Anthony Kelly, 71, from Haughton, took part in the BEST4 Screening trial this morning (February 3), where a mobile screening unit visited the ASDA Darlington Superstore.

Having lived with reflux and heartburn for most of his life, and experienced first-hand the devastating impact cancer can have, Antony said he was keen to take part.

The retired electrical inspector, who now volunteers at St Teresa’s Hospice, has suffered from stomach problems since childhood.

He said: “When I was seven years old, I was told I had a ‘nervous stomach’ and since then I’ve been on every tablet and prescription you can imagine.

“It’s a lot worse now I’m older and it keeps me up most of the night, so I’m very keen to get it looked at.”

Anthony has seen the impact cancer can have after losing his first wife to leukaemia when he was 23-years-old, and then having lost both parents to the disease. 

Anthony Kelly and Irene Debiram-Beecham, Principal Research Nurse and the BEST4 Clinical Coordinator, who carried out the procedures today. (Image: Cancer Research UK)

He said: “I take prescribed medication for the symptoms, but if I miss any doses, I notice it getting worse. I had an endoscopy a few years ago, but this sounds much more straightforward.

“Any new development which makes it cheaper and less intrusive for these kind of tests is good news. The pill on the thread is fascinating and I’m happy to be involved in something which could help create a future screening programme.”

The BEST4 Screening trial is testing whether a ‘pill-on-a-thread’ capsule sponge test could be used to screen people with chronic heartburn for Barrett’s oesophagus – a condition that can lead to oesophageal cancer.

The trial is backed by £6.4 million of funding from Cancer Research UK and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).

The test takes ten minutes to do, making it much faster and less expensive than an endoscopy. The trial will find out if the capsule sponge test can detect oesophageal cancers earlier, reducing the need for intensive treatments and preventing deaths.

Anthony Kelly and Irene Debiram-Beecham, Principal Research Nurse and the BEST4 Clinical Coordinator, who carried out the procedures today. (Image: Cancer Research UK)

The capsule sponge starts off as a small, coated pill attached to a piece of thread. When a patient swallows the pill and it reaches the stomach, the coating dissolves and the sponge inside it expands to the size of a cherry tomato.

The sponge collects cells from the oesophagus, and they are sent for testing for two proteins which tell doctors if someone has Barrett’s oesophagus or oesophageal cancer.

Following the initial rollout of the trial in Cambridgeshire in November 2024, the trial aims to recruit 120,000 people who regularly take medication for heartburn.

According to analysis from Cancer Research UK, there are around 9,300 new cases of oesophageal cancer in the UK every year.

It is the seventh most common cause of cancer death in the UK, with around 22 deaths a day from the disease.

The BEST4 Screening trial will find out if a new ‘pill-on-a-thread’ test could be used to screen people with heartburn for Barrett’s oesophagus (Image: Cancer Research UK)

Consultant gastroenterologist at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust and principal investigator of the BEST4 Screening trial in North Teesside and Darlington, Professor Matt Rutter, said: “Oesophageal cancer is becoming more commonly recognised in the UK. Despite advances in treating the disease over recent years, only one in five people survive this cancer for five years or more.

“The capsule sponge test is much quicker, less expensive and can be delivered in the community. We hope that the BEST4 Screening trial will help us identify more people earlier and crucially reduce deaths from oesophageal cancer.”

The trial is open to men aged 55 to 79 and women aged 65 to 79 who have regular symptoms of heartburn, acid reflux, or indigestion, or who regularly use medication to manage these symptoms.

If you receive a text message from NHSresearch, you can click the link to sign up, or sign up through the Heartburn Health website: https://www.heartburnhealth.org/join-the-programme/ 

Former Manchester United and England defender Wes Brown has been asked about the prospect of former team-mate David Beckham owning his first club in the future

Former Manchester United star Wes Brown believes it would be a dream come true if David Beckham returned to Old Trafford as an owner in the future. The megastar departed United in 2003 to join Real Madrid for a £25million fee after falling out with Sir Alex Ferguson.

The ex-England captain and United academy product is already firmly involved in the world of football club ownership. Beckham, 50, is a team owner of Inter Miami in Major League Soccer and, more recently, became a leading member of a consortium that owns Salford City.

United’s major shareholders, the Glazer family, have proven deeply unpopular in their time with the club, and speculation over a sale has been rife in recent years. Such uncertainty saw Sir Jim Ratcliffe arrive as a co-owner in 2024 after buying a 27 per cent share for £1.25bn

Ratcliffe’s tenure has seen him become a face of the club’s ownership and he has proven controversial. United have seen a number of cost-cutting measures, including widespread redundancies, and in some corners, an appetitite for a takeover remains.

Brown does not believe a bid from Beckham is imminent, but believes it would be a dream move. “Could Becks come back to United as owner one day? Becks has done fantastic at Inter Miami,” the former defender told BettingLounge.

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He’s brought in some great players. They are building the team again now to go bigger and bigger to become this worldwide brand. He’s done brilliantly in that sense.

Manchester United is a little bit different. Inter Miami are a new team that needs to get itself out there to the world. I don’t think anybody thinks United need to get themselves out there!

But Becks back at United? It would be a dream come true if that was ever the case but I think Sir David is busy enough at the moment.

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Beckham’s ownership group behind Inter Miami formed in 2013 as Miami Beckham United. The ex-AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain loanee agreed a deal when he joined LA Galaxy that allowed him to own an expansion team for a discounted franchise fee.

Speaking in 2023, when United were actively in search of new owners, Beckham explained what he wanted to see happen at that level.

“Whoever is running your club, you want them to be passionate, be involved, make the right decisions, bring in the right players and invest in the club,” he said.

“Because the club does need investment, whether it’s the training facility, stadium, on the field…these kinds of big things need to be made and changes do need to happen, especially when you see the likes of Man City and what they’re doing.”

At least 170 people have been killed by a mob of gunmen in Nigeria, a local lawmaker has told the Reuters news agency.

The attack on the remote village of Woro on Tuesday is among the deadliest of the year so far in a country currently rocked by sectarian violence.

The jihadist raiders had demanded villagers embrace Sharia law, survivors told Reuters.

When they pushed back the militants opened fire.

Residents were rounded up, with their hands bound behind their backs before being executed, local lawmaker Saidu Baba Ahmed claimed.

He added that authorities are still combing through the bushland to find survivors.

He told Reuters: “As I’m speaking to you ​now, I’m in the village along with military personnel, sorting dead bodies and combing the surrounding areas for more.”

The attackers also torched homes and shops before fleeing.

Read more from Sky News:
Teen swims four hours to save family
Air India flight grounded after ‘possible defect’

Woro sits in the central region of Kwara – an area increasingly targeted by gunmen who raid ​villages, kidnap residents and loot livestock.

Kwara police spokesperson Adetoun Ejire-Adeyem said the police and ‌military have been mobilised to the area for a search-and-rescue ‍operation.

He declined to provide exact casualty details.

Just last month around 150 churchgoers were kidnapped by a group of bandits in Nigeria.

Nigeria has become a focal point for the United States in recent months, after President Donald Trump accused it last year of failing to protect Christians.

It led to American forces striking what they described as terrorist targets on Christmas Day.

In a new Channel 4 documentary Our Yorkshire Pub Rescue, Richardson, 43, who is known for his appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown becomes a shareholder in Fadmoor Community Pub Limited, and shows how he works with the community to breathe life back into their local boozer.

Along the way, the Waterloo Road star will get involved in the renovation and be on hand to tackle a variety of challenges.

Ahead of the release of Our Yorkshire Pub Rescue, Richardson discusses what his experience has been like.

HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN A DREAM TO OWN A PUB?

JON RICHARDSON: Yeah, it has been. I mentioned to my accountant once that my long-term goal was to own a pub, and I think it was the closest he’s come to punching me in the face. So this is like a dream. It’s a dream option where you don’t have to own the full pub, but you get to gob off about what you think they should have and what you think they should sell.

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE PLOUGH?

JON RICHARDSON: We talked with a production company about doing something around pubs, and specifically community-owned pubs, and then they heard about The Plough. We went up and did a visit and met everyone, and it just seemed right immediately. The people there were amazing, and the building was great. It was a quick turnaround from finding the building to getting Channel 4 to back it, so we were quite lucky.

THE RELEASE OF THIS DOCUMENTARY COMES AS THE GOVERNMENT ANNOUNCED ITS U-TURN AND A SUPPORT PACKAGE FOR PUBs. DOES it HIGHLIGHT HOW MUCH LOCAL PUBS ARE STRUGGLING?

JON RICHARDSON: Yeah, I think that’s been happening a long time. I think pubs have faced various challenges over the years. There’s always something on beer duties. At the moment, I think there’s a big problem around pubs, and a limit to what the publicans themselves are able to do in in the buildings that they run.

You can feel a clash between the problems that pubs are facing and their importance in the country. Lockdown was defined by the access you had to a pub. I feel like every different phase we were in was about whether you could eat in a pub, drink in a pub, sitting two people in a pub. Their importance can’t be overstated.

“We haven’t got into the business race thing on this series, because it just feels like pubs face one problem after another. What we’re trying to get into are the core values of a pub and what do you have to offer a local community that means you get to stay open for 50 years.

WHAT OBSTACLES DID YOU COME ACROSS?

JON RICHARDSON: There’s been so many. The first time I walked in, I could not believe there were no walls, no floor, no electrics, no toilets. I was flabbergasted. So even the starting point to me was this is more Grand Designs than a pub series. This is actually building something from scratch.

WHAT SORT OF LANDLORD WOULD YOU BE?

JON RICHARDSON: I’d be a terrible landlord because I’m quite grumpy. Ultimately, what I like, this is the real problem facing pubs: quiet pubs. I like pubs where I can sit in the corner, maybe stroke a dog now and again, go and get a pint, sit and not be bothered.

But for The Plough to succeed, it needs to be busy and full all the time, which I would be advising them against – let’s not have too many people in.

The great thing about this is that I don’t have to be. At some point, the shareholders will have to hand over the pub to somebody who’s going to run it, and that’ll be a really interesting phase, because at the moment, they’re doing everything themselves.

HOW DID YOU FIND THE MANUAL LABOUR? DO WE SEE YOU DOING A LOT OF IT DURING THE SERIES?

JON RICHARDSON: That is a recurring theme. If that’s what you’re into, people laughing at my efforts, then I’ll be pleased to tell you people were mocking my driving, my parking, the sandwiches that I bring at lunchtime. That is a recurring theme. But the manual labour I loved, because I’ve never done anything like it.

I’ve been doing comedy for 20 years, so there’s no tangible thing I’ve ever achieved.

So even just to grout a tile and to be able to say, ‘I can come for a wee in here in like 30 years and see that bit of grouting and know that I did it’, it’s a totally unique feeling to me.

So I’ll take the mockery. Just to say, we did a bit of plastering outside. I repointed part of the stone wall outside, and I never felt more like a toddler showing a picture of a dog to be pinned on the fridge. I’ve sent that picture of that repointing to every friend and family member I’ve got.

DO PUBS NEED TO EMBRACE THE COUNTRY’S CHANGING DRINKING HABITS?

JON RICHARDSON: I think we’re known as being a bit uptight in this country. And I think the pub is one of the few places where you’ll have a table full of nanas together, just giggling and howling and owning up to stuff.

And you’ll have men who wouldn’t talk in any other situation having conversations that they didn’t think they were going to talk about when they arrived. There are essentials for that, and that is not booze-reliant, which I’m realising now.

Our Yorkshire Pub Rescue, is on More 4 tonight (Wednesday) at 9pm. on Wednesday.

Netflix’s hit period romance Bridgerton has returned for a fourth season and fans want to know more about one of its most important features

Bridgerton has come back for an electrifying fourth season and fans want to know more about the ‘ton’.

Set in the Regency era in the first half of the 19th Century, the popular period drama based on the books by Julia Quinn follows a noble family finding love in London’s high society.

After eldest daughter Daphne (played by Phoebe Dynevor), and sons Anthony (Jonathan Bailey) and Colin’s (Luke Newton) time in the spotlight, this time Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) is taking centre stage.

Following a memorable meeting with a mysterious Lady in Silver at a masquerade ball, Benedict strikes up a hidden romance with new maid Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha), unaware that they are one and the same.

Throughout the series there are frequent references to the ‘ton’, including local gossip being spread by Penelope aka Lady Whistledown (Nicola Coughlan) being referred to as the ‘talk of the ton’.

But what is Bridgerton’s ton?

During the Regency era, the ton simply referred to the upper echelons of society in London.

Whenever the aristocracy and wealthy elite gather in the court of Queen Charlotte (Golda Rosheuvel), they are collectively referred to as the ton as a shorthand for the most powerful and influential class of the capital.

The term originated in the 1800s and is actually derived from the French phrase ‘le bon ton’, which means good manners.

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Throughout the series, the ton gathers during the ‘season’, ie the spring and summer months, for luxurious balls and banquets.

One of the main focuses of these events was the ‘marriage mart’, a highly competitive and cutthroat period of the year where debutantes (unmarried daughters) of the family were announced as young women of marrying age.

While many young women were almost immediately wedded to the most rich and powerful bachelors, such as Francesca Bridgerton (Hannah Dodd), others take longer to find a match while some, including Eloise (Claudia Jessie), for now, swear off marriage for good.

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‘Dearest gentle reader’, as the fourth season of Bridgerton follows second son Benedict love story, there’s a way to watch this fairytale-like season for less.

Sky is giving away a free Netflix subscription with its new Sky Stream TV bundles, including the £15 Essential TV plan. This lets customers watch live and on-demand TV content without a satellite dish or aerial and includes the new season of Bridgerton.

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In Bridgerton’s fourth season, Benedict defies convention entirely after years of casual affairs when he strikes up a budding relationship with Sophie, a young woman of the servant class.

Assuming she’s a member of the ton when he meets her at the ball, Benedict has an impossible decision to make when he eventually discovers that the Lady in Silver is, in fact, Sophie and not a member of high society after all.

And before then, Benedict will have to make amends after insulting his secret paramour by asking her to be his mistress. Find out if they can bring their clandestine affair out into the light when the second half of season four drops later this month.

Bridgerton season 4, part 2 releases Thursday, 26th February on Netflix.

Entry to the school was restricted as a precaution

A small number of school children were turned away from a school in a Cambridgeshire town due to a threat in the area. Ernulf Academy were made aware of a “threat in the community” this morning (Wednesday, February 4).

Ernulf Academy took the precaution of restricting entry to the school. The school is in touch with the police and is following their advice.

Lessons at the school are continuing as normal. Ernulf Academy is keeping parents updated on the situation. The threat has not been disclosed.

A spokesperson for Ernulf Academy said: “This morning, we were made aware of a threat in the community and we have taken the precaution of restricting entry to the school. We are in touch with the police for their advice.

“Lessons are continuing as normal and the school is safe, calm and happy. We have procedures in place to respond to situations such as this and students have responded well to what has been asked of them.

“A small number of students were turned away from school this morning as the safety precaution took effect, we are sorry for any disruption caused by this.

“We are keeping parents and the local community updated whilst we take advice from the police. The safety of all our students and staff remains our top priority.”

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What are the “four horsemen” of separation?

1) Criticism

2) Contempt

3) Defensiveness

4) Stonewalling

Craig Spiers had been attending appointments at the GP surgery for five years before he learned he had cancer.

A dad-of-two was told by his GP to “go home and calm down” before being diagnosed with cancer.

Craig Spiers, 46, from Glasgow, said it took five years of doctor’s appointments before he was diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer of the small bowel in 2013. It has since spread to his liver and has also caused heart problems.

He said: “These visits didn’t get me anywhere and I was even told there was nothing wrong with me and that I had to go home and calm down as it was a result of stress from work.

“My cancer was invisible to the doctor.”

The dad is one of many patients whose stories have sparked a warning from a charity that those with an “invisible” cancer are being turned away by doctors and waiting years for a diagnosis.

There is an urgent need to ramp up the time it takes for people to be diagnosed with neuroendocrine cancer – which impacts more than 6,000 people a year in England, Neuroendocrine Cancer UK (NCUK) said.

Neuroendocrine refers to a group of cancers that start in the nerve and gland cells that make and release hormones.

Analysis by NCUK suggests rates of the disease rose by 371 per cent between 1995 and 2018, compared to 116 per cent for other cancers in the same period – apart from non-melanoma skin cancer.

Diagnosis takes four-and-a-half years on average, the charity said, with almost half of patients not diagnosed at the first referral and 16 per cent of people returning more than 10 times before getting answers.

More than half of cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage.

There are two main types of neuroendocrine cancer: neuroendocrine tumours (NETs) and neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs), which are fast growing.

The disease can develop in different parts of the body, such as the stomach, bowel, pancreas and lungs.

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Symptoms include unexplained weight loss, tiredness, pain, diarrhoea, bloating, wind, heartburn, asthma-like symptoms, a flushing rash and a persistent cough.

Common misdiagnoses include irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, or menopause, experts said.

Gordon Brown, 62, is a GP from Ashby De-La-Zouch who “missed” his own cancer.

“I had been experiencing many seemingly benign symptoms but I never thought they were a result of neuroendocrine cancer,” he said.

“I did go to the hospital a couple of times complaining about the abdominal pain/diarrhoea but no one did a scan. I’d ask my GP colleagues for advice but everyone, including myself, felt that the symptoms were not significant enough.”

Lisa Walker, chief executive of NCUK, said: “A key part of the challenge of neuroendocrine cancer is that it doesn’t align with the common cancer narrative many expect.

“It doesn’t act or look like more known cancers and unlike others, it isn’t always about recovery or decline, it often requires people to live with it for many years. That is why we need a conversation that reflects the reality of the condition.

“Delays to diagnosis and inconsistent care cause serious and lasting harm. Precious time is lost, allowing the cancer to progress before people receive the treatment they need.

“Patients and families describe these experiences as isolating and frightening, leaving them without support when they need it most.

“This is unacceptable and requires urgent attention.”

Professor Raj Srirajaskanthan, a consultant gastroenterologist at King’s College Hospital, said: “In my years as a NET clinician, I have sat across from thousands of patients, and while every story is unique, they often share a hauntingly similar prologue.

“A large number have undergone a long and circuitous journey to their diagnosis, commonly being misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, or menopause.

“This period of ‘not knowing’ is often marked by a sense of being unheard, as patients struggle to reconcile their debilitating symptoms with ‘normal’ test results.”

Prof Srirajaskanthan said managing NETs is “often a marathon, not a sprint”.

“Many of my patients have been undergoing treatment for over a decade,” he added.

Martyn Caplin, a professor of gastroenterology and neuroendocrine cancer at the Royal Free Hospital, said faster diagnosis can lead to more treatment options for patients, even if the disease cannot be removed surgically.

“Smaller volumes of neuroendocrine cancer are generally easier to manage than a more advanced disease, and larger tumours are more likely to cause significant symptoms, regardless of where they are in the body,” he added.

“Delays increase both the physical and emotional toll on patients and limit clinical options.”

When a silver-clad stranger admits she cannot dance at a masquerade ball in the first episode of Bridgerton’s new season, Benedict Bridgerton (Luke Thompson) is both entertained and mystified.

“A lady who cannot dance? Is this a part of the character you are playing tonight? A silver ingenue?” he asks Sophie Baek (Yerin Ha). A lady of the Ton who is unequipped with the vital accomplishments for the “season”? Unthinkable. Today, we are no longer defined by our ability to dance, but in the world of Bridgerton, dance is central to identity and a signifier of social status.

In Regency Britain (1795-1837), dance was a vital accomplishment for elite society. The skill was regularly deployed in assembly rooms and the London townhouses of the beau monde – the pinnacle of metropolitan fashionable society.

From an early age, boys and girls in polite society were trained in deportment (posture and bodily carriage), etiquette and dancing by dancing masters – a role assumed by Benedict at the Bridgerton masquerade.

Dancing in Regency Britain

The real Prince Regent of the time (the future George IV) started to learn from his dancing master at the age of six, becoming so renowned for his prowess that he was celebrated as “the life of the dance”. Dancing masters were crucial to transforming girls and boys into ladies and gentlemen, equipping them with the skills necessary to perform when they made their entrance into society around the age of 18.

At a dance lesson in fashionable Queen’s Square, the German traveller, diarist and novelist Sophie von la Roche observed that the six-year-old girls “are eager to learn, as they are already quite advanced and promise to make good dancers”.

However, not everyone in elite society was an accomplished dancer. Writing about the Duke of Devonshire, the press diplomatically observed that dancing was “not his forte”. Meanwhile, the real Queen Charlotte’s eldest daughter struggled with her dance lessons as a teenager. The Princess Royal pleaded in a letter to her governess: “I have behaved well in every occasion except last Wednesday, that I danced ill … However, I hope that you will not give me quite up, since I have done everything else well, and that I dance[d] better last Friday.”

A lack of skill would only lead to ridicule and disgrace, as Lord Mansfield observed of the 19-year-old Lord Titchfield in a letter: “To set out in London raw as he is seems to be Ruin.”

Dance was a prized accomplishment for building reputation and staking a claim to inclusion in elite society, especially since “narrow examination[s]” and “thoro’ inspection[s]” were integral to the ballroom. Learning to dance was so ubiquitous in polite society that those who did not – or could not – dance stood out from the crowd.

The societal waltz

In Bridgerton, as the illegitimate daughter of an earl, Sophie is disadvantaged, but has not have been entirely excluded from society. We’re told that she was allowed to watch lessons with her stepsisters, but was not directly included and taught.

Unaware of Sophie’s background, Benedict is perplexed by her “puzzling” inability to dance, assuming that she was raised like the other young ladies of the Ton. And it is precisely this inability to dance that becomes a defining characteristic in his search for her in the following episodes. Indeed, Benedict’s hopes are raised when he hears of Mrs Mondrich’s (Emma Naomi) neighbour, who had not been taught to dance – certain she must be his mysterious lady in silver.

As Sophie’s dancing master, Benedict teaches her the waltz – a scandalous dance newly introduced to the British ballroom from France and Germany.

Unlike the lively and communal country dance and graceful minuet, which revolved around distance, the waltz featured a couple in a close embrace whirling around the ballroom. While quite a tame dance form today, the Regency waltz’s close physical contact shocked society. “Mad, bad, and dangerous to know” poet, Lord Byron even wrote a poem about it in 1812:

Hot from the hands promiscuously applied,

Round the slight waist, or down the glowing side;

Where were the rapture then to clasp the form,

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From this lewd grasp, and lawless contact warm?

Benedict teaches Sophie the waltz box step (which actually emerged in the late 19th century), but the Regency waltz was even more daring, with the dancers stepping between their partner’s legs. With a new, fashionable dance to master, diarist Thomas Raikes observed: “Old and young returned to school, and the mornings were now absorbed at home … whirling a chair round the room to learn the step and measure of the German waltz.” He continued: “The anti-waltzing party took the alarm, cried it down; mothers forbad it, and every ballroom became a scene of feud and contention” – a marked contrast to the ball scenes we see in Bridgerton.

Despite being raised as a social outcast, Sophie learns the waltz with ease like the other ladies in elite society, showing her compatibility with this season’s hero, and, perhaps, hinting at her true belonging in the Ton.

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