Officers were called to the beach after concerned members of the public saw the men on Sunday afternoon, June 21.
Police in Northern Ireland were called to reports of men “believed to have a knife” on a beach – only to find they were preparing for a barbecue.
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Families had been out enjoying the summer sun at Portstewart Strand, near Coleraine, in County Derry on the country’s north coast when a number of people spotted one of the men carrying the knife.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have moved quickly to allay fears after speaking with the men and discovering the innocent intentions behind the incident, reports Belfast Live.
Several officers were dispatched to the scene but it was quickly de-escalated. No crimes were recorded but officers did remove the knife which will be destroyed.
In a statement, PSNI said: “Police received a report of a number of men – one of whom was believed to have a knife – in the Portstewart Strand area on Sunday afternoon, 21st June.
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“Officers were immediately dispatched to the scene where they spoke with the men.
“A subsequent search of the men’s van established that they had been preparing barbecue at the beach and the knife was being used for this purpose.
“No criminal offences were noted, however the knife was removed for disposal. No further police action was taken.”
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In her twenty six years on the cobbles, she’s had a run of terrible relationships, including three – if we’re counting the sham one – marriages. Her longest running love story, though, is with her current husband, bad boy with a big heart, Gary Windass (Mikey North).
Gary supported Maria and her son, Liam Connor (Charlie Wrenshall), as he suffered a brutal bullying ordeal, which almost pushed him to harming himself, as the family struggled to secure the necessary support to but an end to Liam’s torment.
While he’s got quite the chequered past – and he did kill a guy that time – Gary has proven time and time again to be a solid presence in Maria’s life, an unwavering pillar of support, loyal and trustworthy…
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…although now, Maria’s convinced that she couldn’t trust him as far as she could throw him, and she believes he’s conducting an illicit affair with Sarah Platt (Tina O’Brien).
‘She’s known for a few weeks that something is definitely not right between her and Gary,’ Samia Longchambon mused.
Gary and Sarah have been acting strangely… (Picture: ITV)
…and Maria has clocked it! (Picture: ITV)
‘She’s been clocking these little sneaky conversations he’s been having with Sarah, and she’s put two and two together. She’s just convinced that they must be sleeping together.’
With the Kit Green’s (Jacob Roberts)dinner party from Hell just around the corner and with Sarah and Gary on the guest list alongside Todd and Summer Spellman (Harriet Bibby), Maria decides to go for the full public execution and, under the guise of making a toast, lays her accusations on the table.
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Maria makes a devastating announcement (Picture: ITV)
Is Gary cheating with Sarah?
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How does Maria feel once she’s pulled the pin out of the grenade? ‘She’s relieved to finally just get it off her chest because it’s been building up for so long.
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‘She’s also incredibly angry at them both because she thinks they’ve been pulling the wool over her and Kit’s eyes.
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‘But towards the end of the dinner party, you see that she’s just really hurt. Beneath it all, she’s actually a heartbroken woman who thinks she’s lost her man.’
From there, chaos ensues and the dinner party ends with broken glass everywhere and blood splattered across the dinner table.
‘She’s kind of lit the fuse… so she’s not shocked,’ Samia admitted.
Is this the end of Maria and Gary? (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV)
‘This is exactly what she wanted. The moment Kit invited her to the dinner party, she thought ‘Right, brilliant. This is where I’m going to do it. This is where I’m going to confront both of them and let it all out.’
Is this the end of Garia? Mary? …we’ll stick with Gary and Maria!
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‘I mean, it could be,’ Samia said, admitting that ‘It’s a lot to get through.’
‘If they can get through this, I feel like they can weather any storm. They’ve been through a lot of trials in their relationship already, but this is definitely the most challenging thing they’ve ever had to navigate.’
Samia enjoyed filming the big episode (Picture: Danielle Baguley/ITV)
Behind the scenes, Samia enthused about the filming of the episode: ‘Oh, it was brilliant!
‘It was so good because Dom Stephenson, our director, let us have an organised read-through first. Then we blocked it out on set in our own clothes, not our character costumes. It almost felt like we were doing a play, like a little spinoff drama for that period of time.
‘It was a real luxury because we don’t usually get that much time to spend on scenes together before we actually film them.’
Extreme heat and dry, windy conditions fueled several wildfires in the West on Sunday, including an uncontained blaze in Utah that forced the evacuation of a small town southwest of Salt Lake City.
The Iron Fire in Utah’s Juab County was first detected Saturday and had blackened 34 square miles (87 square kilometers), authorities said. The fire about 70 miles (113 kilometers) southwest of Salt Lake City forced the evacuation of Eureka, population 1,000, and people at a nearby ranch.
No homes had been lost, and UTAH Fire Info, a multiagency operation, said in a post on X that firefighters conducted a successful backburn operation to protect the town.
Kelly Wickens, a fire prevention specialist with the Utah Division of Forestry Fire and State Lands, warned that the fire was continuing to grow amid drought conditions. Wickens said the fire was human-caused and remains under investigation.
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Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox visited the town Sunday.
“We knew that there was going to be extreme fire danger, and sure enough we had multiple fires,” Cox said.
The Iron Fire was one of six fires burning in Utah at varying levels of containment.
A wildfire prompted evacuations over the weekend near Sedona, Arizona, burning about 300 acres (120 hectares) of steep and rugged terrain near Oak Creek Canyon. As of Sunday afternoon, about 300 fire personnel were fighting the blaze, which remained uncontained. Residents evacuated earlier were still not being allowed to return home.
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Much of the Western U.S. from the Rockies to the Pacific coast saw above-average temperatures this weekend with even hotter weather anticipated for early this week. Officials warned that the prolonged dry, hot weather and relatively low humidity increased the risk of fire danger.
Much of Utah is experiencing severe to extreme drought, while parts of Arizona and Colorado are experiencing severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. In Colorado, the southwest corner of the state was under a red flag warning issued by the National Weather Service until Monday, due to gusty winds and low relative humidity.
Extreme heat claimed the lives of three hikers in two separate incidents last week in the Grand Canyon. Temperatures were expected to climb in the Southwest on Sunday, with a forecast of up to 108 degrees Fahrenheit (42.2 C) in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Florida Forest Service said fire crews from across the state had nearly contained several brush fires in western Miami-Dade County in Florida,
A spokesperson for Bolton Police, via social media, said: “Callum Wilson, of Duchy Road, Salford, has been charged with arson following an incident at Eastgrove Avenue, Bolton, on June 10.
“He will appear at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court tomorrow morning (22/6/26).
“Emergency services attended the scene, and thankfully, no one was injured.”
Speaking at the time of the incident, Detective Chief Inspector Mike Sharples added: “Thankfully, no one was injured; however, the consequences of this could have been very different.”
The fourth installment in the Tom Holland-led superhero film series, out in theaters July 31, sees the British actor return opposite Zendaya as lovers Peter Parker/Spider-Man and MJ.
To celebrate the highly anticipated sequel, which arrives five years after the latest Spider-Man film in 2021, the movie theater chain designed a unique popcorn container featuring a Spider-Man arm topped with a white cone-like bowl and a straw in the middle, allowing fans to snack and drink from the same source.
While the white popcorn bowl is meant to look like a collection of webs, some have pointed out a suggestive visual resemblance.
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“Chum bucket remove the ‘h,’” one person quipped on Instagram while another laughed, “And someone approved that… Amazing.”
“The industry has been intentionally making these popcorn buckets look dirty for publicity ever since theDune 2 bucket,” a third argued, referring to the divisive design that featured a Sandworm mouth as a lid.
“I don’t want a spiderman jizz tornado thank you,” a fourth commented, with a fifth suggesting: “We need to chill on the popcorn buckets i think.”
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“No one actually thought about the cup I see,” someone else joked.
“Think I’ll stick with the one shaped like a building with Spidey crawling on it,” another responded.
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Spider-Man: Brand New Daymarks Holland’s fourth entry as the web-shooting superhuman. He first stepped into the role in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War, before leading Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
The new movie follows Parker as he transitions to protecting New York City as Spider-Man full-time. However, the unrelenting demands trigger a dangerous physical transformation that threatens his existence. Zendaya reprises her role of MJ, Parker’s witty, fiercely independent and intelligent classmate-turned-lover. Also joining the cast are Sadie Sink, Jon Bernthal, Tramell Tillman, Liza Colón-Zayas, and Marvin Jones III.
‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day,’ sees the return of Tom Holland as the web-shooting superhero (Disney/Sony)
Holland and Zendaya, who first met while filming Spider-Man: Homecoming and began dating in 2021, secretly tied the knot earlier this year. The former recently confirmed the marriage rumors, sparked in March by Zendaya’s longtime stylist, Law Roach.
“No, because they were all there,” Holland slyly told Esquire when asked whether he had to clarify to any other family members that AI-generated photos of their wedding were fake besides his grandma.
“Owen Cooper would be awesome,” he said of the 16-year-old star of Netflix’s hit miniseries Adolescence. “Obviously he’s super-talented and the talk of the town right now.”
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is out in theaters July 31.
Kyiv knows of four relay stations assisting Russian military activity, the Ukrainian president said, as he demanded the Belarusian government take action.
Belarus has been one of Moscow’s closest allies throughout the war, and its president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, is a close ally of Vladimir Putin.
“Belarus still has time to dismantle this equipment. We also know about every factory in Belarus that works for Russia and supports the war,” Mr Zelensky said.
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“If he doesn’t do it, we’ll do it,” Mr Zelensky said on Friday, without elaborating.
It comes after Ukraine launched another attack on a Russian oil refinery in Siberia, more than 2,500km (1,550 miles) east of the Ukrainian border.
The Tyumen refinery, one of the country’s most modern and complex, has a nominal capacity of around 8 million metric tons per year.
Meanwhile, Mr Zelensky said on Saturday that Russian forces were preparing an impending massive attack and warned residents to take special care as Russian strikes in different regions killed at least six people.
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One killed, three injured as Russia hits Odesa region with Iskander missile, governor says
One person was killed and three were injured after Russia hit Ukraine’s southern Odesa region with an Iskander ballistic missile on Sunday evening, Oleh Kiper, the regional governor, said on Telegram. He said vehicles and fuel storage tanks caught fire after the strike hit an agricultural facility in the Odesa district.
File: In this photo, provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Services on Monday, 8 June 2026, rescue workers extinguish a fire of an energy facility after a Russian strike in Odesa, Ukraine (AP)
The details could not be independently verified.
Namita Singh22 June 2026 04:04
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Post office and apartments damaged as 8 injured in attack on Sumy – ICYMI
Russia launched a fresh attack on Sumy on Sunday, with several buildings damaged.
Eight people were injured in the overnight attacks, according to Serhii Kryvosheienko, head of Sumy City Military Administration.
A post office, petrol station, apartment blocks and houses were damaged in the attack, he said.
Alex Croft22 June 2026 03:00
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Ukraine’s strengthening position in war has not relieved humanitarian crisis – IRC
Ukraine’s stronger position in the war with Russia has yet to relieve the humanitarian crisis felt by millions of displaced Ukrainians and worsened by a plunge in aid spending, the head of the International Rescue Committee said.
Ukraine has slowed Russia’s advances on the battlefield to a virtual halt in recent months, prompting G7 leaders to recognise at a summit last week that momentum in the war has shifted.
Speaking during a visit to Ukraine, David Miliband, the IRC’s president and CEO, said it was still vital to recognise the impact of aid cuts, led by the U.S., that has halved the IRC’s budget in the country to a current estimate of $20 million in 2027 from $40 million last year.
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“It feels particularly important at a time when there is this new sense of a different geopolitical narrative to recognise the brutality and strain that’s being faced by millions of Ukrainians,” Mr Miliband said on Saturday, World Refugee Day.
Alex Croft22 June 2026 01:30
Watch: Zelensky warns Ukrainians of ‘massive attack’ from Russia as strikes kill at least six people
Zelensky warns Ukrainians of ‘massive attack’ from Russia as strikes kill at least six people
Alex Croft22 June 2026 00:00
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Ukraine drone attacks kill five in Crimea and Krasnodar region
At least four people were killed and 28 wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian-controlled peninsula of Crimea, the Russian-installed governor said.
Separately, local authorities in Russia’s Krasnodar region said a Ukrainian drone attack killed one person on a passenger ferry and set an oil terminal ablaze.
The ferry service across the Kerch Strait, separating Crimea from the Krasnodar region, has been temporarily suspended, the authorities said.
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Alex Croft21 June 2026 23:00
Bulletin | Zelensky tells Belarus to dismantle tech used by Russia – or face force
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Belarus to dismantle relay stations he claims are crucial for Russian drone attacks on Ukraine.
Here’s all you need to know in five bullet points:
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Alex Croft21 June 2026 22:02
Former Ukrainian PM latest to return Polish state honour
Former Ukrainian prime minister Volodymyr Hroisman is the latest Ukrainian politician to return the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland.
Mr Hroisman received the honour in 2011 while serving as mayor of Vinnytsia, for developing regional cooperation with Polish cities during this time.
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“I am returning the order as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine and President Zelensky. Not out of resentment towards the Polish people, but with deep respect for them and gratitude for all the years of support, for the millions of Poles who opened their hearts and homes to our people after 24 February,” he said on Facebook.
It comes as part of an ongoing dispute over Poland and Ukraine’s shared history, after Polish president Karol Nawrocki stripped Volodymyr Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle after he named a Ukrainian military unit after the Ukrainian Insurgent Army – which Warsaw says carried out a genocide of Poles in the 1940s.
Alex Croft21 June 2026 21:00
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Russia frees 24 Filipinos after Marcos talks with Putin
Russia has freed 24 Filipinos who were detained for months without charges in a Siberian city, after Philippine president Ferdinand Marcos Jr. raised concern for them in a meeting with president Vladimir Putin, Philippine officials said on Saturday.
The 24 arrived in Manila aboard two flights early Sunday, and the first batch was welcomed by Philippine foreign secretary Theresa Lazaro, who accompanied Marcos in his talks with Putin on Wednesday in the Russian city of Kazan, the department of foreign affairs in Manila said.
Migrant Workers secretary Hans Cacdac welcomed the final batch of freed workers before dawn. His agency provided unspecified aid to the workers, who were detained in a Russian region known for its extreme winter temperatures.
Alex Croft21 June 2026 20:01
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Trump claims Moscow losing more troops than Kyiv as he admits Putin on ‘the offensive’ – ICYMI
Trump claims Moscow losing more troops than Kyiv as he admits Putin on ‘the offensive’
Alex Croft21 June 2026 19:02
Recap: Ukraine accepts proposal from Brazil’s Lula to work for peace, Kyiv adviser says
President Volodymyr Zelensky has accepted an offer from Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to help work for a peace deal in Russia’s war in Ukraine, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Friday.
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Zelensky and Lula met on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in the French resort of Evian-les-Bains on Wednesday, where the Ukrainian leader urged allies to increase pressure on Russia to end the more than four-year-old war.
The two presidents discussed what could reactivate diplomacy and Lula proposed several ideas, including contacts with permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, presidential communications adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters.
“They agreed that, in particular, based on such ideas and contacts, they would try to achieve something and later they would discuss it based on the results,” Lytvyn said.
Separate amber heat health alerts have been issued by the UK Health Security Agency, now covering the majority of England inlcuding Greater Manchester from Monday morning until Friday night.
While these health alerts urge Britons to stay well hydrated and remain out of direct sunlight, those confined to stuffy classrooms have precious little control over their surroundings.
Consequently, schools across the UK are making extensive preparations for the blistering week ahead, with teachers working hard to prevent heat exhaustion and fainting among pupils in the soaring temperatures – both of which have been reported in recent years during particularly gruelling conditions.
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Why does hot weather pose such a challenge in schools?
Teachers, unions, schools and parents have all voiced serious concerns over rising classroom temperatures during the UK’s increasingly sweltering summers in recent years. Soaring temperatures can make concentration difficult at the best of times.
Pupils with special educational needs or other conditions may find it particularly challenging during an intense heatwave — and they are far from alone.
Teachers are equally affected, battling through the same sweltering conditions while attempting to educate children who are struggling to stay focused, one Deputy Head of a London secondary school told the i newspaper.
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“During the hottest days, teachers can barely teach, let alone students learn,” the senior teacher named ‘Daniel’ told the publication. “My staff say it’s really hard to function properly.”
Will schools be forced to close during the June heatwave?
While no formal school closures have been declared during June’s heatwave, increasing pressure is mounting on the Government to establish regulations permitting schools to close when temperatures reach dangerously high levels.
Both the Climate Change Committee (CCC) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have supported demands for a maximum temperature threshold in classrooms.
The Department for Education (DfE) has confirmed it is “carefully considering” these proposals.
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Existing DfE guidance states that schools should stay open during hot weather periods, maintaining that regular attendance provides pupils with the optimal opportunity to learn and reach their full potential.
Following the previous heatwave earlier this year, teaching unions reiterated demands for a statutory maximum classroom temperature. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stopped short of ruling out the possibility when pressed in June.
She did, however, recognise the difficulties created by elevated temperatures in the classroom, stating that periods of extreme heat can create challenging conditions for teachers and school staff and may also impact children’s capacity to learn.
What measures can schools take to keep students (and staff) cool?
Several schools have already implemented precautionary measures, with pupils advised to ensure they bring refillable water bottles to lessons for regular hydration throughout the day. Educational establishments across the UK are also urging students to bring hats for outdoor wear and to apply sunscreen before departing for school in the morning.
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One school in Wiltshire has relaxed its uniform policy to combat the heat. From Monday, pupils may wear their standard uniform without jumpers and ties, or opt for their PE kit as an alternative.
Whitchurch High School informed WalesOnline it is implementing “sensible arrangements in place to help students remain safe and comfortable”.
Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk are about to team up in Florida, after the Panthers pulled off another summertime blockbuster.
The Panthers and Ottawa finalized a deal Sunday night, with Florida sending four draft picks to the Senators for Brady Tkachuk — the brother of Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk.
The picks were the No. 9 pick in this year’s draft, Tampa Bay’s first-round pick this year (acquired earlier Sunday in a trade Florida made sending Mackie Samoskevich to Seattle), the Panthers’ second-round pick in 2027 and their top 10-protected first-round pick in 2029. And that means Florida adds an elite player to its forward corps without losing any of its top seven scorers from this past season.
“Brady is a dynamic competitor and one of the most physical and relentless forwards in the league,” Panthers hockey operations president and general manager Bill Zito said. “A proven leader and exactly the type of player we want in our locker room, he strives to make everyone around him better both on and off the ice. We’re thrilled to welcome Brady to South Florida to join our group as we continue our pursuit of championship hockey.”
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Brady Tkachuk has spent the entirety of his eight-year NHL career in Ottawa, and now he joins his brother, Olympic teammate and podcast co-host in Florida — the place where Matthew Tkachuk has spent the last four seasons, winning two Stanley Cups and getting to the final three times.
The Athletic was first to report the pending trade.
Brady Tkachuk has two seasons left on the seven-year, $57.56 million contract he signed in October 2021 when he also became Ottawa’s captain. As recently as late April, he bristled at conversation about his name being in trade rumors following a first-round playoff exit.
“This was not a decision we took lightly, but ultimately we did what we felt was best for the long-term future of our hockey club,” Senators general manager Steve Staios said Sunday. “We now possess cap space and draft capital and will be actively working to improve our roster.”
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It’s a move that makes sense for so many reasons and has seemed almost inevitable.
Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk reveled in the chance to play alongside one another for USA Hockey at the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 (winning silver) and the Milan Cortina Olympics this year (winning gold, the first for the American men’s program on the Olympic stage since the miracle in Lake Placid 46 years ago).
Their parents — their dad is NHL legend Keith Tkachuk — have a home in Florida and are regular attendees at Panthers games, and the USA Hockey ties means Brady Tkachuk already has relationships with many in the Florida organization. Zito had a role within USA Hockey during this past Olympic cycle and Panthers equipment manager Teddy Richards had a role with the 4 Nations and Milan Cortina teams as well.
Brady Tkachuk was Ottawa’s captain for the last five seasons, and he was — by far in some cases — their leader in countless categories over his eight years with the Senators. No player had more goals (213), points (463), power-play goals (62), shots (2,202), hits (1,921), winning goals (28), multigoal games (30) and penalty minutes (821) in his tenure with the club, which acquired him with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 draft.
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And now, four years after landing Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers have tapped into the Tkachuk family well of talent again.
It also adds another big name to the list of players that Florida has locked up for several seasons going forward, including Aleksander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett, Carter Verhaeghe, Gustav Forsling, Anton Lundell and others. They’re all Stanley Cup winners, and now Brady Tkachuk would figure to have a real chance to get his name etched onto hockey’s chalice in the coming years as well.
___
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.
“Fires and barbecues are strictly prohibited due to the very real risk they pose to people, wildlife, and the wider landscape. We want everyone to enjoy the Heath, so please behave responsibly, and respect the space and those who care for it. Every visitor is also a ‘Heath Guardian’.”
Once there was a thriving colliery here. On the flat land just beyond the pile of bricks there was headgear, railways, coke ovens, brickworks, spoil heaps and a gasometer, plus there were lines of terraces providing accommodation for the 1,500 men and boys who worked on the site.
The Leasingthorne Colliery Reservoir Tower, by Northern Perspectives (Image: Northern Perspectives)
Now all that survives of Leasingthorne colliery, which was between Coundon and Kirk Merrington which can be seen at the top of the picture, is this pile of bricks – the remains of the reservoir tower.
As Memories 741 told last summer, Leasingthorne was brought into life in 1836 by the Chilton branch of the Clarence Railway. Its heyday was the 1930s and its closure in October 1967 was followed by rapid clearance of the colliery and demolition of the low, single storey terraces.
Now all that remains of this classic Durham mining community is a single terrace and a former pub – the Eden Arms Hotel – that has become a private home now the thirsty miners have been moved on.
The Eden Arms Hotel at Leasingthorne is now a private house
Dave Wilkin, the Durham-based cameraman behind Northern Perspectives
And the reservoir tower, which was once on the edge of the pit yard. Its monumental status is captured in this wonderful photograph by Northern Perspectives, our regular contributor who uses the latest drone technology to shed new light on our beautiful and historic landscape. To see more of his amazing work, including his aerial videos, search “Northern Perspectives” on Facebook.
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