On the hunt for the best pizza oven to give to a foodie, or to get ahead for this summer’s al fresco dining? These days you can take your pick from hundreds of wood-fired, gas-fired and even electric pizza ovens. Wood-fired ovens deliver the classic smoky flavour preferred by traditionalists. Gas ovens are smaller, easier to use and offer better temperature control. Electric pizza ovens can cook more evenly.

Ooni leads the way, but Sage, Gozney and La Hacienda are also strong brands. At the top end sits Stefano Ferrara, whose domed, hand-bricked ovens appear in pizzerias worldwide, with prices starting at £6,000. For home cooks, you can achieve near-authentic results with a £300 model from Ninja.

We’ve tested all of these, among others, and you can read our reviews below, followed by answers to some frequently asked questions. But if you’re in a rush, here’s a quick look at our top five:

The best pizza ovens: At a glance

How to choose the best pizza oven

Matt Williams, Co-Founder of the The Oxford Charcoal Company, says the two things to factor is are size and fuel-type. Barbecue-top and portable pizza ovens which can run on gas or electricity are the best option for most homes, because they can be stored away more easily. If you want the best results, however, you do need a wood-fired oven.

“Being able to recreate that incredible wood-fired flavour and texture in your own garden is the ideal,” Williams says and for that, you’d probably need a wood-fired oven hot enough to cook a pizza in 60 seconds – which Italians will tell you is the best cooking time for a standout crust.”

Small wood-fired ovens are available, such as the Roccbox (reviewed below), but most are fairly large. All of the ovens in our guide will enable you to create a freshly-made pizza far superior to anything you’ll buy in a supermarket.

How we test pizza ovens

Greenwood was arrested on January 31, 2022, on suspicion of rape and assault. He was further arrested on February 1, 2022, on suspicion of sexual assault and making threats to kill. He was charged that October with one count of attempted rape, one count of controlling and coercive behaviour and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Greenwood denied the charges.

Sheraz Rasul is counting the cost of the damage that he discovered on Tuesday March 24, after going to his vehicle that he parks in a designated resident’s spot on Bolton Gate Retail Park.

He was shocked to discover the vandalism to his white Volkswagen.

Mr Rasul, 49, who lives in the area, initially thought it had been done by youths, until he watched CCTV footage which apparently showed someone acting suspiciously around the vehicle.

“It wasn’t until a neighbour shared CCTV footage with me that I realised it was something quite concerning,” Mr Rasul told The Bolton News.

In the footage, a figure walking along the quiet road at 4.45am.

They appear to be examining Mr Rasul’s car as they pass by.

They continue past the vehicle and disappear from view behind a black van parked next to it.

After a few moments, the figure reappears, walking back in the opposite direction near to Mr Rasul’s car and eventually walking off in the direction they came from.

Mr Rasul said: “It’s not a very nice thing to come back to, especially as other people might have children or elders they care for.

“This person needs to be caught.”

He added that cars have been damaged recently in the area and is warning others to be cautious.

According to Mr Rasul, at least three other cars have been keyed in the area over the last few months.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police confirmed to The Bolton News that they have received a report and enquiries are ongoing.

They said no further information is available at this time.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact Greater Manchester Police, quoting crime reference number 06KK/0007209/26.

In October 2022, a similar incident occurred on Florence Avenue in Astley Bridge.

A number of vehicles were scratched in the early hours, causing thousands of pounds in damage.

CCTV footage from the scene showed a figure, believed to be a man, walking along the street and damaging at least three cars.

Speculative and futuristic visions of environmental calamity are being imagined globally through environmental fiction. Eco-dystopian novels can help people process their fears or mourn the loss of a more stable climate.

My forthcoming book, Nature’s Return, shows that while anti-environmentalism is gaining traction in the west, the diversity and urgency of environmental visions from across Africa and Asia are coming into view.

Here are my favourite examples from China and Taiwan, Nigeria and India.

China and Taiwan

“You are bugs” is the sobering message of the aliens in Liu Cixin’s bestselling trilogy, Remembrance of Earth’s Past. Series two of Netflix’s adaptation, titled after the first volume, The Three Body Problem, is scheduled for release in late 2026. Liu’s vision of environmental retribution is anchored in a visceral portrait of Mao’s so-called “war against nature”, which reshaped the environment through things like mass irrigation and deforestation to boost economic production.

The trilogy is a leading example of a wide-ranging ecological turn in Chinese culture and Chinese science fiction. As the cultural critics Yue Zhou and Xi Liu explain, the story routinely takes aim at “rampant pollution, water shortage, natural resources depletion, overpopulation and electronic waste”.

Cara Healy, a professor of Chinese Studies at Wabash College in Indiana, US, argues that “for centuries, Chinese intellectuals wrote about the past as a way to critique the present”, but today it is the future that is employed and deployed “to comment on our contemporary world”.

In Waste Tide by Chen Qiufan, readers are told that science fiction is “the greatest realism at the present time”. Set in a gang ridden island covered in tech trash, and populated by desperate migrants and mutant humans, Waste Tide is a bleak parable of China’s abundance of garbage: “This island has no hope. The air, the water, the soil and the people have been immersed in trash for too long.”

The themes of tech waste and contamination have a particular resonance in modern China, but are understandable to readers everywhere. This explains the lively translation market for comparable Taiwanese titles, such as Chi Ta-wei’s The Membranes and Wu Ming-yi’s The Man with the Compound Eyes.

Nigeria

Climate catastrophe frames the drama and ethical vision of Lost Ark Dreaming, by Nigerian author Suyi Davies Okungbowa. Lagos has been drowned, and people are crowded inside the Pinnacle, a vast, partially submerged, high rise in which the wealthy and powerful live on the upper levels, trying to keep the poor and the rising waters at bay. In Nigeria as in China, the eco-dystopian imagination is animated by images of injustice and cruelty, often in ways that refract colonial history. Other Nigerian-American examples include Nnedi Okorafor’s Noor and Tochi Onyebuchi’s War Girls.

India

Indian contributors to the genre include Lavanya Lakshminarayan’s
Analog/Virtual and Varun Thomas Mathew’s The Black Dwarves of the Good Little Bay. The latter is set in the year 2041 in a post-Mumbai in which the population has also crowded into a towering redoubt, though this one is called the Bombadrome and is surrounded by a barren wasteland.

The mistrust of technologically driven change is a distinctive feature of Indian science fiction, but the new wave of eco-dystopias is part of a global conversation. They are diverse but united in their effort to make use of the future to register loss, yearning and possibility.

Malformed landscapes, biodiversity loss and tides of industrial debris are encountered throughout the genre, though climate change looms large in many examples from south Asia and Africa.

The Egyptian science fiction author Emad El-Din Aysha once speculated that dystopia was a distinctly western genre because those with “real-life anxieties around every corner” have no need to invent them. But it appears that real-life anxieties are not a brake but an engine for the imagination. Today’s dystopian imagination is ecological and urgent and asks us to travel far into the future and into every part of the world.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons. If you click on one of the bookshop.org links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

A quick quiz question. What were the first original hits for streaming giants Netflix and Amazon? On Netflix, it was the Kevin Spacey-starring political drama House of Cards in 2013. On Amazon, it was police procedural Bosch, which premiered the following year.

That’s a measure of how far on-demand TV has come in such a short time. It took our traditional terrestrial broadcasters half a century to reach critical mass and become production powerhouses. The streamers have managed it in little more than a decade.

Never before has so much ­small screen entertainment been so easily available. But in a crowded and confusing market, how do you find the right streaming service, or services, for you? To help you decide, we’ve provided a guide to all the platforms available in the UK, comparing their cost, content and more, so you can confidently decide which is worth your money. Let the streaming wars begin…

The best TV streaming services: At a glance

• Best Buy TV streaming service: Netflix
• Best Value TV streaming service: Amazon Prime Video
• Best TV streaming service for families: Disney+
• Best TV streaming service for quality over quantity: Apple TV
• Best TV streaming service for sports: Now

Note: All prices listed below are the starting costs and were accurate at the time of publication.

How to choose the best TV streaming service

Naturally, the most important factor for choosing a TV streaming service is the quality of the content. There’s an element of subjectivity here, depending on your personal tastes and the age ranges you’re catering to, but the big hitters tend to have a broader range of programming to appeal to more viewers.

If one show is especially important to you, it’s worth doing your research before subscribing. Visit the Just Watch website, type in the show you want to watch, and you’ll see a summary of where it can be streamed.

Beyond that, price is also important. While streaming platforms tend to be competitive, subscribing to multiple providers can quickly see costs spiral. Typically, subscription costs range from £3.99 per month all the way up to £34.99 per month if you care about live sports, but cheaper tiers sometimes compromise on image quality and other features, or may be ad-supported.

Finally, consider how easy each platform is to actually watch. Big players like Amazon, Netflix and Disney+ don’t just have smartphone apps, but easy-to-use software for smart TVs and games consoles. Smaller rivals may force you to use a web browser for a bumpier experience.

How we test TV streaming services

It was agreed that Westhoughton would be added to Bolton’s security system on March 4, following a three year struggle during which Westhoughton’s security system was deemed ‘outdated’.

But with the collapse of NCP, Westhoughton’s project has now been severely jeopardised.

Bolton Council operates a number of CCTV systems for the purposes of preventing and detecting crime, controlling traffic and to keep people safe . The CCTV network covering the town centre is operated by NCP

NCP went into liquidation in March (Image: Newsquest)

Westhoughton Mayor Cllr Gillian Wroe said: “I almost cried when I found out – this has been nearly three years of my life.

“NCP going into liquidation has a massive impact on us and our CCTV.

“I’ve attempted to contact NCP about it, but nothing has been forthcoming – as we never fully signed the contract with them, we might not have the same right to information.”

Cllr Wroe contacted Bolton Council to ask what they were doing with their systems following the collapse of NCP.

Market Street, Westhoughton (Image: Dan Dougherty)

She said that Bolton Council officers responded that things were still in the air, and that until things were more settled, they could not give Westhoughton an update on potential next steps.

Although it was agreed that Westhoughton would be added to Bolton’s NCP contract, Westhoughton did not manage to finalise the deal before NCP collapsed.

This means that, although they do not have the CCTV cameras they wanted, they have not lost any money.

The six cameras would have monitored Westhoughton’s Market Street, Library Street car park, and Ditchfield Gardens car park.

Ditchfield Gardens Car Park, Westhoughton (Image: Google Maps)

NCP would have reviewed the footage from their office in Bolton town centre.

Cllr David Wilkinson said: “This is a major problem, not just for us to get a new system in place, but as a security issue.

“It also affects Bolton, so I imagine it will be resolved fairly quickly.”

The council will now hold off on making a decision until Bolton Council have made theirs.

The back of Library Street Car Park, Westhoughton (Image: Google Maps)

This is because they do not want to go back to monitoring their own CCTV after several years of work, and they anticipate Bolton will not take long in reaching a conclusion.

Councillors expressed concern that waiting too long may result in them getting a worse price for the service.

The contract they were about to sign with NCP was for a fixed price – waiting for a period before signing a contract with someone else is likely to result in a higher cost than they originally prepared to pay.

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “We are aware of the situation regarding NCP and the appointment of an administrator.

“Currently all NCP car parks in Bolton are open and CCTV provision is operating as normal.

“We are in close discussion with NCP, and the public will be informed if there is any change to NCP car parks in Bolton.”

A hearing was held on March 26, 2026

A former Cambridgeshire Police officer who sent “misogynistic, predatory, sexually degrading and discriminatory” messages would have been struck off had he not already resigned. PC Kyle Carter-Lawrence was found to have breached the standards of professional behaviour at a misconduct hearing held on March 26, 2026.

Mr Carter-Lawrence faced a total of seven allegations made against him including sending messages that implicated him in class A drug use, making inaccurate declarations on his vetting form, failing to challenge another officer’s conduct and language and use of cocaine and other drugs.

One allegation related to the former officer being a member of a WhatsApp group. The messages he sent to the group were “misogynistic, predatory, sexually degrading, discriminatory, and implicated him in class A drug use”.

The hearing heard that he used language which failed to treat people with respect and courtesy and discredited the police service. According to the public outcome of the hearing, this was found to have been “proven on the balance of probabilities”.

In another allegation, he made references to drug taking, use of cocaine and other drugs. The hearing found that this allegation amounted to “gross misconduct”.

The panel heard that Mr Carter-Lawrence engaged in similar messages in a 1-2-1 chat group with another officer. Those messages were found to be of a “derogatory in nature, referenced sexual predatory behaviour and drug taking”. The hearing found this allegation to be proven and amounted to gross misconduct.

The former officer failed to challenge another fellow officer’s conduct and language within the WhatsApp group. He also made inaccurate declarations on his vetting form which amounted to gross misconduct.

In two other claims made against him, he was accused of associating with those involved in criminal behaviour and concerns of sharing police data. The outcome of the allegation on concerns for sharing police data did not meet the threshold of balance of probabilities and therefore it was not proven.

The outcome found that the former officer would have been dismissed if he had not already resigned.

Sam Lewis Eccles, from Westhoughton has been described as a ‘music-loving, kind-hearted man’.

Friends said the metal bassist that he was at the centre of their group for more than a decade.

Sam tragically died in March, with the cause of the death not known.

His friends are determined to keep him in their hearts and his memory alive, this includes wearing metal music inspired outfits to his funeral.

Friend Deron Lee said: “It took us by surprise and I was completely shocked. I had to take a week or two off work, it rocked all of our reality and still does.

“It is the small and simple stuff that you miss. I used to live with Sam and we had no money, and we used to get pasta and doctor peppers, sit on the couch and watch TV.”

Tribute to Sam Eccles, second from right with his band members. Credit Brandon Ward

People close to Sam mention whenever he was mentioned music was too as he was a bassist for metal band With the Wolves.

Friends remember Sam at Bolton’s skatepark and at gigs the most and had previously worked in several places.

His friends say that Sam was one of the “funniest people we’ve ever met”, adding: “the kind of person who could make you laugh no matter what was going on. He loved his music loud, proper metalcore, the heavier and dirtier the drop, the better, and he lived his life the same way: real, unapologetic, and completely himself.

Tribute to Sam Eccles, in the white top with his band members. Credit Brandon Ward

“He never pretended to be someone he wasn’t. He stood by his values, no matter what. And even through the hardships he faced, he showed a strength that so many of us admired more than we ever said out loud.”

Deron added: “It is great that all of us have come together and are making something positive out of it and the negativity.”

Deron and friend Keira Ashton have decided to take a step further and make the situation more positive while bringing the group back together.

They have organised the “very unfit, very non-athletic” group to come together for Manchester’s Tough Mudder 5k, which is an obstacle course that gets a bit too muddy.

The 5k is to take place in October, which has raised £723 for his funeral on a GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-memory-of-sam-eccles-tough-mudder-5k

Keira said: “None of us have been very fit. One thing he spoke to the friendship group about being fit and going to the gym when he was less busy, so we’ll do it for him I suppose.

“We started being friends in 2016 or 2017, he was one of a kind honestly, and there’s no one that could ever compare to his personality.

“He would not believe us.”