Judges looked for thriving locations with a strong sense of community rather than famous names with high house prices.

Helen added: “One thing all our chosen locations have in common is that the people who live in them are proud to call them home.”

The list entry about Cambridge said: “Cambridge is an A*-list location, known for three bs: beautiful buildings, brains and bicycles – and now a fourth, biotech. The city of gowns and historic colleges has transformed into a fenland science and tech powerhouse. The economy has boomed – along with the population and traffic – and house prices have become turbocharged.

“Yet the magnetic pull of the place that has nurtured more Nobel prizewinners than any other is hard to resist. Cambridge has top-class schools and is also the UK’s cycling capital, with about a third of trips in the town made by bike. The city has strong cultural foundations, a lively coffee scene and an excellent selection of interesting places to eat and drink.”

The guide was sponsored by mortgage lender Lloyds Banking Group for the first time this year. The lender provided an average house price for each location.

“For many, navigating the housing market can feel overwhelming,” Kate Townson, Lloyds relationship and customer development director said. “At Lloyds, our aim is to support all home buyers, including those taking their very first step onto the property ladder, with clear guidance, practical tools and tailored products that help them move forward with confidence and clarity.

“Our partnership with The Sunday Times Best Places to Live aims to give trusted insight into communities across the UK, helping homebuyers to make confident, informed decisions about their future home. ”