The mother of the first British man to die fighting for Russia has revealed that her son told her he was going to Romania, not the front lines in Ukraine. 

Yorkshireman Bradley Townsend, 33, died in combat after leaving his hometown of Barnsley to enlist in Putin‘s war.

The keen fisherman – with no previous military experience – perished on the front line whilst fighting in Lyman, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, on June 10. 

He was the victim of a drone strike, and is the first known British fighter to have died fighting for Russia since Putin’s forces first invaded Ukraine in 2014.

Today, his mother Maureen, an NHS care support worker, told the Daily Mail that her son did not tell her he was going to fight for Russia, instead telling her that he was visiting Romania. 

She added that Russia is refusing to co-operate with the British government to allow his body to be repatriated back to the UK, deepening their suffering.  

Bradley – whose call sign was ‘Badger’ – secretly packed his bags for Russia on April 1. 

It was only after he featured in a video on April 4 for the Russian International Volunteers Association that his family, made up of Maureen and two of Bradley’s siblings, learned he had joined the Russian ranks.

Townsend is the first known British fighter to have died fighting for Russia since Putin’s forces first invaded Ukraine in 2014

In the video Bradley described himself as a ‘normal working-class lad from Yorkshire’.

His mother said: ‘He was going to go travelling for a year, and I was glad about that because he had two failed relationships. That was sad, they were lovely girls, but it just didn’t work out, and he wanted to do something different and he said “I’m going to go travelling”.’

He had claimed he was visiting Romania and posted pictures of his travels.

‘He phoned me up and told me he was not in the country he said he was going to be in. He said he was going to Romania.

‘And I believed him, because he has friends from work that he’s met.

‘But the next thing he had phoned me up and told me he is in Russia.

‘I said “what are you doing there?” And then it all came out and I asked him “you’re joking?”

‘I thought he was joking with me. The pictures that he posted. My son put them into Google to check where he was because he didn’t think it looked like Romania.’  

Bradley trained as a joiner after leaving school and had no interest in enlisting as a squaddie in the British Army.

His family has no Russian connections whatsoever. 

In a social media post, Townsend said his reason for joining was to ‘repay the favour’ to miners in Donbas who had donated a month’s wages to striking Yorkshire miners in the 1980s.  

Townsend added: ‘I came with the idea that I probably wouldn’t be able to go home. I’d definitely get persecuted if I went back.

‘I’m not here for a suicide mission, but I understand that’s what can happen. This was my own decision, I wasn’t pushed into anything.’

Townsend described himself as ‘a normal working-class lad from Yorkshire’ who wanted to support Russian separatists in Ukraine’s Donbas region

Now, his family is struggling to repatriate his body as the Kremlin is refusing to co-operate with the British Government.

His grief-stricken family is desperate for answers and want to lay Bradley to rest in the UK.

The heartbroken mother-of-three said she is too in the dark, because of lack of communication with the Russian authorities, to comment further: ‘Me and the rest of Bradley’s family continue to grieve for him.’

Other Brits serving in the Russian Armed Forces took to social media to pay tribute, with one saying Townsend ‘wanted to help the people of Russia defeat the Nazis’.

Aiden Minnis added in a post on Facebook: ‘I had the pleasure of spending some time with Bradley before he decided to sign his contract. We discussed the danger he would be facing, but he insisted that his mind was made up…Ultimately, he sacrificed his life for our cause.

‘His service was brief but he blazed the brightest star. Rest in Paradise brother. “To die a warrior in a Holy War is to live forever.”‘

Ben Stimson, another Brit who went to fight for Russia, also paid tribute on Telegram, writing: ‘Bradley had been a follower of my YouTube and Telegram channels for over 2 years. I had advised him to stay in the UK and support anti-NATO protests at home. He contacted me 3 months ago to say he was coming to Russia to join the army.

‘I told him just to come for a holiday. He arrived at the same time as another volunteer was on his holiday. We both told him the realities of the Special Military Operation and the dangers. I later said to Bradley he could still use his return ticket. Brad was adamant he wanted to go and fight.’

Stimson, who was jailed in the UK in 2017 after joining a Russian-backed militia in eastern Ukraine, wrote online that Townsend’s flat cap had been brought back to the UK by a friend and would be left on Ilkley Moor, a rural moorland 40 miles from where he grew up. 

One man who knew Townsend told LBC the fisherman struggled with his mental health and addiction in the past.

Another said the 33-year-old was a ‘normal guy’ who had been ‘indoctrinated’ by people who ‘saw his vulnerability as an opportunity to recruit him into their twisted cause’.

Conservative MP for Tonbridge and former security minister Tom Tugendhat said he was ‘very sorry for him and his family’ but that joining the Russian armed forces was ‘unbelievably stupid’.

He added: ‘It’s extremely misguided and, you know, no question about it, it’s criminal because you’re engaging in an army that is committing the most barbarous war crimes that the world has seen in decades.’

The Foreign Office earlier told the Daily Mail: ‘We are aware of reports that a British national has died in Ukraine and are in contact with his family.’

Urban Outreach is a Christian charity providing food and support to some of the borough’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable people.

The charity was founded 36 years ago by David Bagley and his wife, Christine.

We joined volunteers at the charity’s Food Hub at Trinity Retail Park.

Every morning during the school summer holidays, volunteers prepare lunch packs and sandwiches to be distributed to children across Bolton.

The charity’s Food Hub (Image: NQ)

Discussing the idea behind the initiative, David said he could not understand why children receiving free school meals during term time were not supported in the same way during the holidays.

“I couldn’t work out, both morally and socially, how we squared that circle,” he said.

“If somebody is in need during term time, what’s the difference during the holidays?”

After “moaning a lot”, David said he felt the only way to do something about it was to see whether the charity could provide lunch for as many children as possible.

David Bagley, Urban Outreach (Image: NQ)

That idea became Bolton Lunches, which has since provided hundreds of thousands of meals to children over the years.

“In the first year, we made 12,500 lunches,” David said.

“We targeted areas of deprivation in the borough and then grew over time.”

At its peak after the pandemic, Urban Outreach made 74,000 lunches across more than 50 sites, according to David.

However, the charity’s approach changed after the Government introduced the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme.

The huge space where the Bolton lunches are made (Image: NQ)

The HAF programme provides healthy meals, enriching activities and free childcare places to children from low-income families.

In Bolton, the programme supports those receiving benefits-related free school meals with free activities alongside a hot meal for a minimum of four hours a day, four days a week, for four weeks over the summer.

Eligible families typically receive a voucher code to book the activities and meals.

“Bolton was particularly generous with its voucher system,” David said.

Urban Outreach volunteers (Image: NQ)

Urban Outreach has been involved with the programme since it began and has made 22,000 packs and just short of 21,000 sandwiches this year, as well as supporting the hot food offer.

The charity has received longstanding support from Warburtons, which provides all of the bread free of charge.

Warburtons was founded in 1876 by Thomas and Ellen Warburton, when they opened a small grocery shop in Bolton.

“We have some big businesses involved in volunteering and have upward of 20 to 25 volunteers each morning,” David said.

Volunteers preparing sandwiches early in the morning (Image: NQ)

During our visit, volunteers were busy preparing sandwiches at the Food Hub.

Lynda Howarth from Heaton, has been involved with Bolton Lunches for the last five years.

This year, she has attended every Monday during the six-week holiday.

“I think it’s a wonderful organisation that does so much good,” she said.

“It’s very worthwhile and I enjoy coming along and working with the team.”

The volunteers have a well-rehearsed system, allowing them to prepare the sandwiches quickly (Image: NQ)

Stephen Bryan from Over Hulton, has been volunteering for the last five years.

He started coming along with a school friend of more than 50 years.

“I’d just retired and I thought it was something for me to do,” he said.

Hymns Wong from Tonge Moor, joined Urban Outreach this Easter.

Hymns Wong from Tonge Moor (Image: NQ)

“It’s really interesting, I enjoy helping people,” he said.

Hymns first saw an Instagram post from the charity asking people to get involved.

“I’ve made a lot of friends and I will definitely get involved next year,” he said.

“If you have time or you’re not doing much, come along and help.”

Youngsters taking part in the volunteering (Image: NQ)

David expressed his gratitude to those who give up their mornings to help.

“It’s an ongoing demonstration of the willingness that people have in Bolton to stand alongside those who need it at the most critical times,” he said.

David said support from the “big players” and Bolton Council is critical.

An application from Dennis Harley Developments Ltd would see the chalets built on land at the back of the former Four Alls Inn in Malton Road beside the A64 close to Stockton On The Forest.

Plans stated the development would create a new rural enterprise generating an estimated yearly turnover of around £1 million which would deliver significant economic benefits.

It comes after plans for convert the Four Alls Inn into a Starbucks was granted in 2022.

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The conversion has since taken place and plans for the holiday park stated they aimed to make use of the rest of the site.

Plans lodged with City of York Council would see 32 chalets erected along with onsite roads, drains, waste facilities and other infrastructure.

Each chalet would feature two bedrooms, including one with an en-suite, a bathroom, kitchen and open plan living and dining room.

Private decking areas would be outside the chalets which would also have their own outdoor space.

The site layout of a holiday park proposed in Malton Road, Stockton on the Forest, York (Image: Dennis Harley Developments Ltd)

Chalets would be arranged around an access road running around the site which is enclosed by woodland.

Secure and weather-resistant cycle storage would also be included on site.

The chalets would offer accommodation for nightly or short-term stays and would not be used as people’s main homes.

Developers estimate around £913,881 could be spent by visitors off-site every year.

Plans stated the site would create jobs through the employment of management, cleaning, groundskeeping and administrative staff year-round.

They added it would also generate income for local pubs, cafés, shops, attractions and other places tourists staying there would visit.

Applicants stated: “These figures are illustrative rather than guaranteed, but demonstrate the potential scale and breadth of the recurring contribution to the rural and visitor economy.

“The development would deliver substantial rural economic and tourism benefits, make efficient use of established access and service infrastructure, provide accessible year-round visitor accommodation, secure landscape and biodiversity enhancements and remain subject to effective occupancy
and operational controls.”

With wet and unsettled weather expected, travellers are being reminded of their rights if poor conditions cause disruption at the airport

Holidaymakers hit by flight cancellations or lengthy delays could be entitled to refunds, replacement flights, food and accommodation – and in some cases compensation worth up to £520.

With wet and unsettled weather expected, travellers are being reminded of their rights if poor conditions cause disruption at the airport. Citizens Advice has issued guidance setting out what passengers can demand from airlines when flights are delayed or cancelled. Once a delay reaches the relevant threshold, the airline must provide food and drink, access to communications and, where necessary, hotel accommodation and transport.

These are the usual thresholds:

• Under 1,500km: 2 hours
• 1,500km–3,500km: 3 hours
• Over 3,500km: 4 hours

If the airline does not provide assistance, keep your receipts. You can claim back reasonable expenses, but expensive meals, alcohol and luxury hotels are unlikely to be covered.

If you arrive more than three hours late because of an issue within the airline’s control, compensation may be worth up to £520. Bad weather is normally considered outside its control, so compensation is unlikely.

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If you are delayed by five hours or more

You do not have to take the flight. You can choose a full refund, including eligible unused onward or return flights booked with the airline. If you are part-way through your journey, you may also be entitled to a flight back to your original departure airport.

If your flight is cancelled

You can choose between a full refund or a replacement flight to your destination.

The airline may also have to provide food, drink and accommodation while you wait. Compensation of up to £520 may be available if the airline caused the cancellation, notified you less than 14 days before departure and the replacement journey resulted in sufficient delay. Weather-related cancellations are generally not eligible for compensation.

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How to claim

Contact the airline operating the flight, even if you booked through another airline or travel company. Provide your flight details and booking reference, explain what happened, and attach copies of relevant tickets and receipts. Keep records of your claim and the airline’s response.

If the airline refuses compensation you believe you are owed, you may be able to use an alternative dispute resolution scheme or, where appropriate, contact the Civil Aviation Authority. More information here.

No.23 Milton Street Pizza is a well-loved independent venue in the heart of Saltburn that has built a reputation for authentic Neapolitan pizza.

The team prides themselves on using traditional Neapolitan methods – making fresh dough in-house every day before allowing it to rest for 48 hours.

Specially curated pizzas at No.23 Milton Street Saltburn. (Image: TRIP ADVISOR)

Once ready, each pizza is hand-stretched and topped with carefully selected Italian ingredients before heading into a wood-fired oven reaching temperatures of 450C.

The result is everything fans of authentic Neapolitan pizza could hope for – a light, thin base paired with a soft, airy crust packed with flavour.

One visitor, Jodie, described the venue as “a little gem”, praising both the food and atmosphere.

She said: “Went to No.23 for some food and a couple of drinks and think it is brilliant.

“The food is lovely and the atmosphere is fantastic. I would recommend this bar to anyone. It’s a little gem and can’t wait to visit it again.”

Another customer, Craig, said: “Amazing pizza. Really authentic with a great choice of toppings.

“The place has been done to a really high standard throughout.

“My wife and I could have stayed all night drinking by the fire.”

Away from the pizza oven, guests can also enjoy a carefully curated drinks offering designed to complement the menu.

Step inside and you’ll find a venue that balances industrial-inspired décor with a warm and welcoming feel – creating a space that feels equally suited to a casual lunch, an evening meal with friends or a laid-back drink at the bar.

Plus, for dog owners, the bar area is dog-friendly, meaning four-legged companions can join in the visit too.

Combining authentic Italian flavours with a stylish yet comfortable setting, No.23 Milton Street Pizza has become one of the area’s most popular spots for those looking to enjoy great food in good company.

For pizza lovers visiting the seaside, it’s the perfect place to find both atmosphere and delicious authenticity in equal measure.

Experts have compared the caffeine content of drinks served at Costa, Starbucks, Caffe Nero, Greggs and Pret

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Coffee drinkers may be getting more or less caffeine in their drinks than they anticipated, with levels varying “wildly” between popular high street chains, a new study shows. The latest research from consumer champion Which? analyses the caffeine content in an array of drinks sold by chains Caffe Nero, Costa Coffee, Greggs, Pret A Manger and Starbucks.

It found that a medium cappuccino from Costa contains 325 milligrams (mg) – almost three-and-a-half times as much as the same drink at Starbucks, at 89mg. The caffeine content in Costa’s cappuccino is the equivalent of around four cans of Red Bull, Which? found.

The second and third-highest cappuccino caffeine levels were found at Greggs and Caffe Nero, at 235mg and 221mg respectively. Costa also comes out on top for drinks including its espresso shot, which contains 100mg of caffeine per serving, and its flat white, which has 241mg.

In contrast, Starbucks has 45g of caffeine per serving in its espresso shot, and 89mg in its flat white. While Costa’s caffeine content for cappuccinos and single-shot espressos has not changed since Which?’s last study in 2023, Caffe Nero’s has noticeably increased – which its cappuccino now containing around double the level of caffeine than before.

And while Starbucks continue to serve the least caffeine overall across its drinks, its caffeine levels have increased in its espressos, cappuccinos and filter coffees over three years. Matcha drinks also vary significantly between the chains – with the drink, made from green tea powder, booming in popularity in recent years and prompting high street coffee chains to put their own versions on the menu.

The study found that Costa’s hot matcha latte contained the highest caffeine content at 99mg, followed by Starbucks at 57mg and Pret at 28mg. Which? said its research showed customers should “pay attention” to the differences in caffeine levels across high street retailers, particularly for those who are advised to restrict their intake for health reasons, including pregnancy.

Jessica Carson, its health and wellbeing expert, said: “For many of us, there is nothing quite like a strong cup of coffee to start the day, but Which? found even matcha enthusiasts could be consuming more caffeine than intended. “Our research shows caffeine content varies wildly from chain to chain.

“If you drink multiple cups a day or need to cut back for health reasons, pay attention to where you shop and what you order to avoid any unwanted side-effects.”

A spokeswoman for Costa said: “At Costa Coffee, we’re committed to helping customers make informed choices. That’s why caffeine and nutritional information is available across our menu and online, so customers can choose the drinks that best-suit their individual preferences and needs.

“We also offer decaffeinated coffee and a range of non-caffeinated drinks. Coffee naturally contains caffeine and levels can vary depending on factors such as the blend, recipe and serving size.”

Starbucks has been contacted for comment.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has pledged to bring people who are sleeping rough in England into temporary accommodation for Christmas. While this is a good move, and should be happening across the rest of the UK, more needs to be done quickly to help people who are homeless.

Winter is a dangerous time for people to be living on the streets. So while it’s not perfect, Burnham’s plan, backed by a £442 million funding boost, may save lives.

I work with people experiencing homelessness and using associated services to find ways of helping. People who are homeless in the UK frequently tell me that this was not a choice they made. It happened because it was a safer option than the places they lived in.

But being homeless means they often have as many health problems as people 40 years older than them. Cold weather makes lots of their problems – things like breathing conditions, for example – worse. Danny, a homeless man, told me:

We have very bad health. At an average age of 43, most of us have eight different chronic health problems. These include physical problems like breathing difficulties, leg ulcers and chronic pain from injuries like broken bones. Mental health problems are also very common, including PTSD, anxiety, and depression. On top of that most people who are homeless use drugs or alcohol to cope.

Unlike people living in their own houses, one in four people facing homelessness are not registered with a GP. And those who are registered can have difficulty getting to a surgery to have their problems seen to.

Quick fix that’s hard to resist

There is also the problem of keeping the same GP when people are moved around a lot. People living in temporary accommodation, for example, hostels or low-cost B&Bs, are frequently asked by their providers to move to different accommodation. This may be in a different part of their city or area.

It means the care of their health problems is fragmented in the community, leading to more frequent trips to A&E or even self-medicating with street drugs for pain or mental health problems.

Along with a team of pharmacists and nurses working with homelessness charities, we meet people on the streets of Edinburgh to help with their unmet health and wider needs. This approach is called PHOENIx and is being tested in a study to see if it reduces overdoses and drug deaths.

Being homeless means someone faces a much higher risk of overdosing from street drugs. The people facing homelessness that I work with tell me that they know using street drugs is risky but often they do not have treatment or support that keeps the reasons for using them (trauma, pain, boredom and being targeted by dealers) at bay.

Also, they say that having untreated chronic conditions means cheap street drugs can offer a quick fix that is hard to resist, particularly if they don’t have any support or alternative activities. Another homeless man, Fraser, told me:

Most of us live in temporary accommodation with lots of other people who are homeless. Drug-dealers know where to find us, and keep knocking on our room doors offering street drugs. That’s often the only people who knock our doors.

This raises another important point. Getting everyone off the streets and indoors may not work for all. Being homeless can also mean living in re-traumatising accommodation – such as hostels, for example – for too long. Danny told me:

The noise, boredom and lack of opportunities, sitting in a room all day (often the only option because our health problems are so bad), and hopelessness makes matters worse. Sometimes it is safer to sleep on the street and risk getting frostbite in the winter than stay in a dead-end hostel. Women in hostels are even worse off and even more vulnerable than men.

The good news is that Andy Burnham appears to know these problems. Acknowledging the fact that rough sleeping is now so common it “feels like part of the scenery” and offering short-term solutions such as getting people into accommodation for winter is a great start.

Then, the hope is that those who recover and go on to find long-term accommodation can give something back to those who are not yet ready. This is called “lived-experience peer support”. Homeless people need a new approach that offers them opportunities to relive their lives – often lives that were upended when they were much younger.

The other hope is that once everybody who wants to be is indoors this winter, Burnham will go one step further and look at the peer support approach. To have support from those who have been on the same journey, and survived, can help people to live normal lives again, away from homelessness.

At Telegraph Recommended, we test hundreds of products each year, and we rely on our community members to help verify our experts’ findings.

We currently have an upcoming opportunity for Telegraph readers to help test the latest binoculars for birdwatching with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).

Selected readers will be invited to RSPB’s The Lodge nature reserve in Sandy, Bedfordshire, where Jamie Wyver, editor of the RSPB magazine, and Tim Jones, otherwise known as ‘Begin Birding’ on Instagram, will host two binocular testing mornings.

Taking place on September 23 and 24, Jamie and Tim will lead each group on a morning ramble across the heathland, offering the chance to spot local bird species, including Nightjars, Hobbies and Spotted Flycatchers.

Mercury joins the Sun in Virgo today, instilling a sense of meaning into the day before you. Look for messages and signals.

Cancer, Leo and Virgo, varied perspectives and takes will work to your favour. Discuss big ideas with those around you.

We often hear of ‘signs from the cosmos’; today, those carry some extra weight. Keep your cosmic senses attuned.

Ahead, you’ll find all star signs’ horoscopes for today: Tuesday August 25, 2026.

Like checking your horoscope every morning? You can now sign up to our free daily newsletter to get a personalised reading for your star sign delivered straight to your inbox.

To order your unique personal horoscope based on your time, date and place of birth, visit patrickarundell.com.

Aries

March 21 to April 20

Mercury is the winged messenger in mythology, and very much to do with communication, and messages. However, Mercury also rules the sign of precision and practicality, Virgo, and moves to join the Sun in that sign today. This is an excellent opportunity to sharpen your focus onto practical strands or to look to find all sorts of meaningful efficiencies.

Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aries

Taurus

April 21 to May 21

You may find yourself feeling a bit lighter and perhaps even more mischievous. If life has seemed more reflective, now you can be more minded to connect to others and be social. If this doesn’t call out to you, what can, is working on pet projects but feeling more in the mood to showcase your talents with others. Either way, you have entered a brighter phase, now

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Taurus

Gemini

May 22 to June 21

Thinking comes easily to you, and the planets are asking you to direct your ideas towards home, family or property considerations. Long considered working from home or converting a hobby into a small enterprise? This can gain traction too. However, when it comes for conversations with people close to you, look to stay in touch with your feelings, not just logic.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Gemini

Cancer

June 22 to July 23

The people you encounter daily, locally or online, can bring a spark to your world. This could because of a meet up, a group or shared interest, but you can bring an effervescent quality to these connections, and a spark of excitement. Still, your attention span can be a little lower, so to ward off losing interest, you may find yourself juggling several strands, all out at once.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Cancer

Leo

July 24 to August 23

Recent weeks have been enriched, by a whole series of planetary influences, encouraging you to focus and the plans and people dear to your heart. With the zippy Mercury moving into the practical Virgo, today is an excellent opportunity to appraise how some of those strands are developing. Don’t be self-critical about what’s not gained traction, but recognise what has, Leo.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Leo

Virgo

August 24 to September 23

Your thinking can become more agile, as Mercury your guide, arrives in Virgo. This will help to bring you into the moment, after a time of reflection or focusing on personal issues. Your appetite to reinvigorate ongoing projects, or to start new ones, will be positively increased. Stay in touch with those more recent sensory vibes though, they are likely valuable.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Virgo

Libra

September 24 to October 23

Whenever the Sun coursing through the sign before yours of Virgo, it’s a chance for you to take stock. This year, the sharp-eyed Mercury follows the Sun. In the next few weeks their joint energies give you an excellent to reflect, research and recharge. After an extremely busy time, the opportunity to pause and digest all that has happened can prove to be therapeutic.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Libra

Scorpio

October 24 to November 22

You may have found yourself experiencing a lot of fated encounters, worldly-wise of late, but if your social scene has taken the celestial back seat, now’s a fine time to rekindle meaningful friendships, or to step up your social connections. Lots of fine ideas can be exchanged and these can help you to think your longer-term direction, and deciphering what truly moves you.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Scorpio

Sagittarius

November 23 to December 21

Your appetite for expansion has been activated recently, but perhaps a yearning for new experiences. These may be through travel, education, or online courses or is it around your work that you may be in the mood for a change? If so, don’t limit the scope of what you might do. With the world changing fast, think of how your experience can be used in a fresh way.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Sagittarius

Capricorn

December 22 to January 21

Mercury’s move into fellow Earth sign Virgo can help you make sense of ideas or plans that have been gathering momentum. Whether you’re considering travel, study or broadening your horizons in another way, this influence encourages careful preparation without dampening your ambition. Give finer details attention, for these will be as important as the overall plan.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Capricorn

Aquarius

January 22 to February 19

If recent events have encouraged you to think more deeply about financial or emotional commitments, Mercury’s move into Virgo can help you to slice through to the nub of these. Whether discussing shared resources, or clarifying responsibilities, whilst your instincts can be strong, let them be guided by careful and precise fact finding. Not all maybe as it seems.

Head here for everything you need to know about being an Aquarius

Pisces

February 20 to March 20

Mercury joins the Sun in your opposite sign of Virgo, putting relationships very much in the spotlight. Whether in your personal life or professionally, clear communication can help smooth strengthen important bonds. But here’s the thing, the more you sharpen up your listening skills, the more all this will flow more smoothly, but try not to expect perfection.

Head here for everything you need to know about being a Pisces

Your daily Metro.co.uk horoscope is here every morning, seven days a week (yes, including weekends!). To check your forecast, head to our dedicated horoscopes page.

Check out the tarot horoscope reading for the month of August here.

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MORE: Daily horoscope August 24, 2026: Today’s predictions for your star sign

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The Welsh Emerging Drug Identification Service annual report revealed ‘complex and unpredictable’ trends

Experts at Public Health Wales are warning the illicit drug market is becoming increasingly “complex and unpredictable” with more than one in three samples submitted found to contain substances other than what the buyer expected.

The Welsh Emerging Drug Identification Service (WEDINOS) annual report, published on Tuesday and which covers the year between April 2025 and March 2026, shows 36.6% of community samples with a known purchase intent did not contain the expected substance.

For the first time the programme has identified emerging high-potency synthetic opioids known as orphine analogues. These orphine analogues were also detected, together with veterinary sedatives, in samples submitted as heroin. Stay in the know by making sure you’re receiving our daily newsletter.