A 22-year-old man allegedly arranged the murders of his parents and 10-year-old sister for their inheritance, police said

A 22-year-old man’s plot to ‘do away with his family’ was foiled when police had his parents fake their own deaths.

Russian authorities have disclosed how they tricked the suspect into believing he’d contracted a hitman to eliminate his wealthy parents and 10-year-old, all in a bid to inherit their wealth.

Detectives became aware of the alleged scheme and staged the murders in the family home, even having his parents fake their own deaths.

The police then sent images of the fabricated murder scene to the son, who was entirely unaware of the covert operation.

An officer assumed the role of the hired assassin in the Russian resort of Sochi, a host city for this year’s FIFA World Cup, reports the Mirror.

The son had provided the “contract killer’ detailed instructions on how and where his family should be murdered, it is claimed.

He’s even said to have sketched out a floor plan, pinpointing where security cameras were located, and how to dodge guard dogs.

He agreed a price with the undercover copper for wiping out all three of his relatives, police said, and insisted on seeing pictures of his slain parents.

The man’s mum and dad – ” with detailed instructions on the method and location for his family’s execution, it is alleged.

He’s even reported to have drawn up a floor plan, indicating the positions of security cameras and how to evade guard dogs.

He negotiated a fee with the undercover officer for eliminating all three of his relatives, police stated, and demanded photographic evidence of his deceased parents.

The man’s mum and dad – “devastated” by their son’s purported plans – played dead in the police mock-up, and photographs of them, appearing to bleed from “fatal” knife wounds, were taken.

The “assassin” arranged a meeting in a Mercedes and presented the photographs of his “murdered parents” to the man.

Images of the man’s sister were not made public, and it remains uncertain whether she was involved in the police sting operation.

Upon seeing the photos, the suspect showed “delight” and agreed to pay the negotiated £38,000 fee to the person he believed to be a hitman, once he had received his inheritance.

However, the son – whose identity has been kept confidential – was swiftly apprehended by armed officers, as shown in police footage.

He admitted his guilt immediately, according to authorities in the Krasnodar region, who revealed that he had previously tried to kill them twice.

“He wanted to get rid of parents because they were not giving him money,” a police source disclosed.

“Before looking for a killer he tried to get rid of his relatives twice. He searched on the internet to find out how to carry out the murders.

“The criminal planned to put pills in the kettle to poison his parents but his father discovered something was amiss. Then the son intended to break a thermometer in his parents’ car so that they would be poisoned with mercury vapours. But he lost his nerve.”

During interrogation, the young man confessed: “I had been planning it for several months. I’m so done with them, they didn’t understand me, so I found a contract killer.”

His parents “cannot believe he could do this”, officers reported.

His father is the head of a significant educational institution in Sochi.

The family owns a sizeable property and vehicle, as well as savings which would have been inherited by their son.

It has been just over a week since the US launched strikes on Iran, sparking a conflict that has destabilised the entire Middle East region. The economic impacts are being felt across the world as the America and Israel continue to exchange fire with Iran, which has retaliated by hitting targets in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and Iraq.

As fighting escalates, Iran has warned that it will “set fire” to any ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, delivering a sudden shock to the global economy. Around 20 per cent of the world’s gas and oil is shipped through the waterway, with the Iranian threat proving highly damaging for global trade.

Ten ships have reportedly already been hit since the conflict began, as a senior adviser to the Iranian military warns it will “not allow a single drop of oil to leave the region”.

The country’s approach has been called ‘economic warfare’, with the action threatening to hit economies across the globe. US president Donald Trump has indicated his military could “take over” the Strait of Hormuz to mitigate the impacts. At present, trade remains almost at a standstill.

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In the UK, the situation has prompted similar financial anxiety to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which had a long-standing impact on the cost of living.

Addressing concerns in recent days, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “It is important to acknowledge that work is needed, because people will sense – you will sense, I think – that the longer this goes on, the more likely the potential for an impact on our economy, impact into the lives and households of everybody and every business.”

Shocks to global oil and gas trade can have a direct impact on household finances in ways that are both obvious and subtle. Here is an overview of what could happen in the coming days and weeks:

Energy bills

Wholesale gas prices have risen by almost 50 per cent since Saturday 28 February, when the conflict began. Although not directly correlated, these rates are a major influence on energy costs in the UK and the level at which Ofgem sets its energy price cap.

The UK imports most of its gas supply from Norway at about 50 per cent, and a further 40 per cent is produced domestically in the North Sea. Meanwhile, Qatar supplies a small amount of liquified natural gas (LNG) to the country, about 1 or 2 per cent.

But despite Britain’s apparent lack of dependence on Gulf-produced gas, impacts on trade there can have massive knock-on effects on prices here.

Founder of the new Verdant think tank and host of the Macrodose economics podcast, James Meadway, explains: “The impact, although initially it turns up in one market somewhere in the world, it starts to feed into what’s happening everywhere else as well.”

“This is a huge shock, and one that’s feeding already into gas markets in terms of the day to day price that wholesale companies pay, and what households – you and I – will be paying will change in about three months time and it’s likely to go very, very high.”

In good news for UK households, the cap for April to June was set in February, meaning bills are effectively protected until July. The energy regulator announced a seven per cent, or £117, reduction to the figure, broadly in line with Labour’s pledge to cut energy bills by £150 from the start of the new financial year through scrapping an energy efficiency scheme.

The energy price cap sets the maximum amount energy suppliers can charge for each unit of energy for those on a standard variable tariff. It includes most households and is expressed as an annual bill for an average home.

Ofgem will announce its cap for July to September by 27 May. This could be a steep increase of as much as 10 per cent, or £160, increase due to the situation in the Middle East, energy consultancy Cornwall Insight has warned.

The rise threatens to effectively wipe out the savings Labour was looking to pass to households over the year, however energy bills in this scenario are still lower than they would have been had the government not made the change.

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In light of the situation, money experts have advised households to take action now to insulate themselves from the worst-case scenario rises. Martin Lewis has urged bill payers to consider a fixed tariff energy deal, which guarantees that customers will pay for their energy at a set rate for a set period of time, usually a year.

Commenting on the situation, the personal finance guru said: “The end of May is likely crunch time: This is usually when the next Price Cap (July to Sept) is announced. It currently seems very likely it will rise, though just how much all depends on how long lived the current energy price spike is.”

“If rates haven’t dropped back down by May, and it looks like it’ll stay high so the October Price Cap will rise too, and no cheap fixes are available, then things get into real problem territory.”

Petrol

Petrol and diesel prices have hit their highest in nearly 20 months this week, latest data shows, increasing by between 4.68p and 8.59p per litre since Saturday 28 February.

On average, drivers can now expect 137.51p per litre of unleaded petrol, and 150.97p per litre of diesel, at the pump.

This means the cost of filling up a 55-litre family car has increased by as much as £4.72 in just over a week, with further price rises expected in the coming days.

Commenting, AA president Edmund King has urged UK motorists to consider cutting out “non-essential journeys” as fuel prices rise.

The rise has been fuelled by a spike in oil prices, which have a significant effect on the cost of wholesale fuel. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil prices, jumped to over $100 a barrel on Monday for the first time since 2022.

As with gas, “the price of oil is set internationally”, Mr Meadway says. “If something disrupts global production in some way … then the price of oil globally goes up. Then that turns pretty rapidly into the price you see at the petrol pump.

“This dramatic shock – perhaps the biggest single oil shock ever – that turns pretty rapidly into rising fuel pricing.”

Food

One of the less obvious cost of living impacts that may arise from the ongoing conflict is increasing the price of food and other grocery items, economists warn.

In the short-term, this is because transport costs will increase as a result of rising oil prices, pushing up the cost of trade. With the UK importing roughly 40 per cent of its food supply, this could have a knock-on effect on the prices on shelves.

“Every bit of that supply chain is relying, typically, on petrol and diesel and bunker fuel to actually move this stuff around. That will turn into, quite likely, rising prices for food fairly rapidly,” says Mr Meadway.

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But there is a “slightly more obscure” factor that threatens to push up food prices, the economist adds, which is “in many ways more fundamental”. This is the price of artificial fertiliser, which is a key product to the UK’s domestic agriculture.

Mr Meadway explains: “The Gulf now is one of the world’s largest producers of artificial fertiliser and it does that because a big input to making fertiliser is natural gas, and there’s lots of natural gas in the gulf, so it’s quite cheap for companies to set up there.”

“If fertiliser supplies are disrupted for a period of time … then food prices will start to look pretty dramatic I think.”

As with any global conflict, the ongoing situation is volatile and unpredictable. The worst impacts of the Ukraine war were felt within the first year of Russia’s invasion in February 2022, with inflation peaking at 11.1 per cent in October of that year, and the price cap hitting a record £4,279 in January 2023.

Should the conflict in the Middle East end soon, the worst impacts may be avoided. President Trump has already indicated that his war with Iran may be over “pretty quickly,” but for now the exchange of fire – and consequent disruption the the global economy – continues.

For all the latest cost of living guidance, readers can visit The Independent’s regularly updated guide

Sales figures show that 150,000 tickets have already been sold for this summer’s TK Maxx presents Scarborough Open Air Theatre series – beating the previous record by 35,000 tickets.

More than one million tickets have now been sold for shows at the North Yorkshire Council-owned venue since it was refurbished and re-opened to the public in 2010.

Scarborough Open Air Theatre 2026 summer breaks records. Photo Cuffe & Taylor

This year’s sales come as the council revealed that last summer’s run of 18 shows – with headliners including Will Smith, Gary Barlow and The Smashing Pumpkins – boosted the local economy by £8.8m.

With 10 extra shows in 2026, including major international artists as Alanis Morissette, Michael Bublé, Hollywood Vampires, Teddy Swims and Nile Rodgers and CHIC, organisers are predicting that this summer’s series will bring a £15m economic boost to the Yorkshire coast.

Alanis Morissette is one of the headline acts at Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Photo: Cuffe & Taylor

Rick Astley and Lottery Winners kick off the 2026 series on Friday, June 5.

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Peter Taylor, co-founder of venue promoters Cuffe and Taylor who have programmed the summer series since 2016, said: “This summer is going to be the biggest and best-ever at Scarborough Open Air Theatre.

“Many of the shows have already sold out and many others are close to being sell-outs. There is a real buzz about the venue, not just here in North Yorkshire but across the country and abroad. This is one of the hottest outdoor concert venues anywhere in Europe.

“Shows at Scarborough OAT draw music lovers from around the UK and overseas and we know how important the summer series is for the local economy and the thousands who work in visitor-related industries on the Yorkshire coast.”

Will Smith at Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Photo: Cuffe & Taylor

North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for arts and culture, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “Last year’s programme of concerts generated millions of pounds for the local economy, and helped support our important tourism sector.

“To have more than a million tickets sold over the past 16 years is a clear indication of just how popular the Open Air Theatre is, and the record number of concerts this summer will bring even more memorable performances and economic benefit to Scarborough and wider area.”

With around 70 per cent of gig goers attending shows travelling more than an hour to the North Bay venue, local hospitality businesses are among those who benefit.

Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Photo: Cuffe & Taylor

An Economic Impact Assessment carried out by North Yorkshire Council showed the summer shows in 2025 generated an estimated £8.8m boost for the local economy, excluding ticket sales revenue and spend within the venue.

The shows attracted 110,495 attendees, of whom 77,444 travelled more than one hour to the venue.

It is estimated concert-goers staying overnight spend around £115 outside the venue while those returning home after shows spent around £50 locally. It is also estimated more than 44,000 hotel bed nights were booked locally over the Open Air Theatre season.

BANGKOK (AP) — The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil briefly topped $100 a barrel early Thursday, just days after it spiked near $120 in the latest jolts to financial markets and the global economy as a whole.

Oil prices initially shot more than 9% higher as supply concerns worsened with Iranian attacks on commercial shipping around the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. campaign of airstrikes in Iran is now in its 13th day.

U.S. benchmark crude oil jumped 4.5% to about $91 a barrel. Brent, the international standard, was trading 5.3% higher at about $97 per barrel.

Iran has escalated its attacks aimed at generating enough global economic pain to pressure the United States and Israel to end the war. But there was no sign the conflict was subsiding.

Iran has targeted oil fields and refineries in Gulf Arab nations and effectively stopped cargo traffic through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes.

In response, the International Energy Agency agreed Wednesday to release 400 million barrels of oil, the largest volume of emergency oil reserves in its history, in a bid to counter the war’s effects on energy markets. The U.S. planned to release 172 million barrels of oil next week from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve to combat steep prices.

The IEA’s announcement came a day after energy ministers from the Group of Seven — the leading industrialized nations of Canada, the United States, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Britain — met in Paris to look at ways to bring down prices.

But the continued strife and uncertainty have fueled speculation prices could push still higher, and that pulled shares lower.

The future for the S&P 500 lost 0.4% while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.5% lower.

Germany’s DAX lost 0.4% to 23,533.60, while the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.7% to 7,982.64. Britain’s FTSE 100 sank 0.7% to 10,285.91.

During Asian trading, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1% to 54,452.96. In South Korea, the Kospi lost 0.5% to 5,583.25, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gave up 0.7% to 25,716.76.

The Shanghai Composite index shed 0.1% to 4,129.10 and in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.3% to 8,629.00.

On Wednesday, U.S. stocks were little changed as the S&P 500 edged 0.1% lower for a second day of modest moves following a wild stretch caused by the war with Iran. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.6%, to its lowest level this year, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.1%.

Since the start of the war, sharp moves for oil prices have triggered swings up and down for financial markets worldwide, sometimes by the hour. Oil prices briefly spiked to their highest levels since 2022 this week because of the possibility that production in the Middle East could be blocked for a long time, which in turn raised worries about a surge of debilitating inflation for the global economy.

In a report, Oxford Economics said “the swings in Brent crude oil prices over the past several days are eye-catching and odds are volatility will remain because of the absence of a timeline for when the conflict will de-escalate and when the Strait of Hormuz, which is effectively closed, will see traffic begin to recover.”

The level of volatility suggests that depending on news developments, oil prices could spike as high as $140 per barrel, it said.

A report released Wednesday showed U.S. consumers paid prices for groceries, gasoline and other costs of living that were 2.4% higher in February than a year earlier.

That’s the same level as the month before and better than the 2.5% that economists expected, but it remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target and doesn’t include the spike in gasoline prices this month due to the war.

High inflation combined with a stagnating economy would create a worst-case scenario called “stagflation” that the Federal Reserve has no good tools to fix. Stagflation fears are rising not just because of higher oil prices but also because of weakness in hiring by U.S. employers.

In other dealings early Thursday, the dollar fell to 158.84 Japanese yen from 158.95 yen. The euro fell to $1.1553 from $1.1566.

The online retailer is offering £30 off during its Spring Deal Days event, dropping the price from £169 to £139 until March 16

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Amazon has undercut competing retailers with its latest price drop on Apple’s AirPods – but it won’t last long. The e-commerce giant is running its annual Spring Deal Days promotion, slashing £30 off the Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation.

Normally priced at £169, they’re now available for £139 – a reduction of 18%. This beats the £169 asking price at rivals including Apple, Argos and Very, though the week-long promotion ends on Monday, March 16.

These earbuds are the premium choice of the two AirPod 4 models available, as they include Active Noise Cancellation (ANC), unlike the AirPods 4 without ANC (£99). This technology blocks out ambient noise for a more immersive listening experience.

The AirPods 4 offer several fresh features absent from previous generations, including Conversation Awareness, which lowers volume automatically when you speak before returning it to normal levels. Via Adaptive Audio, the ANC responds to your environment, whilst Spatial Audio gives the sensation that sound is coming from all around you.

Apple has additionally refined the AirPods’ construction for enhanced comfort, even during prolonged wear, whilst the included charging case is said to be the smallest ever produced. When used with the case, the earbuds can provide up to 30 hours of battery life and up to five hours on a single charge, reports the Liverpool Echo, reports the Daily Star.

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Additional standout features include IP54 water resistance and ‘Find My’ compatibility, enabling users to track down their AirPods through their iPhone or iPad if they go missing. Alternatively, shoppers can purchase the identical model for £5.50 monthly through Sky Mobile’s payment scheme. The caveat is that this pricing demands a 36-month contract commitment.

For those taking advantage of Amazon’s Apple AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation offer, shoppers have awarded them an impressive 4.6-star rating based on over 20,000 reviews.

One customer commented: “This latest generation is incredible. I upgraded from the first gen, and the difference is incredible. Active Noise Cancellation is great, and the sound is crystal clear. Battery life is excellent, the touch volume control is fantastic, and they seem durable enough to hold up well with use.”

Another remarked: “Fab AirPods. The sound quality is excellent, and they were very easy to set up straight out of the box. They connect quickly and the battery life has been great so far. They’re comfortable to wear and stay in well, whether listening to music or watching videos.”

One purchaser offered a word of warning to those outside the Apple universe, noting: “They are decent-sounding headphones, I would only get them if you’re already in the Apple ecosystem, though. They connect to iPhones and iPads seamlessly, but good luck getting it to do that on anything else.”

One five-star AirPods 4 review states: “Absolute quality, perfect size, fits in the ear perfectly. Easy to use too, functions are easy to change and use, volume control is easy. I love them, the noise cancelling works really well.”

Meanwhile, another pleased customer commented: “Best headphones I’ve had, sound quality great. I struggle with noise-cancelling headphones, and the settings on these really help. I like being able to hear what’s around me and being able to cancel noise.”

The pilots of an easyJet flight to Edinburgh declared an emergency as the aircraft diverted to Manchester.

An easyJet flight has declared a mid-air emergency on route to Edinburgh Airport. Flight EJU7835 departed Amsterdam Airport Schiphol shortly before 6.15am on Thursday, March 12.

The Airbus A320 was due to arrive at Edinburgh at around 7.50am but was forced to divert to Manchester Airport. Data from flight tracking app FlightRadar24 appears to show the plane attempting to land at Edinburgh Airport before performing a ‘go-around’ – a procedure where pilots abort a landing attempt, turn around and try again.

It then turns south and heads towards Manchester before the pilot initiated an emergency procedure known as squawking 7700. The flight was the most tracked globally on FlightRadar24 before it landed at Manchester Airport at around 8.20am.

easyJet have been contacted for comment. It is currently unknown if the flight was affected by the weather after the Met Office issued a yellow warning for winds of up to 70 mph in southern, central, eastern and north east Scotland. Forecasters said in Scotland and England, gusts of 50-55mph are expected widely, while some coastal areas and places downwind of high ground could see gusts of 60mph or even 70mph in a few places.

They warned of potential delays to road, rail, ferry and air transport and said there may be some short-term loss of power and other services. However, no other flights have been unable to land at Edinburgh this morning.

Emergency response squawking 7700 means a general emergency has been declared. It can cover a range of scenarios including a technical or medical emergency. The procedure allows air traffic controllers and ground crews to respond to the emergency in the most effective manner.

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Unrelenting Iranian attacks on shipping traffic and energy infrastructure pushed oil above $100 a barrel Thursday, as American and Israeli strikes pounded the Islamic Republic with no sign of an end to the war in sight.

Iran hit a container ship off the coast of Dubai, caused a blaze near Bahrain’s international airport, targeted a major Saudi oil field with a drone and forced Iraq to halt operations at all of its oil terminals after attacking its port of Basra on the Persian Gulf.

Iran flouted a U.N. Security Council resolution from the previous day demanding that it halt strikes on its Gulf neighbors with new attacks also reported in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates.

Sirens wailed before dawn in Jerusalem as Israel intercepted incoming Iranian missiles, and loud booms were heard later in the day in another attack on the city.

Israel launched a “wide-scale wave of strikes” on Tehran and in Lebanon, where Israel says it is targeting Iran-linked Hezbollah militants, 11 people were killed in two early morning strikes.

Since the United States and Israel started the war with a Feb. 28 attack on Iran, Tehran has focused on inflicting enough global economic pain to pressure them to halt their attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump suggested that was not imminent, however, promising to “finish the job” even though he claimed Iran is “virtually destroyed.”

“We don’t want to leave early do we? We’ve got to finish the job,” he said at an event Wednesday in Kentucky.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei hasn’t yet made a statement or been seen since being chosen to succeed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening day of the conflict. But Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian suggested online Thursday that for the war to end, the world would need to recognize Iran’s “legitimate rights,” pay reparations and offer guarantees against future attacks.

In addition to attacking energy infrastructure around the region, Iran has a stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the waterway leading from the Persian Gulf toward the Indian Ocean through which a fifth of the world’s oil is transported.

With traffic in the strait effectively stopped, the price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, rose another 9% to more than $100 a barrel, up some 38% over what it cost when the war started.

Iran fires at Gulf Arab countries and hits ship in Persian Gulf

The U.N. Security Council voted Wednesday to approve a resolution demanding a halt to Iran’s “egregious attacks” on its Gulf neighbors, but Tehran showed no signs of changing its strategy.

As the day began Thursday, a container ship in the Persian Gulf was hit with a projectile off the coast of Dubai, sparking a small fire, according to British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center. It said the crew of the vessel were safe.

In Bahrain, an Iranian attack sparked a major fire on Muharraq Island, home to the country’s international airport. Sirens sounded again later in the morning with more incoming Iranian fire.

Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said an Iranian drone smashed into a residential building, wounding two people. The UAE said it had activated air defenses twice to protect Dubai from attacks, and firefighters extinguished a blaze at a tower in Dubai Creek Harbor after a drone hit.

Saudi Arabia said it shot down a drone targeting the diplomatic quarter of the capital, Riyadh, and also reported downing drones in the kingdom’s east, including at least one trying to target its Shaybah oil field.

Following an attack on Iraq’s Basra port Wednesday that killed at least one person, officials said Thursday that operations were halted at all the country’s oil terminals.

Farhan al-Fartousi, the director-general of the General Company for Ports of Iraq, said the attack targeted a vessel in a ship-to-ship transfer area of the Persian Gulf port.

In the UAE, CitiBank said it would close all its branches except one due to a threat by Iran, not yet realized, to target financial institutions in the region. Other financial institutions have reportedly urged their staff to work from home for the time being.

Explosions heard Jerusalem while Lebanon and Tehran are hit

In addition to the attacks on Jerusalem, in which no casualties were immediately reported, missile launches from Iran and Hezbollah also sent Israelis to shelters in multiple other areas, including Tel Aviv and the northern border with Lebanon.

An Israeli strike hit a car Thursday in Ramlet al-Bayda, a major seaside tourist area of Beirut where dozens of displaced people have been sheltering. Eight people were killed and 31 others were wounded, the Lebanese Health Ministry said. The Israeli military press office told The Associated Press it was “not aware” of a strike at that location.

In Aramoun, a town about 10 kilometers (6 miles) south of Beirut, another three people were killed and a child was wounded in another early Israeli attack.

In Tehran, security force checkpoints came under attack for the first time on Wednesday night, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported. At least 10 people were killed in the suspected drone assaults.

Israel and the U.S. military’s Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment over whether they were behind the attacks.

Casualties continue to climb as conflict continues

At least 634 people have been killed in Lebanon since the latest fighting began, the Lebanese Health Ministry said Wednesday.

The U.N. refugee agency said at least 759,000 people have been internally displaced in Lebanon.

Iranian authorities say more than 1,300 people have been killed there, and Israel has reported 12 people dead. The U.S. has lost seven soldiers while another eight have suffered severe injuries.

___

Abou AlJoud reported from Beirut and Rising from Bangkok. Associated Press writer Sam Mednick in Tel Aviv, Israel, also contributed to this report, along with AP journalists around the world.

Ashton Davis, who trains at Bishop Burton College, was awarded Best Apprentice Showing Management Potential in a Manufacturing Environment, at the National Institute of Meat (IoM) and Worshipful Company of Butchers Annual Prizegiving.

The college was also named Best Training Provider at the ceremony, which took place at Butchers’ Hall in London on February 26.

Mr Davis, who is completing his apprenticeship at Cranswick Country Foods plc, was selected from a field of apprentices across the UK.

Paul Nicholson, butchery tutor at Bishop Burton College, said: “We are incredibly proud to see Ashton recognised on a national stage.

“This award is a testament to his dedication, but it also speaks to the quality of our training for the butchery apprenticeship here at Bishop Burton College.

“We strive to provide our apprentices with the skills required to thrive in a modern industry, and seeing our students stand among the best in the country at Butchers’ Hall is the ultimate reward.”

Mr Davis received a £250 prize and a year’s honorary membership of the Institute of Meat.

Bishop Burton College was also named the Best Training Provider (Image: Bishop Burton College)

Both Mr Davis and Mr Nicholson were presented with a certificate of achievement by IoM chief executive Dave Smith and Gwyn Howells, Master of the Worshipful Company of Butchers.

Mr Smith said: “Huge congratulations to Ashton Davis and also of course to Bishop Burton College and Cranswick Country Foods plc. achieving this award has meant an exceptional amount of hard work and dedication from all three.

“It’s fantastic to be celebrating today with our biggest ever audience.

“This is proof that there is a real buzz around the meat industry at the moment.

“Ashton is part of a forward thinking, innovative industry.

“With the continued support from his training provider and employer, I am sure Ashton will have a future just as bright as the industry itself.”

The IoM and Worshipful Company of Butchers Annual Prizegiving celebrates the achievements of butchery apprentices, training providers, and employers.

Nominations are vetted by a panel of industry experts, with only 12 categories awarded nationwide.

The event also marks the announcement of the next cohort of IoM-accredited Master Butchers.

Enquiries about butchery apprenticeships at Bishop Burton College can be directed to apprenticeshipenquiries@bishopburton.ac.uk.

Police said an investigation into the shooting is now in ‘critical early stages’

An investigation is underway after gunshots were blasted at a woman in Liverpool.

The shooting happened on Lime Grove, off Lodge Lane in the Toxteth area, at around 12.55am this morning (Thursday, March 12). Armed officers were scrambled to the scene.

Merseyside Police said a woman, aged in her 20s, was shot in the legs. She was taken to hospital from the scene.

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The shooting was believed to have been ‘targeted’ with the attack carried out by someone ‘known to the victim’, police added. A probe is now underway with the investigation in its ‘critical early stages’.

Forensic officers remain on the scene. A police car has been pictured stationed on the road this morning, the Liverpool Echo reports.

Detective Inspector Ainsley McAlice said: “These are the critical early stages of our investigation, and we are looking to establish exactly what happened, where it happened, and to find the person responsible.

“We understand the concern that such any such incident will have in our communities, and initially believe that this was a targeted attack by someone known to the victim. If you know anything or live locally and saw the incident or anyone making off around Lodge Lane or towards Sefton Park, please come forward as a matter of urgency.

“Your CCTV, doorbell footage or other information could be vital evidence. Officers will remain in the area today, gathering evidence and speaking to people locally to provide reassurance, so contact us directly or anonymously via Crimestoppers.”

Information can be given to Merseyside Police’s social media desk using X or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact Centre. You can also report information here https://orlo.uk/2CLH6 or by calling 101 quoting incident reference 23 of Thursday 12 March. Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here.