It marks the end of an era after 50 yards of being in business

A popular card shop that’s been a key part of a Swansea community for generations has closed its doors for good. Colin’s Cards, located at Elgin Street in Manselton, Swansea, served its final customers on Saturday, March 21.

It marked the end of an era for the store, which traded in the area for 50 years under community stalwart Colin Lightfoot, who initially ran the shop as a cobblers before diversifying and becoming a specialist greeting card shop since the early 1980s.

Mr Lightfoot sadly died aged 86 on Tuesday, June 17, having battled dementia. The shop remained open with new owner Jo Brooks in charge. But the shop closed at the weekend, with all stock reduced to clear. Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here.

The shop had an old-school traditional-feel and was not too dissimilar inside to the one seen in the TV show Open All Hours.

It became every bit as much of a community as it was a business with customers treated as Mr Lightfoot’s friends when they walked in.

Signs are displayed in the shop’s window informing the community that it has now closed down.

On its Facebook page, customers had been invited to visit the store in its final days and “raise a glass to Colin and his empire.”

Get Swansea news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice.

​Residents, politicians, and businesses have called on Yorkshire Water and the Environment Agency to speed up their work to improve water quality in Scarborough and to introduce a year-round testing regime of bathing water in the resort.

​Yorkshire Water has admitted that “for many it feels like too little too late” but promised further significant investment in its storm overflows and infrastructure in Scarborough and across the coast.

​“Irate” residents said “Scarborough is celebrating its 400th anniversary as Britain’s first resort, but it’s now the last resort” at a special meeting convened to discuss bathing water quality in the town.

​​Issues with Scarborough’s bathing water quality have continued to persist and last year’s ratings saw the South Bay still classed as ‘poor’ and the North Bay’s bathing water quality classed as ‘sufficient’.

​Steve Crawford of Surfers Against Sewage told the meeting on Monday, March 23: “Based on the ratings, if it was a restaurant, you wouldn’t touch it with a bargepole.

​“I think it’s fantastic that Yorkshire Water is investing in infrastructure, but it needs to clarify why its previous work failed, if I’m to trust it now.

“I’ve lost my shop, lost my business, lost my livelihood as a surfing instructor because of the water quality. I want to feel that I can leave this meeting and feel that something will get done.”

​Miles Cameron, manager of strategic partnerships at Yorkshire Water, said: “I’m really proud of the bathing water team who will be out working in communities, and Scarborough is a key priority for us.

​“I know for many in the room it feels like too little too late, but it is coming, and we are working on these projects. We hold the operational team to account.

​“We’ve seen improvements, including at Wheatcroft, which we are pleased to see, and were driving that improvement across our assets.

“The Scarborough investment programme will benefit Yorkshire by reducing spills from Scarborough’s five CSOs to no more than 10 per year and no more than two per bathing season, helping to improve and protect the bathing water.

​“The programme is a major AMP8 programme impacting a major urban area with a value of £150 million.”

​The Environment Agency currently tests bathing water quality from May to September, but councillors said Defra should extend the agency’s remit and funding.

​Cllr Roberta Swiers told the meeting: “The extension of the testing regime has to happen because we’re a year-round destination, because holiday parks are used consistently.

​“For everyone in this room its very frustrating that the issues remain and the change has to come faster, we need results, and we want to see Scarough going up in these water quality tables because it’s one of the best resorts in the country.”

​Professor Darren Gröcke has been investigating seaweed as an indicator of water quality in Scarborough for the past two years in a study supported by North Yorkshire Council.

​The Durham University expert said his findings pointed to Scalby Beck as the dominant source of pollution which is understood to be travelling through North Bay and into South Bay.

​He said the pollution itself was “either human sewage or manure from farms, but based on what the Environment Agency (EA) has shown us, human DNA seems to be the dominant one that’s coming through”.

​Professor Gröcke told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the issue could be addressed by going to the source of the pollution.

​He said: “Go to the source, which is Yorkshire Water, and make sure that a lot of that water that’s being released into the Scalby Beck is clean, it’s sterilised, that there’s no DNA, no pathogens in it, and hopefully with monitoring that Scalby Beck through the two to three years, then we’ll hopefully start to see an improvement.”

​Alison Hume, the MP for Scarborough and Whitby, said she was concerned “by the issue that the people of Scarborough cannot be assured that the water they are bathing in is safe”.

​The MP said the system for rating bathing water quality should be more “dynamic” in order to reflect recent improvements “instead of this four-year cycle”.

​Ms Hume added that she would be pushing the Government to adopt “a more dynamic resolution to this, because people don’t want to wait for years, as the water is improving due to recent investment by McCains and Yorkshire Water, and we need to be able to say that”.

​Mr Cameron, of Yorkshire Water, described innovation in water quality monitoring as “the holy grail to inform all water users whether it’s safe to bathe” and noted that the company had installed 20 new monitoring units as part of a trial to assess “how we can provide near or ‘real-time’ water quality data for water users”.

Nuno Espirito Santo will rightly see the visit of former club Wolves to the London Stadium as a must-have three points, though the rest of West Ham’s run-in looks tricky, with home games against Arsenal and Everton plus short trips to Crystal Palace and Brentford, and a journey to Newcastle on the penultimate weekend.

A military transport plane, reportedly carrying 110 soldiers, was involved in an accident in Colombia‘s southern Amazon region on Monday, the country’s defence ministry has confirmed.

The Lockheed Martin C-130 Hercules aircraft crashed shortly after departing from Puerto Leguizamo, a remote location deep within the Amazon near the Peruvian border.

Defence Minister Pedro Sanchez stated the plane was transporting troops from the armed forces when the incident occurred.

Local outlet BluRadio, citing authorities, reported that 110 soldiers were on board the aircraft, which came down just three kilometres (two miles) from an urban centre.

However, Mr Sanchez cautioned that “the exact number of victims and the causes of the crash have not yet been determined.”

US defence company Lockheed Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the accident.

At the end of February, another Hercules C-130 belonging to the Bolivian Air Force crashed in the populous city of Alto, barely missing a residential block.

More than 20 people died and another 30 were injured, and banknotes from the plane’s cargo scattered around the city, prompting clashes between residents and security forces.

Brian Thorley died on Almond Street, Astley Bridge, on Saturday (March 21) at the age of 64.

Police are appealing for anyone with information which might identify Brian’s next of kin to come forward.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “Can you help us find the family of a man from Bolton?

“Brian Thorley (64), sadly died at his address on Almond St, Bolton, on 21 March 2026.

“There are believed to be no suspicious circumstances surrounding his death.

“Anyone with information about Brian’s next of kin should contact the Police Coroner’s Office on 0161 856 4687.”

Once the police have the details that they need, they will be passed along to the Coroner’s Office to let full cause of death be established.

‘Next of Kin’ is not fully defined under UK law, but is usually understood to refer to the closest living relative, be that a parent, a child, or a sibling.

A MAN who died following an incident at a North Yorkshire pub was ‘kind, loving, generous and larger than life’, his devastated family has said.

North Yorkshire Police is continuing its investigation into the death of a man earlier this month following a disturbance at The Elsinore Pub on Flowergate in Whitby.

The force has now formally named the man who died from injuries sustained during the incident as Jason Smith who was 49, and originally from Hull but living in Halifax at the time.

Recommended reads:

Killer jailed after brutal attack ‘verging on torture’ of North Yorkshire man

What inspectors said about the culture at this York secondary school

Major York route closes tonight for essential repairs – drivers warned

Officers responded to reports of a disturbance at the pub at 11.12pm on Sunday, March 15, and found Mr Smith unresponsive. They gave him CPR until the ambulance arrived however medics were unable to revive him and Mr Smith was pronounced dead.

As reported, four men were arrested in connection with the investigation and have since been released on conditional bail.

In a tribute, Mr Smith’s family said: “On the evening of Sunday, March 15, a dearly loved son, brother, fiancé, uncle, cousin and friend was taken away from us all in devastating circumstances.

“The loss of Jason has left such a huge void in all our lives that cannot ever be replaced.

“He will continue to live on in our hearts and memories as the kind, loving, generous, hardworking and larger-than-life character that he was.

“Jason will be greatly missed by so many every day and for the rest of our lives. We are all forever heartbroken.”

Jason’s family have asked that their privacy be respected during this difficult time, and that they be allowed the space to grieve in peace.

North Yorkshire Police’s Major Investigation Team (MIT) is continuing to investigate – detectives have spoken to a number of witnesses but are urging anyone with information who has yet to speak to them to get in touch.

A police spokesman said: “Detectives are now appealing directly to anyone who was in the pub at the time and has not yet spoken to us to come forward. Any information you have may help us further piece together the events of that evening.

“If you have any information that could assist the investigation, please upload details directly to our Major Incident Public reporting portal (MIPP) here https://mipp.police.uk/”

Alternatively, you can contact North Yorkshire Police by calling 101.

If you would like to remain anonymous, information can also be provided confidentially to Crimestoppers via their website or by calling 0800 555 111.

Please quote reference 12260046853 when providing any information

NEW YORK (AP) — WNBA players unanimously approved the new collective bargaining agreement on Monday with more than 90% participating in voting over the weekend.

The seven-year CBA, which will begin this season and run through 2032, represents a landmark labor deal for the WNBA and its players.

“This transformational CBA delivers consequential economic progress and expanded benefits that support players on and off the court,” the union said in a statement. “It builds a stronger foundation for today’s players, the next generation, and those who helped build the WNBA. It affirms the strength of our union and the power of our collective voice.

“Now it is time to get back to the game and the fans we love, competing at the highest level, and showing exactly what this league can be.”

Once the WNBA Board of Governors approves the CBA it will become official. Then there will be a sprint to the start of the regular season on May 8.

First up is an expansion draft for the two new teams — Toronto and Portland. Rules regarding who the current teams will be able to protect and how the draft will work are still being figured out. The draft is expected to take place right around the Final Four.

Next up would be free agency. More than 80% of the league are free agents this year as players had signed deals that were going to expire last year. There are only two veteran players that aren’t under rookie contracts who are signed for this season.

The college draft is scheduled for April 13 in New York.

Teams are expected to start training camp on April 19 and will have little time to get prepared for the regular season.

___

AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball

An air of scepticism greeted the announcement last year that the American sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) would get a UK counterpart.

Critics of the news brought up the incompatibility of British and American humour as a major issue, as well as the lack of big-name British comedians who could potentially work on the show. The latter concern seems to misunderstand the fact that the likes of Chevy Chase and Gilda Radner were plucked out of relative obscurity in 1975 to star in the first season of the original US version.

As a scholar in television comedy, I believe the only way SNL UK could work on its own terms is to allow a new crop of British talent to create their own group dynamic and to rely on the original version of the show in format only. Based on the first episode alone, it seems like they have achieved this with ease.

The most interesting thing about the first episode of SNL UK is how it sought to teach UK audiences how SNL typically works and what they can expect. Former US SNL comedian Tina Fey was selected to host the debut episode, effectively acting as a representative for the institution and fuelling further speculation about her potential takeover of the US show when SNL creator and producer, Lorne Michaels, eventually decides to retire.

In her successful opening monologue, Fey explained the show’s format, mentioning its sketch comedy, musical performances and the fact it was a live broadcast where things can go wrong. Fey’s monologue also included three celebrity cameos – another common feature of the show – from British TV stalwart Graham Norton and actors Michael Cera and Nicola Coughlan. Norton’s inclusion was smartly executed, providing UK viewers with a familiar face right at the start of the show.

The back-and-forth between Norton and Fey involved him quizzing her on various aspects of British comedy and culture more broadly. Along the way, Fey performed impressions from Monty Python, Fawlty Towers and Eastenders. Once again, British comedy culture, plus all of the weird stuff which seeps into the collective consciousness (“Nothing beats a Jet 2 holiday”, “What a sad little life, Jane”), was leaned on in the opener.

The sketches also helped teach the viewer how the show works on a moment-to-moment basis. For instance, the camera frequently tracked backwards once a sketch was complete to show the makeshift set, behind-the-scenes crew members and the live studio audience watching.

Wet Leg were the first British band to take the SNL UK stage, performing two songs from their recent album Moisturizer. Like the US version, the sound quality for these performances was somewhat muddled and poorly mixed, but the band’s energy carried them through.

As is often the case with SNL, not everything worked. David Attenborough’s Last Supper sketch ran too long, involving nearly every cast member playing a famous historical figure – ranging from Al Nash’s Winston Churchill to Emma Sidi’s Cilla Black. George Fouracres delivered a rather weak Attenborough impression. However, his version of the prime minister, Keir Starmer, during the political “cold open” (a topical live sketch that begins each episode) was well-received and will no doubt become a permanent fixture on the programme over the next few years.

Fouracres’ weirdest moment came during the 45 Seconds with Fouracres sketch. The sketch began with Fouracres frantically singing “what kind of Irish is your grandad?” direct to camera, followed by him speaking in various, sometimes unintelligible, Irish accents. This was reminiscent of early SNL sketches and was a clear direct descendent of the surreal humour found in Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer’s Shooting Stars, an often surreal and absurd British panel show from the 1990s. As the show continues and grows in confidence, pushing further in this direction would be welcome.

Along with Fouracres, Jack Shep (with his lip-biting Princess Di) and Hammed Animashaun made the biggest impressions, appearing in nearly every sketch.

Other highlights included the very first Weekend Update segment with Ania Magliano and Paddy Young. Update is the longest-running recurring sketch in SNL history and comments on current news events with cast members playing the role of news anchors. The first UK version featured a prop joke about helium shortages due to the conflict around the strait of Hormuz which was so well executed, I won’t ruin it here.

It also can’t be overstated how much difference a few swear words can make. It’s common knowledge in comedy that a carefully timed “fuck” can double your laughs. In the case of this week’s episode, the same could be said for a carefully timed “cunt”. Due to a more relaxed approach to late-night programming, this is one of the major ways in which the UK version can differentiate itself from its occasionally tame US forebear. It will be interesting to see just how far this can be pushed in future episodes.

The first episode reached 226,000 viewers in its 10pm slot on Sky One, a number which is likely to increase as people watch on catch-up services later in the week. Sky One received a bigger audience share than Channel 4 in the same timeslot, which is a resounding success for a programme broadcast on a subscription-based television service. Time will tell whether this initial curiosity will sustain into longer-term engagement and enthusiasm. But for now, the stars and writers can rest easy knowing that the first episode exceeded all expectations and has the potential to begin a new era in British comedy. See you on Saturday night.

Moreover, guests looking to spend time on the beach may encounter another obstacle: Coogee Beach has previously struggled with sewage pollution, with foul smelling “poo balls” washed onto the shore. Tens of thousands of these lumps have appeared since 2024. Thought to be splinters from a giant fatberg in the Sydney sewer system, these balls were confirmed by academics as being composed of cooking oil, soap scum, hair and human excrement.

Huw Owen was at the centre of a manhunt after leaving his victim, Julian Hargreaves, lying on the floor of his home in Staithes overnight, alone and unable to move after punching and kicking him repeatedly before hitting him with a lamp.

Owen, 42, from Cornucopia Close in Norton, was jailed today and told he will serve a minimum of 16 years and 110 days for killing Mr Hargreaves.

Mr Hargreaves’ brother Jonathan raised the alarm on March 14, 2024, after finding him on the floor of his living room with two black eyes and a small cut to the top of his head. He believed he had been there for a total of 14 hours.

At this point Mr Hargreaves was able to name Owen as the person who had assaulted him repeatedly and struck him over the head with a lamp.

He was taken to hospital but did not recover and died three weeks later on April 4, 2024.

The investigation found that Owen had attacked his victim on the evening of March 13, 2024, and fled, leaving him on the floor.

CCTV footage showed Owen hiding from police near the scene the following day, peering out to see what was happening, while officers worked at the scene.

After a large scale man-hunt, Owen was located in Newcastle on April 10, 2024 and arrested for murder.

Owen pleaded not guilty on August 8 last year but was found guilty by a jury at Leeds Crown Court on Friday, February 20, 2026.

His co-accused, who was also charged with murder, was found not guilty.

Mr Hargreaves had medical vulnerabilities and pre-existing conditions, but the court heard there was a direct and substantial link between the head trauma and his death.

Medical experts concluded that he had been unlawfully killed.

After sentencing, Police Staff Investigator Paul Thompson, of Scarborough and Ryedale CID said: “This was a calculated and sustained brutal attack, verging on torture, on a vulnerable man.

“Callously, Julian was left lying on the floor overnight, alone and unable to move.

“Understandably, this incident has had a traumatic effect on both Julian’s family and the local community of Staithes. Julian was well known and liked, and his death will leave a lasting impact on the local tight-knit community.”

In a Victim Personal Statements, read our in court, Jonathan Hargreaves said: “It’s been almost two years since the death of my brother Julian, and hardly a day goes by when I don’t remember the sight of him laying helplessly on the floor of his house in Staithes.

“I knew something was wrong as I found his door unlocked but was shocked at what I saw. To see him unable to move and helpless was beyond upsetting.

“I can still hear his voice, and it saddens me to think that I will never be able to see him or speak to him again.

“I am grateful for all the help of the NHS for looking after my brother and the care and commitment of all the police officers that have kept me, and my mother appraised throughout, without whom I am not sure we would have managed.”

Mr Hargreaves’ mother Jackie Hargreaves told the court, in her victim statement: “I don’t think a day has gone by, since his death, that I have not cried at his loss and the way he was killed.

“I know that Julian was a poorly man but know he would have been alive today.”

His nephew added: “Not having him in our lives this last two years has felt like walking in a dark hole. Not being able to climb out of that hole, my heart is and always will be shattered and incomplete – like that of my extended family.”

The senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Chief Inspector Tim Bentley said: “This has been a complex murder investigation – a long and difficult case to investigate due to Julian’s poor health prior to the assault, but I hope today’s result offers some comfort to Julian’s family that justice has been done, and that they can now move forward the best they can.”

“The complexity of this case cannot be underestimated and I would like to commend PSI Paul Thompson for his diligence throughout. My thoughts remain with Julian’s family.”