Our search found sun‑bleached prints from 1976 when the city sweltered in the heat that following the long dry spell that began the previous year.

1976 – Crowds on the slopes of Clifford’s Tower during the hot summer of 1976. (Image: Newquest)

The heatwave lasted for months – by the end of June, water supplies were becoming a cause for concern as North Yorkshire residents were asked to cut down on watering their parched gardens, or face a hosepipe ban.

York was relatively unaffected as the city’s supplies came from the River Ouse which had dropped ten inches in eight weeks.

By July 1976, temperatures were invariably in the 80s, and sometimes in the 90s.

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The fine weather was a gift for organisers of the York Festival as bumper crowds watched the outdoor theatre, music and parades.

Shirtless children baked in the heat and crowds gathered on the slopes of Clifford’s Tower for the festival where signs now ask people to stay off the grass.

Racegoers flocked to the Knavesmire, and few minded losing their shirts on the horses in that sunshine.

Older readers may remember that the North York Moors Railway withdrew steam engines on the Goathland to Pickering line as the slightest spark from the trains could start a fire on the tinder-dry moorland.

Grass fires were a very real threat, with hundreds of acres on Danby High, Glaisdale, Wheeldale and Rosedale Moors ablaze at different times. By mid-August, tax-payers had spent £9,000 on the cost of fighting the fires.

Business was booming to ice cream vendors and pubs with outdoor spaces were enjoying bumper trade.

A boat-worker keeps cool in 1984.

There were obviously memorable warm spells after that too. Who remembers the summer of ’84? These two youngsters cooled off on the Ouse in a scene not often seen or encouraged today, while a boat-worker was captured splashing her feet in the water.

These youngsters play a dangerous game on the Ouse in 1984.

Forward to 1989 and the Museum Gardens remained a popular place to be, with youngsters quenching their thirst from carton drinks while adults sipped something stronger as they caught the rays beside the Ouse.

Museum Gardens in 1989.

We hope you enjoyed these old York photos that capture some of the city’s hottest moments.

We’d love to hear your memories and see photos of your experience of past heatwaves in York.

Share your stories and photos by email to nadia.jeffersonbrown@newsquest.co.uk

George Spencer is looking forward to celebrating his landmark birthday with his family but warned: “There are some nasty people around.”

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A veteran who lived through the D-Day landings has urged people not to be shy and enjoy their lives, but pick their friends wisely, ahead of his 100th birthday.

George Spencer, who served around the globe with the Royal Navy and is looking forward to celebrating his landmark birthday with his family in Ballymena, Co Antrim, warned: “There are some nasty people around.”

But he noted there are also some “very good ones”, describing himself as being lucky.

“I’m very fortunate with my daughters. I’ve been very fortunate, they look after me well,” he told Press Association. “Apart from that, I say enjoy all sorts of things.”

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Mr Spencer served with the Royal Navy and described having a “bird’s eye view” of the D-Day landings, credited as the turning point in the Second World War, from the mast of the HMS Nelson.

“I was on board the Nelson, and when we got to the landings I was given a position on top of the mast, so I had a bird’s eye view of everything that went on,” he said.

“I had binoculars, Japanese I think, the lens was as big as a plate. I watched the landings going on. I remember the Nelson, the Rodney and an aircraft carrier.”

He said the trio were also involved in the Sicily landings in the Mediterranean the year before, which he said is not talked about as much.

Mr Spencer was born in Nottinghamshire, and recalled when he was at school thinking that mining was the “last place he wanted to go”, and instead went to the then naval academy the TS Mercury training ship.

This service was under the former record-breaking long jumper and cricketer CB Fry as the captain superintendent of the Mercury.

“There was also manufacturing but I didn’t want that either, so I went and saw the headmaster who was a bit surprised as no one had ever done this before, and he was delighted so I got full support from him and then I was called for an interview on the Mercury,” he said.

“The Mercury was a hulk of a ship, I remembered sleeping in hammocks and scrubbing the floor.

“People said they always knew the Mercury boys from the smell of the soap they gave us, it was pretty strong stuff.

“It somehow or other suits me quite well.”

Mr Spencer later settled in Northern Ireland following his Navy career with his wife who he had met after being sent to Derry, and their family.

He also served with the Australian Navy for a time, and one of his daughters was even born there while his family had travelled with him.

Mr Spencer’s daughter Sally Ann Johnston said her father spoke about his war time experiences “very little” as she grew up.

“We definitely heard a lot of stories recently,” she said.

“When things have come up, and they’ve been commemorations of D-Day, and sometimes when people have asked, because then it became known that dad had been at D-Day, there was more interest, and there were more questions asked.

“I suppose we’d heard a little bit, but generally, probably like most of the older generation, they didn’t talk a lot about it.

“I’d heard a little bit about the early days, because sometimes he’d talk about the training ship, Mercury, that he was on, and it always fascinated us.

“Also my sons were totally amazed by the fact he went away to the training ship at the age of 12, he got a scholarship which he’d done on his own initiative, so we always threatened, ‘Oh, we’ll send you away at 12’.

“It’s a very different life nowadays.”

She said she had been “amazed” when she first heard of her father’s experiences on D-Day, saying he had been so young.

“I got the impression then that everybody just got on with it, and they didn’t complain, they just did what was required, and probably didn’t think so much of the fact that they may have been in danger themselves,” she said.

“I remember more recently one of the stories he had said was about having to pull the ships back in his convoy to be further away because they were actually in range of the German guns.”

She said it was only through her own research that she found out the ship her father had been on had been hit by a mine, and had been damaged.

“I said to him, ‘Dad, you never told me about this, the ship being hit by a mine’, and he said: ‘Oh yes, we sat on a mine’, as if that was part of daily life.

“It blew my mind because he was so nonchalant, obviously we might not have been here if it had been a bit worse, but they managed to go back, get repaired and go on.”

She joked she was envious of her sister having been born in Australia, saying by the time she was born, her family were back in the UK, and her father had taken a land-based job in Scotland.

“I was actually born in Johnstone in Scotland, and was always very envious that my sister had been born somewhere exciting like Australia,” she said.

For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here.

A woman has shared a simple hack for stopping flies in your wheelie bins – and all you need is one ingredient which can be bought for as little as 35p in major supermarkets

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Wheelie bins are rarely pleasant, given their purpose, but there are methods to prevent them from becoming utterly revolting.

Many households will be keen to avoid their bins becoming infested with flies and other insects, which can become a significant problem, particularly as temperatures rise.

If you’ve been struggling with this issue recently, one woman may have found the answer.

A TikTok user posting as @sisterpledgecleans has achieved viral status on the platform after sharing a tip that has become an “unconscious standard practice” in her daily routine.

The best part? All that’s required is ordinary table salt, which can be purchased for as little as 35p from retailers such as M&S.

In her video, the cleaning fan demonstrates washing out two small waste bins.

After ensuring they’re thoroughly clean, she adds a substantial quantity of table salt to the base before putting them back into use.

She advises: “Here’s a great hack for stopping flies in your bins.

“Sprinkle a generous amount of table salt in the bottom of clean bins.

“The salt soaks up any leaked fluid and flies and maggots die when they feed on it.”

The clip has since achieved viral success, accumulating nearly four million views and attracting more than 400,000 likes.

Thousands have also left comments on the household tip, expressing their appreciation and thanking her for sharing the information.

One person said: “Oh thank you!! Our black bin is full of flies, yet our compost/food bin isn’t. Makes no sense.”

Another responded: “I literally just cleaned my bins yesterday, why did I not see this first?!”

A third endorsed the idea and recommended: “Add baking powder and it won’t smell.”

Someone else wrote: “OMG… this is now my life hack. THANK YOU!!!!”

A different user added: “I put a puppy pad at the bottom the bin soaking side up, never had a problem!”

While a sixth TikToker said: “My bins are getting emptied tomorrow. I’m so trying this out!”

A seventh described the tip as a “game-changer” while an eighth considered the woman a “genius.”

Police are pursuing the arrest of man suspected to have a weapon, ChronicleLive reports.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly before 7.45am today (Sunday), officers attended an address on Grange Crescent in Leam Lane, Gateshead, to carry out an arrest of a man.

“The man – who is contained inside an address on the street – is suspected to be in possession of a weapon and is currently refusing to comply with officers.”

The film is being released by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which will also release the only known surviving footage of the competition’s first-ever winner, offering fans a rare glimpse into Eurovision history.

The contest, which began on May 24, 1956, has grown into the world’s largest live music event.

To mark the occasion, organisers will release a tribute film featuring some of the most moving moments from seven decades of the competition.

Eurovision Song Contest to release film marking 70th anniversary

The film will be set to Uber Die Brücke Geh’n by Ingrid Peters, Germany’s 1986 entry, and will include footage from the 1950s through to this year’s contest, including Bulgaria’s first-ever win last Saturday.

It will premiere on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel on May 24.

The EBU has also teamed up with Swiss broadcaster RSI to restore the only known surviving footage of the contest’s first-ever winner, Lys Assia, singing Refrain.

The video, filmed by Vincenzo Vicari, shows the singer on stage at Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland.

Chris Fox, a senior producer on Eurovision’s digital team who worked on the restoration, said: “Preserving the history of the Eurovision Song Contest is something very close to my heart.

“I’m proud that the EBU was able to commission this restoration so that fans can enjoy Lys Assia’s winning reprise in the best possible quality for years to come.”

The EBU has also launched the Eurofan Voice initiative, a survey inviting Eurovision fans to share feedback and help shape the future of the contest.

Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “For 70 years, the Eurovision Song Contest has shown what’s possible when public service broadcasters come together with a shared purpose: to create moments of joy, emotion and connection that transcend borders.

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“From a small theatre in Lugano in 1956 to stadiums and screens across the globe today, the Eurovision Song Contest continues to evolve while remaining true to its founding spirit – bringing audiences together through music.”

Fans can watch the 70th anniversary tribute film on Eurovision’s official YouTube channel from May 24.

Will you be watching the special Eurovision Song Contest film? Let us know in the comments.

Drivers are being warned to expect delays with problems on two major routes as drivers head out to enjoy the sunny weather.

With temperatures in the high 20s today, thousands of people are expected to take to the roads to head for beaches and countryside spots and attractions as Wales prepares for soaring temperatures.

There are two incidents on major routes right now. One has part blocked the M4 near J25 for Caerleon. The other has shut the A40 both ways through Nantgaredig. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

Latest updates below:

Pictures show a missing fence panel and tyre tracks in the grass next at the Portland Hub, on Gardener Avenue in Willington.

Debris can be seen next to the broken fence panel and a stretch of grass churned up.

The car involved has since been removed.

Durham Police and the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) have been contacted for a statement about this incident.

Damage to the fence at Portland Hub, Willington (Image: CHRIS BOOTH/NORTHERN ECHO)

Damage to the fence at Portland Hub, Willington (Image: CHRIS BOOTH/NORTHERN ECHO)

A woman was allegedly dragged to her death by her neighbour’s pit bulls as her partner desperately tried to stop the ‘brutal’ attack.

Jodi Cowan, 50, is understood to have been attacked as she walked her dog around the area where she lived near Cocoa, Florida, in the early hours of May 19, according to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s Animal Services unit.

Her partner, Donnell Smith, told local NBC affiliate WESH that he had returned home at around 1am and found that Cowan and the dog were not there.

He then claimed he heard a distant cry for help and saw the silhouette of two dogs dragging someone along the road. He ran to help her and found her lying in a pool of blood, covered in dog bites.

Smith told the outlet: ‘I pulled my knife out, you know, just swinging with it one hand and holding the blood with the other, trying to stop her from bleeding.’

He then called 911 and his partner was airlifted to hospital, where she later died.

‘It was brutal,’ Smith continued.

‘Seeing the same woman I’ve loved for the last 25-30 years just ripped apart by two animals was just… I’ll never get that image out of my mind.’

Cowan’s father, Martin, told Florida Today: ‘I’m not going to throw stones, but it’s tragic. I have lost my daughter. She was my little girl.’

One of Cowan’s neighbours, Bruce Midkiff, caught the alleged attack on his surveillance camera and handed the video over to police.

He told the Daily Mail that residents of the neighbourhood had had concerns about two pit bulls living nearby, and that multiple reports had been made to the sheriff’s office.

He claimed that in previous incidents last month, one of the dogs cornered his wife in her car and bit another neighbour.

Another neighbour, Scott Chase, told Florida Today that the dogs had made him ‘afraid to leave his house’. ‘They just keep getting loose,’ he said, adding that he had complained about the animals twice.

Smith told WESH that he thinks Cowan was attacked after the pit bulls went after the couple’s smaller dog.

He said his partner may have attempted to rescue her pet before the dogs turned on her.

An investigation into the attack is ongoing.

Owners of violent or dangerous dogs in Florida face serious penalties. If a dog that has previously been declared dangerous attacks someone unprovoked, the owner is considered to have committed a first-degree misdemeanour.

If the attack causes severe injury or death, owners may face second-degree felony charges, fines, and the euthanasia of their pet.

Metro has contacted the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office’s Animal Services unit for comment.

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Jeremy Clarkson is finally selling wine at his Cotswolds pub after relaxing a rule he’s enforced since it opened.

When the 65-year-old opened his Oxfordshire watering hole The Farmer’s Dog in August 2024, he revealed it would “serve exclusively British” items, including several own-brand food and drink products.

One item missing from the menu was wine, but that’s until now – the pub has finally introduced its own British wine range.

“There was a time when English wine was like a child’s recorder playing; you wanted to like it, but it wasn’t very good. Fortunately, that time has gone,” the pub said in a new statement.

“Thanks to warmer summers and expert farming, Britain grows excellent grapes and makes brilliant wine with them,” it continued, before announcing the arrival of Knollbury Fort, “our own range of English wines, created to champion British farming and prove that this country now produces genuinely world-class wine”.

In August 2025, the pub started selling ketchup after a Chatham-based producer made it using solely British ingredients.

Condimaniac ketchup is made of tomato passata from Isle of Wight, apple cider vinegar from Hants, Essex salt, and sugar and onions sourced from Britain.

“Making a 100 per cent British ketchup after Jeremy Clarkson alerted us to the fact there wasn’t one was very hard,” the company’s boss Kier Kemp said in an Instagram video chronicling the sauce’s creation.

“It turned out to be really hard,” he added, noting Clarkson’s Diddly Squat team requested the sauce “as soon as possible”.

Kemp said the company has made two sauces at the same time – one containing carrots and onion “used to thicken” the sauce, as there is no purely British tomato puree.

The move is a big turnaround from Clarkson, considering the former Grand Tour star became so fed up with requests that a sign was put up telling customers to stop asking for the condiment.

Speaking about the products on offer when the pub first opened its doors, Clarkson said: “The menu changes – it’s whatever we’ve got. There’s no Coca-Cola, no coffee. Other pubs do coffee. We do British food.

“Everything that you consume in here – every single thing – even the black pepper and the sugar, is grown by British farmers.”

Diddly Squat, a 1,000-acre holding, is at the centre of Clarkson’s Farm, which follows the TV presenter’s journey as a new farmer and the challenges he faces along the way.

The 64-year-old former Top Gear presenter paid less than £1m for the pub based in Asthall, which was formerly known as The Windmill.

Its opening, however, was marred by complaints surrounding the absence of prices on the menu, with many fans suspecting that this might suggest dishes would be more expensive than at other pubs in the area.

When one person joked on X/Twitter that they would need to remortgage their home to afford a round of drinks at Clarkson’s pub, the presenter bluntly responded: “It’s £5.50 a pint.”

The Premier League comes to an end on Sunday with Arsenal having already won the league, but safety and spots in Europe are still on the line.

Before the final games of the season, we want to test your knowledge of everything that has happened in the 2025-26 campaign.

Try out our quiz to see how much you can remember about this season’s Premier League.