The deal will see the council acquire the properties from Realm Homes, adding a mix of houses and flats to its housing stock.

South Lanarkshire councillors have approved a £9.4 million plan to add 43 affordable homes in Cambuslang.

The decision was given the go-ahead at the council’s Executive Committee on Wednesday (February 3) and will see 43 completed homes at New Road being brought into council ownership.

The deal will see the council acquire the properties from Realm Homes, adding a mix of houses and flats to its housing stock.

The homes will be purchased for a total of £9,387,735, with funding supported by a Scottish Government grant through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme. The development includes two- and three-bedroom terraced houses as well as one- and two-bedroom flats.

Councillor Andrea Cowan (Rutherglen Central and North) questioned if there could be considerations given to increase the number of accessible homes.

She said: “I say this every time we build or acquire new council stock, it’s always very welcome.

“I do just have one question, from the plan it looks to me as though there are 19 houses, so two- and three-bedroom properties and 24 flats, and it’s the flats that I want to talk about. I’m just wondering why all of the flats have stairwells as opposed to elevators. Now I appreciate there is a cost implication in putting a lift shaft in and that it is more expensive. But, there are only going to be eight ground floor flats which would be fully accessible. These would be the only fully accessible properties out of 43. And, I’m just wondering if perhaps it’s worth a wee bit more investment to make all of the flats accessible?”

Council officers stated that it would be difficult to make it viable due to the costs involved and they need to look at the wider need for housing, which, in this area is family houses – the development has included 19 family houses which council officials have said is the optimum mix.

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Councillor Katy Loudon (Cambuslang East), asked if the council were satisfied that there were enough homes to meet demand.

She said: “It’s always very welcome to hear about new housing, especially as this housing is in my ward as well, which I’m delighted about.

“Its about getting the mix right, in terms of casework and people that come to us in that part of Cambuslang, its very often people looking for accessible housing, or people looking for big properties, like family housing, three-bed plus.

“So I was a wee bit disappointed when I saw on the map that we’ve got there that it was only nine units that were down as three-bed plus, and the rest were two and one, so it’s only a quarter.

“Just in terms of what I see people looking for bigger housing. Are we confident that we’re getting the mix right for the demand that’s in the area of that three and four beds housing?”

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Council officers confirmed that they are confident that they are achieving the correct mix of homes to meet demand.

The acquisition forms part of South Lanarkshire Council’s wider efforts to address growing housing demand. Under its Local Housing Strategy, the council has committed to delivering an additional 1300 affordable homes by March 2027 through a combination of new builds and acquisitions.

New Road in Cambuslang has already been identified within the council’s Strategic Housing Investment Plan as a potential site for new council housing. The most recent plan, approved in December 2025, sets out capacity for up to 2408 affordable homes across South Lanarkshire by March 2031.

Realm Homes brought forward the Cambuslang site in response to a Prior Information Notice issued by the council in 2023, which invited developers to propose affordable housing opportunities.

Council officers confirmed the proposal met all required criteria and represented value for money.

READ MORE: Plans for council adding 43 new affordable homes will be voted on this week

The deal remains subject to planning consent and confirmation of Scottish Government grant funding.

Construction will proceed under a development agreement, with payments released in stages as work progresses and a ten-year warranty provided on completion.

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PSNI have confirmed that the road has been reopened following the incident

A road has reopened in Newtownards following an earlier incident.

The Belfast bound side of the A20 Kempe Stones Road in the vicinity of Mountpleasant Drive, has now been fully reopened following a serious road traffic collision.

A police spokesman said: “Road users are advised the A20 Kempe Stones Road in Newtownards has reopened this morning following a serious road traffic collision on Tuesday evening.”

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NIAS has also been approached for comment.

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Husband and wife Victoria and Chris Rothwell have taken on the ownership of the Luxury Ice Cream Company (LICC), in Back Swinegate.

The pair, who live in Appleton Roebuck, are set to re-open the shop – known for its award-winning homemade gelato – at the end of this month.

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Victoria said: “This will be our very first business.

“We want to take on this stewardship – maintaining the shop’s quality homemade gelato, style and excellent reputation among residents and visitors of York alike.”

Victoria, who has spent 26 years working as an accountant for corporate firms, will be serving customers and running the LICC day-to-day.

Meanwhile Chris, who originally hails from California, will handle the business’s marketing – strengthening the brand and its presence in York.

The couple are renovating the interiors before opening day later this month (Image: Supplied)

The exterior of the LICC, which stands out along the street for its attractive bubblegum pink entrance, will essentially remain the same, Victoria confirmed.

It comes as the pair work to paint and decorate the shop’s interiors, giving them a fresh lease of life.

As reported by The Press, the LICC’s previous owners Steph Blair and her partner had announced that they were stepping back from the company after more than six years.

A statement online read: “We couldn’t be happier with the people we have decided to sell to and know that they will continue the legacy of LICC to the best of their abilities.

“It’s been in the works for some time now but we’re adamant we sold to the right people.”

‘We’re so excited to get started’

Victoria said that Steph and her partner “couldn’t have been more supportive” through the sale – even helping Victoria and Chris create some customer-favourite ice creams.

Victoria added: “They’ve been such an enormous help and we’re fortunate to have such a wonderful relationship with LICC’s previous owners.

“Aside from the classic LICC flavours, we do plan on introducing some new ones, so you may see some peanut butter-inspired creations – inspired by Chris’s Californian roots.

“We’re so excited to get started.

“While renovating, we’ve had many people come to LICC enquiring about its re-opening.

“A few even popped in while we had the door open, thinking it was running still.

“It certainly is popular and we hope to maintain this in the years to come.”

For more information, please visit https://luxuryicecreamco.co.uk/.

Ellis, 19, was fluent before the crash but ‘forgot’ the language and felt isolated at university

A student who crashed his car and suffered concussion, temporarily lost his fluency in Welsh, leaving him cut off from friends and feeling like a “foreigner” at his Welsh-speaking university, while also enduring flashbacks, anxiety, and brain fog. Ellis Pears, 19, a law student at Aberystwyth University, said he was driving down a muddy country road in November 2024 when another car drove on to the wrong side of the road, forcing him to swerve and causing his car to flip over, leaving him concussed.

A few days later, Ellis, whose first language is English but who had always been fluent in Welsh and attended Welsh-medium schools, said he suddenly struggled to speak Welsh. This left him feeling isolated, as a third of his university course is in Welsh and many of his peers spoke low-level English, making it hard to keep up with both his studies and social life.

He believes the concussion triggered his language difficulties, and his low mood and daily nightmares and panic attacks made it even harder to concentrate. Over time, as his mental health improved, so did his Welsh, and he can now speak the language at university level again, and panic attacks typically occur only when he sees a car crash.

Ellis, who is from Cardiff, said: “I felt like a foreigner in a different country because I couldn’t understand people around me, and not many people knew English so didn’t understand me. I stayed in my room and I didn’t go to lectures for four weeks after my language got worse, then I’d be surrounded by people in my flat that I couldn’t understand.

“I went from being able to do university essays on human rights laws to not being able to build a Lego set.” Ellis began studying at Aberystwyth University in autumn 2024, and after a few months he was “starting to settle in”.

That was until November, when his day-to-day life “completely changed”. One morning he was driving his 2013 Ford KA to a friend’s house down a country road about five miles outside Aberystwyth.

After a storm the previous night, he was being especially careful because of the amount of mud on the roads. But, he said, a car came around a corner and drove on to his side of the road and he had to “choose between” being hit by the oncoming 4×4 or swerving, so he swerved.

He recalled losing control on mud and spinning several times, before hitting a bank. He said the car then flipped over three times before it was finally stopped by a fence post going into the car’s wheel arch, “wedging” his car into the ground.

“In the moment, I remember it spinning and thinking ‘Crap, this is out of my control’ – there was nothing I could do,” Ellis said. “I was shouting and shouting but there wasn’t a house for two miles either way.”

Ellis then “went into survival mode” with “so much adrenaline” – he said he climbed out of the car through a window and began searching for his phone. After 20 minutes he found it in a field next to the lane, rang the police and used what3words – a geocoding system that divides the world into 57 trillion 3m by 3m squares, assigning each a unique, fixed three-word address – to give them his location, which was listed as “///passion.cobras.toasters”.

He said: “It completely saved my life – I was in the middle of nowhere, and without it, I’d be walking about two miles before I found a road sign, let alone a house. It was an absolute godsend – I would urge any driving instructor to instruct your pupils to download it, any parents, and just everyone to get it.”

Police arrived to secure the road and check Ellis over. He only had a cut on the back of his head from a piece of glass, but went to Bronglais Hospital the same day to be checked.

He had CT and MRI scans, and tests on his heart, blood and bones, and was “surrounded” by nine specialists while he was “poked and prodded”. He said: “I don’t think I had a single thought in my head, I was just in shock – the only thing I remember saying is that I didn’t want my little sister seeing me with all the machines around me.

“I felt guilty that my family was so worried too. I only moved to university two months before, I hadn’t even been to all the pubs yet, and I was already in hospital.”

He was diagnosed with a concussion and, about 24 hours later, “once the adrenaline wore off” he “completely mentally crashed”.

He said he had “brain fog” and could barely follow the instructions of a simple Lego set. A few days after the crash, he noticed he was also struggling to speak Welsh. He believes this was because of the concussion, and his low mood made his ability to concentrate even harder.

Ellis had been in Welsh-medium education since nursery and could speak the language fluently to university standard. At university, one third of his course was in Welsh, including essays and lectures, and all of his friends and housemates spoke Welsh “constantly” to each other.

Ellis added that he would speak Welsh around Aberystwyth, whether he was in a shop or “ordering a pint”.

According to the 2021 Census, 17.8% of the population in Wales speak Welsh, and in Ceredigion, the county where Aberystwyth is located, 45.3% speak Welsh. Ellis said: “I was just sat there and didn’t write a thing during the entire lecture – I couldn’t comprehend any of it.

“I tried emailing my lecturer in Welsh but I couldn’t get the words together, couldn’t do the formalities and the grammar or even the most basic Wenglish, which is slang Welsh. “A lot of my mates at university only speak Welsh, it was their first language and their English is poor so I suddenly couldn’t have conversations with my friends.”

Since the crash, Ellis had been suffering from low mood, anxiety and flashbacks. He was not formally diagnosed, but also believes he was experiencing PTSD.

Despite this, he was given a replacement car and decided to take it on short journeys to “feel in control”, despite his family being “so worried”.

He said: “My general mood was terrible – I was a right miserable sod. I wouldn’t smile, I was riddled with anxiety, permanently exhausted. I wasn’t sleeping properly – it would take me hours to get to sleep, and even then, I would be up every half an hour.

“I’d have panic attacks before bed every single night, my whole body would shake and my neck and knees would jerk and I’d be physically in pain.”

In December 2024, he tried taking antidepressants but felt they numbed his emotions and did not work well for him. He found that going to a piece of land, in the fresh air, shouting and chopping wood “genuinely helped”.

By June 2025, he noticed a significant improvement in both his mood and his language skills. Ellis believes that as his mental health improved, his ability to concentrate increased, which in turn helped his language skills recover.

He achieved a third in some modules at university, but was reassured that this would not affect his final grade “too much”.

His flashbacks reduced to about once a week, or when he saw anything related to a car crash. Now, he said, his Welsh has “gone back to normal” and he only has panic attacks when driving past another car crash.

He thinks his comprehension is still “a little slow” and that he struggles with reading instructions. Looking back on his experiences, he said: “It made me think a lot about my priorities – so going home and spending time with family and going out with mates instead of focusing so much on work.”

For more information, visit: www.what3words.com. For support, visit: www.nhs.uk/nhs-services/mental-health-services.

Police said hundreds of thousands of people travel on the road daily and emergency crews were expecting the worst when they responded to the incident on Monday

Two people have survived after a small plane crashed into cars on a busy road.

A single-engine aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing on the road around 12.10pm on Monday, February 9 in Georgia in the United States, crashing into multiple vehicles at a busy intersection, the Gainesville Police Department said.

Gainesville Police Captain Kevin Holbrook said the plane was attempting to return to the airport after the pilot noticed a loss of engine power.

Thomas Rogers, the pilot of the aircraft, said everything went wrong just moments after take-off.

“We lost our engine taking off out of Gainesville and realised, tried to glide back, did everything by the book, but realised we weren’t gonna make it back with how far out we were, so we came down the road,” Mr Rogers told local media.

Without a runway in reach, Mr Rogers was forced to aim for traffic-filled asphalt.

The aircraft struck three vehicles during the emergency landing and ripped a fuel tank loose, sending it crashing into the back of an SUV.

“The fact that this plane came down, did not strike any power poles, any power lines, and only hit three vehicles is absolutely remarkable,” Captain Holbrook said.

Captain Holbrook said hundreds of thousands of vehicles travel the roadway every day so emergency crews were expecting the worst.

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“This is typically a situation which we would see multiple fatalities,” he added.

Onlooker Deanna Campbell watched in disbelief the as the landing unfolded.

“I just told my husband, I said, ‘That’s a plane! That’s a plane!’ It really scared us,” Mrs Campbell said.

Police confirmed that Mr Rogers and a student pilot suffered minor injuries in the incident and were taken to hospital for treatment.

Jack Tanbini and Logan Hards, both 30, admitted carrying out a violent raid on a family home.

A lottery jackpot winner made threats to petrol bomb residents in their home and murder them and their relatives.

Jack Tanbini has been remanded in custody after he and his friend Logan Hards admitted carrying out a violent raid on a family’s home.

The duo were captured on CCTV as they launched a tirade of violent threats while kicking in the door of the property. A woman could be heard screaming from inside the property.

Hards, 30, and Tanbini, 30, are then seen fleeing from the flat in Watson Street, Dundee, with a bag of mystery items on November 25, 2024.

Tanbini, who scooped £100,000 from a winning scratchcard when he was a teenager, and Hards had sentence deferred by Sheriff Alastair Carmichael.

Both admitted making threats to kill the occupants and booting in the door of the property before taking items from within.

Fiscal depute Joanne Ritchie told Dundee Sheriff Court that the duo arrived in a car and parked outside before storming upstairs to a flat occupied by siblings.

The CCTV footage captured them saying “hear you are away to get murdered. If you dinnae chuck the money out the windae, you’re about to get petrol bombed. I’m going to kill your mum. Where’s the money?”

They tried and failed to kick the door in, before returning a short time later and successfully forcing their way into the flat at the second attempt.

Tanbini’s solicitor Jim Caird told the court the former lottery winner was currently serving more than five years in jail for a drug dealing charge.

“There’s no violence on his record,” Mr Caird said. “He is currently serving a very lengthy sentence. His liberation date is not until the end of 2029.

“The sentence he received has been absolutely life-changing as he had never been in prison before. A very hard lesson has been learned.”

Tanbini was jailed for five years and five months at the High Court in 2025 after he was caught being concerned in the supply of cocaine worth around £150,000.

In 2019, Dundee Sheriff Court heard how Tanbini was caught with around £1,000 worth of cannabis after being stopped by police for dangerous driving.

He admitted dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving without insurance and possession of cannabis – and told the court he had already blown most of his teenage lottery win.

Cash and carry apprentice Tanbini bought his £1 scratchcard when a shopkeeper refused to let him pay for crisps after he’d delivered his groceries.

He claimed he would use the windfall for driving lessons and to buy a car, but by 2019 his solicitor Jim Caird revealed Tanbini had spent almost every penny.

Mr Caird said: “He has had five years where he hasn’t had to work. He has something like £2,000 left.”

Banks will be required to hand account information to the DWP and even allow them to take money

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) must make sure it uses its significant new bank account checking powers proportionately because public trust is at stake, according to a spending watchdog. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) highlighted how the DWP has been given powers to compel banks and other financial institutions to provide information to help verify a claimant’s eligibility and entitlement to benefits.

The Public Authorities (Fraud, Error and Recovery) Act 2025 gives the Department its new legal powers. The Department can force third parties to provide information when it is conducting criminal investigations, and in some cases recover money owed by people directly from their accounts without a court order.

But the PAC said the DWP has not fully set out how it will use its powers in a way that supports public trust. In a report, it is calling for the department to report in its annual report and accounts on how often it has used the powers given to it in the 2025 Act, and with what impact.

The PAC’s report said: “The department also needs to improve its processes and controls to stop overpayments arising in the first place and prevent losses to the taxpayer. A key element of this is drawing on data held by other government departments to help check claimants’ entitlement to benefits.”

The report also highlighted how the DWP has now committed that it will put right the cases of 26,000 carers incorrectly recorded as having overpaid carer’s allowance. The PAC’s inquiry heard that it will take around two years to identify all those affected, with 200,000 cases to be reviewed.

The PAC also said that people not receiving their full benefit entitlement as a result of not informing the DWP of a change in their circumstances is also a growing problem. Its report said: “Unfulfilled eligibility was estimated to be £3.7 billion in 2024–25, up from £3.1 billion in 2023–24. It particularly affects claimants of disability benefits, such as personal independence payment, who fail to report that their condition has worsened.”

The PAC said said the DWP should evaluate how well it is encouraging claimants to report changes in their circumstances. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “Make no mistake, the DWP’s new powers to reach further into citizens’ lives are significant.

“Our committee of course firmly supports Government in its responsibility to ensure people are paid the correct benefits. But it is essential that these extensive new powers – of compulsion of disclosure over banks and financial institutions, of recovering funds directly from people’s accounts without the aid of the courts – have the risk of over-reach mitigated against right from the outset.

“Indeed, a separate element of our report, which saw a welcome apology from the DWP’s permanent secretary to all those carers wronged by his department, demonstrates the impact that wrongly-implemented powers can have on people’s lives.

“Our report finds beyond doubt that current ambitions to address unacceptable levels of benefit fraud and error are not stretching enough. More could be done on a cross-government basis to improve the accuracy of benefit payments, and the Department has not yet taken a proper look in the mirror to address official error rather than focusing entirely on claimants.

“But our report marks the now 37th year in which the DWP has had its accounts qualified by the UK’s chief auditor due to material levels of fraud and error. As PAC chair, I would say to the department’s leadership directly: we are just three years away from what would be a sad and embarrassing milestone. Urgent action must be taken per our recommendations for the DWP to have something to celebrate in the years to come.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “We have introduced major reforms to ensure people are paid the correct benefits, to recover overpayments and to help save billions of pounds for the taxpayer. The powers in the Fraud, Error and Recovery Act have numerous safeguards and will be independently overseen.

“We will not have access to claimants’ bank accounts when checking they are receiving the correct benefits. We are forecasting an ambitious reduction in fraud and error levels to 2.8% by 2028-29, the lowest level since tax credits were introduced in 2003-04.”

With the Irish League title almost certainly gone and, following their elimination from the Irish Cup, the Blues may have to rely on the BetMcLean Cup for a possible route to European football

Linfield came back off the ropes following their shock Irish Cup exit at their weekend with an impressive win over Rodney McAree’s Dungannon Swifts at Windsor Park on Tuesday night.

Goals from Matthew Fitzpatrick, who bagged a sensational treble, skipper Kyle McClean and substitutes Isaac Baird and Sean Brown helped lift the gloom that has hovered over David Healy’s team.

The reality is, with the Irish League title almost certainly prised from their grasp and, following their elimination from the Irish Cup, the Blues may have to rely on the BetMcLean Cup for a possible route to European football.

They face Glentoran in next month’s showcase final, with the winners guaranteed a slot in the end-of-season Euro Play-off Final.

At least their fans at last had something to smile about last night.

It was the Swifts who had the first sniff at goal after only five minutes. Kealan Dillon slipped a clever pass to Adam Glenny on the left channel, and his shot was superbly saved by Chris Johns at the near post.

Linfield retaliated with Fitzpatrick picking out Samy Taylor at the back post, only to see his rasping left-footed drive whacked off the goal line by Steven Scott.

The Swifts threatened again with Leo Alves tricking his way past Ben Hall, but his finishing shot fizzed high and wide.

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Linfield’s Ethan McGee had a glorious chance to break the deadlock on 16 minutes when he met a Kirk Millar corner, but his downward header crashed off the surface and over the crossbar.

Healy’s men finally forged ahead four minutes later. McGee’s penetrating run sliced open the Swifts defence and he found Fitzpatrick, his shot arrowed into the bottom corner.

Dungannon responded in a positive manner with Dillon sending in a fierce drive from 30-yards that had Johns clawing out of the bottom corner.

The action quickly switched to the other end. Fitzpatrick sent Millar charging through the middle and, just when he was about to pull the trigger, Glenny came in with a goal saving block.

Swifts goalkeeper Declan Dunne then produced a wonder save to keep out a stinging Josh Archer drive, the ball spinning agonisingly for a corner kick.

But the Blues were not to be denied. They nicked a second three minutes before the interval when Adam Frizzell’s cutback from the left found McClean, who shot low and hard past Dunne.

Linfield were out of sight on 62 minutes with Baird gobbled up the third.

He was only on the pitch for 90 seconds when he latched on to a McGee cross and he thundered the ball home from close range.

Fitzpatrick then produced a classy finish to a Darragh Leahy cross 15 minutes from time, his deft little back flick, creeping past Dunne.

And, he done it again with three minutes left. Again, Leahy was the provider and this time the former Glenavon man flicked home with the outside of his boot.

Substitute Sean Brown put the icing on the cake with practically the final kick, thundering home a Charlie Allen pass.

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Skatefest 2026 will take over Manthorpe Park Skatepark in Thornton-le-Dale on Saturday, May 23, running from 10am to 4pm with a packed programme of activities.

The free, family-friendly event is open to all ages and aims to celebrate skateboarding while supporting the long-term regeneration of the skatepark.

Manthorpe Park Skatepark in Thornton-le-Dale (Image: Supplied)

Ryan Swain, a community advocate and lead organiser, said: “This is about community coming together.

“Working alongside the Manthorpe Play Park Committee, we wanted to create a free event that celebrates skate culture while also giving something lasting back to the village.

“The skatepark is a brilliant space and this is about helping rejuvenate it, inspire pride in it, and make it somewhere young people feel excited to be.”

Skatefest is a collaboration between the Manthorpe Play Park Committee and Ryedale Skate School.

Skatefest 2026 will take over Manthorpe Park Skatepark in Thornton-le-Dale (Image: Supplied)

Organisers describe Skatefest as a community culture festival, aiming to bring together families, young people, creatives, and residents.

The skatepark, which opened in February 2001, marks its 25th anniversary this year.

New graffiti and street art features will be added to the skatepark wall as part of the wider improvement project.

These will be created voluntarily by artist Ben Walgate, known professionally as Moni Graffiti Art.

Skatefest 2026 (Image: Supplied)

The artwork is intended to give the park “a more inspiring, welcoming environment for young people and the wider community.”

The wall is also being restructured thanks to funding from Matthewsons.

The Skatefest line-up will include live music from bands and DJs such as Lukey-G, Swag, Ryan Swain, Charlie Boy Sings, Strawb, and Callum Russell.

There will also be skate competitions with prizes for best tricks and best runs, as well as free learn-to-skate sessions led by Ryedale Skate School.

Artisan stalls, food vendors, and live street art and graffiti demonstrations will further add to the festival atmosphere.

Organisers say additional activities and announcements will follow.

The event is one of two free community skatepark gatherings planned for the year across Ryedale, with details of the second still to be announced.

Organisers are calling on performers, traders, sponsors, and community partners to get involved.

Enquiries, participation requests, and sponsorship opportunities can be directed to ryedaleskateschool@gmail.com.