Durham County Council has ruled more information is needed on plans to flatten the former Spectrum Leisure Complex in Willington. 

The facility closed in August 2024 and was later damaged following an arson attack and repeated anti-social behaviour. 

Under plans submitted to the local authority, the entire building is set to be demolished and the site cleared for potential future development. 

(Image: Paul Norris)

The leisure centre was opened in 1982 by the Wear Valley District Council and previously included a dry ski slope, which was ceremoniously opened by Franz Klammer – the then-reigning downhill world champion. 

A BMX track was later built after the site was saved from closure by Ian and Alison Hirst, who formed the Slam Community Development Trust.

But it closed in August 2024 after the company in charge of the site was issued a winding-up order by the High Court.

Slam, a private operator, said the closure was “due to circumstances currently beyond our control with regard to both internal and external issues”.  

The closure was described as a “huge loss” to the community in 2024, despite the condition of the building rapidly declining. 

A planning report states that the building is of no historic or aesthetic value.

Documents submitted as part of the proposal add: “The proposed restoration scheme would ensure the site would be left in a clean and tidy state in preparation for potential future redevelopment. As such, it is considered that the scheme would not unacceptably harm the visual amenity of the area.”

But the local authority said more information on the demolition plan is needed. 

“On the basis of the details submitted, it is considered that insufficient information has been provided to enable the local planning authority to fully assess the proposed method of demolition in relation to the impact upon protected species and trees within close proximity to the building. As such, prior approval is required and refused,” a decision ruled. 

Ivan Toney and Morgan Rogers were among the scorers as England recorded a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Major League Soccer side Sporting Kansas City in a practice match on Thursday.

The game, played behind closed doors at England’s Swope Soccer Village training facility, featured the players not used in Wednesday’s World Cup 4-2 win over Croatia and the squad members who did not play significant minutes in Dallas.

Toney scored a hat-trick while Aston Villa duo Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins were also on target as England ran out comfortable winners.

Jordan Henderson, Eberechi Eze, Marc Guehi, Dan Burn, Kobbie Mainoo, Djed Spence and Jarell Quansah were among the players also involved in the training game.

The game was broken up into two halves of around 25 minutes each.

BBC Sport revealed on Tuesday that the Football Association had arranged the friendly to get minutes into certain players’ legs.

Having arrived back from Dallas at around 10.30pm local time on Wednesday, England players were afforded most of Thursday off.

Players were allowed to see family and friends immediately after the Group L game against Croatia, and loved ones were given access into the camp on Thursday to spend time with the team before they start preparations for next Tuesday’s game against Ghana in Boston (21:00 BST).

Captain Harry Kane and manager Thomas Tuchel were among a group of players and staff that attended a baseball game between Kansas City Royals and St Louis Cardinals later on Thursday.

David Taylor, formerly of Oak Avenue, was on Thursday (June 18) convicted of the murder of child killer Kyle Bevan.

Taylor, 64, and fellow killers Mark Fellows and Lee Newell teamed up to stab Bevan 25 times at HMP Wakefield in West Yorkshire last November.

David Taylor. (Image: WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE)

A week ahead of his trial in February he admitted the murder of Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin, 24, from Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, telling Manchester Crown Court: “Yeah, I’m guilty”.

Alisha was reported missing by her family in February 2022.

Alisha Apostoloff-Boyarin. (Image: GMP)

He was also convicted by a jury in December of the attempted murder of Detective Constable Darren Bratby, whose chest he plunged an improvised weapon into in an interview room at HMP Frankland in Durham in July 2024.

The detective survived the stabbing and spent four days in hospital.

And on Thursday he was convicted at Leeds Crown Court of Kyle Bevan’s murder. Bevan was jailed in 2023 for the murder of his partner’s two-year-old daughter Lola James.

Kyle Bevan. (Image: DYFED-POWYS POLICE)

Jurors in the trial at Leeds Crown Court were told of Taylor’s recent convictions for murder and attempted murder, but fuller details can be reported today.

He could face a whole-life order with no possibility of release.

The attack on DC Bratby came after Taylor, who was on remand at Frankland, contacted Greater Manchester Police through his solicitor.

He claimed to have new information about the whereabouts of Ms Apostoloff-Boyarin, whose disappearance in February 2022 led to a murder investigation.

Taylor maintained she was alive, the court heard, and was living in different parts of the country.

Taylor’s request for a police visit was a ruse.

When DC Bratby arrived for the meeting at HMP Frankland, Taylor plunged an improvised metal weapon into his chest.

(Image: Stuart Boulton)

Despite a partially collapsed lung, DC Bratby and a colleague managed to subdue and restrain Taylor.

He denied intending to kill the detective and said he “lost it” and exploded in anger at being “stitched up” by GMP for a murder he said he did not commit.

Born in Glossop and previously living in Ashton-under-Lyne, Taylor described himself during the attempted murder trial as “an old fashioned villain” with a long criminal history.

He was convicted of aggravated burglary and possession of an offensive weapon in 2007 and was handed an indeterminate sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP).

Taylor was released on licence in 2013, claiming to have rehabilitated through studies in humanist psychology and counselling, as well as earning a foundation degree from the Open University.

In March 2022, police found rifle ammunition at his home on Oak Avenue in Willington, leading to his recall to prison.

Police in Oak Avenue, Willington, as part of the murder inquiry in 2024. (Image: Sarah Caldecott)

Footage of the attack on DC Bratby was shown in court, showing a calm Taylor suddenly leap to his feet from his chair and stab the officer.

Taylor later told prison staff he held no ill will toward them, saying: “I don’t have a problem with any of yous. It’s that f*****. He has given me 99 years.”

He also referred to Greater Manchester Police as “scumbags” who had tried to set him up for murder.

In a later conversation with the prison governor, Taylor confessed: “OK, so it was a planned attack.

“I’m going to tell you straight.

“It was a planned attack and I went to f****** kill him.

“There’s no two ways about it.

“It was orchestrated by me and the target was central mass.

Mark Fellows, who joined Taylor in murdering Kyle Bevan. (Image: GREATER MANCHESTER POLICE)

Lee Newell, who joined Taylor in murdering Kyle Bevan. (Image: WEST YORKSHIRE POLICE)

“That’s it.”

He also revealed that his preferred target had been a sergeant who did not attend the interview.

Taylor is be sentenced at a later date for the murder of Ms Apostoloff-Boyarin and the attempted murder of DC Bratby.

Labour and Reform are anxiously waiting for the result of the pivotal Makerfield by-election with counting is underway in the south Wigan constituency.

Andy Burnham’s team are ‘quietly confident’ of victory and arrived at a Wigan venue called The Edge with a huge smile on his face.

The election result could be decisive for the future of Labour under Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer – with Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham predicted to launch a leadership big if he wins the seat.

Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage threw everything it had at the by-election, with the right-wingers’ candidate Robert Kenyon hoping to cause a political upset.

But their vote could be split by Restore Britain, an ultra-nationalist political group with extreme views on immigration, which has gained traction in recent months, becoming a headache for Reform.

With results expected within the next few hours, you can keep updated and follow the latest about the Makerfield by-election with Metro’s live blog here.

MORE: Andy Burnham hits out at ‘baseless smear’ from Reform over lockdown ‘rule breaking’ allegations

MORE: Nigel Farage roasted for using old photo to celebrate England World Cup win

MORE: Civil servants paid to play GTA 5 ‘to help interact with general public’

A sports injury can feel like a single setback: a twisted ankle, a strained calf or a sore knee. But for many people, the real problem starts when they try to come back too soon – only to end up with a second injury.

Secondary injuries happen for a simple reason. After an injury, the body often changes the way it moves. This is a normal protective response. If one area hurts, feels weak or isn’t working properly, the body shifts the workload elsewhere.

That strategy can be helpful in the short term. It allows us to keep walking, climbing stairs or doing our normal, everyday tasks. But in sport and exercise, where the body has to run, jump, turn or absorb force, those small changes can place extra stress on muscles and joints that were not meant to do the extra work.

Take an ankle sprain as an example. Someone recovering may limp slightly, shorten their stride or put more weight onto their other leg. They may also rely more heavily on the muscles around the hip and pelvis to compensate. Over time, that can lead to pain or injury somewhere else, such as the knee, hip or lower back.

Another reason secondary injuries happen is because pain and recovery are not the same thing. The pain you experience from your initial injury may improve quite quickly, especially with rest. But that doesn’t mean strength, balance, fitness and confidence have returned.

This is where many people get caught out. They feel better, so they assume they’re ready to go back to training even though the body isn’t yet prepared for the demands being placed on it. As a result, other limbs, tendons or joints have to take on more load to compensate for the weak area, leading to stress and strain.

Some injuries are also more likely than others to lead to a secondary problem. Lower-limb injuries are a common example because they affect how we move through almost every activity. An issue with the foot, ankle, calf, knee or hip can change walking, running and landing patterns in ways that then affect the rest of the body.

Sports that involve repeated impact or frequent changes of direction may also carry a higher risk. Running, football and basketball are obvious examples because small problems in movement can be repeated hundreds of times in a single session.

Age can play a part too. As we get older, muscles, tendons and ligaments tend to become stiffer and slower to adapt to load. Recovery may also take longer. That does not mean older people should avoid exercise – far from it – but it does mean recovery often needs to be managed more carefully.

What you can do

To heal from a secondary injury, the first step is to avoid treating it as a completely separate problem. It’s important to ask not just “what hurts now?” but also “what changed after the first injury?”

If someone develops hip pain after an ankle injury, for example, treating the hip alone may not solve the problem. The ankle may still be stiff or weak. The person may still be moving differently without realising it. Unless those issues are addressed, the secondary injury may keep coming back.

Treatment usually starts with reducing unnecessary stress on the injured areas and allowing symptoms to settle. From there, the focus should shift to restoring normal movement, rebuilding strength and gradually returning to activity.

A widely discussed modern framework for soft-tissue injury management is “Peace and Love”, which moves beyond the old “rest and ice” approach. The Peace and Love strategy better supports the body’s natural mechanisms for repair. The old rest and ice approach causes too much restriction in blood, which limits the repair process.

After an injury, you should first focus on Peace – protection, elevation, avoid anti-inflammatories, compression, education (identifying risk factors, a weakness or movement pattern that can be worked on when training resumes).

After that, the emphasis shifts to Love (load, optimism, vascularisation, exercise). This means focusing on gradually increasing load on the injured joint, movement, exercise, blood flow and a positive mindset. The aim is not just to reduce pain, but to restore function and reduce the chance of another injury.

This is where rehabilitation matters. Good rehab is not just about waiting until pain fades. It’s about preparing the body for what comes next.

That might mean rebuilding calf strength after a strain, restoring balance after an ankle sprain or regaining confidence in turning and landing after a knee injury. Recovery should be gradual and, ideally, should match the demands of the sport or exercise a person wants to return to.

The good news is that many secondary injuries can be prevented.

Avoid rushing back. Feeling better is not always the same as being ready. Before returning fully, it helps to ask: has strength returned? Is movement back to normal? Can I do the key tasks my sport requires without pain, weakness or hesitation?

It’s also important to pay attention to new aches and pains during recovery, especially if they appear in a different part of the body. These may be early warning signs that the body is still compensating.

The best way to prevent a secondary injury is to treat the first injury properly. That means allowing enough time to heal, completing rehabilitation and building back up in stages rather than jumping straight back in.

People over 80 with little or no Basic State Pension income could be eligible for a DWP top-up to £110.75 per week through the Over 80 Pension – and may also qualify for Pension Credit worth more than £4,300 a year

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The most recent figures from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) reveal that the State Pension currently provides a regular financial income for over 13 million older people across the country, including more than one million retirees living in Scotland.

This payment is available for those who have reached the State Pension age – which recently began a phased increase from 66 to 67 for both men and women across Great Britain – and have paid at least 10 years’ worth of National Insurance (NI) contributions. However, people over 80 who have no Basic State Pension income or have a weekly income of less than £110.75 each week, could be entitled to additional funds to assist them with everyday living costs.

The ‘Over 80 Pension’ provides older people with £110.75 each week if they are receiving no Basic State Pension, or makes up the difference to that amount.

People over 80 on a low income may also be eligible for Pension Credit, which could provide more than £4,300 in extra financial support over the 2026/27 financial year. It is worth noting that you cannot get the ‘Over 80 Pension’ if you reached State Pension age on or after April 6, 2016 – if you have, you are eligible for the New State Pension, reports the Daily Record.

The guidance on GOV.uk states you can claim the over 80 pension if all of the following apply: If you reside in or are relocating to a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland, you can find further information regarding pensions and benefits for UK nationals in the EU, EEA and Switzerland on GOV.UK.

Your eligibility for the over 80 pension is not based on National Insurance contributions.

Naomi Osaka’s appearance at this May’s Met Gala in New York – which she wittily dubbed “the grand slam of fashion” – was a whirlwind business engagement jammed between two of tennis’s major tournaments. With stacked schedules, tennis superstars are usually found taking ice baths between events. Not Osaka, who donned a 9kg Robert Wun couture gown in response to the Met’s “fashion is art” theme.

Her presence at the Met Ball was more than a celebrity detour. Osaka is not just a professional tennis player – she has moved beyond the limiting boundaries of the sport.

For me, as a researcher of Black fashion culture and identity politics, this raises interesting questions: is Osaka first in line to define what tennis looks like in the future? How does a tennis player secure a place on Anna Wintour’s notoriously strict guest list of cultural power brokers, celebrities and creatives?

Well, Osaka is simultaneously an athlete, fashion collaborator, businesswoman, activist, mother and global celebrity. Superhero? Maybe.

The scandalising tennis ring walk

I was lucky enough to watch Osaka at the Madrid Open this spring, striding onto court in a custom Nike dress and baseball visor. From the stands, my son and I bellowed our support during her high-octane contest with Aryna Sabalenka. We love her point of difference and her cause.

Part of that difference lies in how she occupies and owns the court. Like a boxer making a ring walk, Osaka’s arrival has become part of the spectacle itself – she has turned the walk into a runway. The outfit, the styling and the anticipation all contribute to the performance before a ball is struck.

Yet discussions about Osaka’s clothing often miss the bigger story.

Tennis has always been a performance culture in which clothing communicates status, belonging and authority. French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen scandalised audiences in the 1920s with shorter skirts and sleeveless designs. American tennis champion Billie Jean King used sporting appearance as part of her broader challenge to gender inequality in the 1970s.

In 2026, we would be forgiven for thinking that some of the more traditional values have been relaxed. Wimbledon has allowed women to wear dark undershorts for good reason, so why does Osaka’s sequinned on-court arrival provoke such division, outrage and racist hate?

Unapologetically Black

Historically, Black athletes in women’s sports who used fashion as a form of self-expression often attracted criticism for causing distraction and approaching sport with a lack of seriousness.

Take, for example, record-breaking US track and field athlete Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo-Jo. Her one-legged racing suits, long decorated fingernails, elaborate hairstyles and unapologetically glamorous aesthetic challenged assumptions about what elite athleticism should look like.

But they were not random eccentricities; they drew upon longstanding traditions within Black beauty culture where hair, nails and dress function as forms of creativity, identity and self-definition.

It’s impossible to talk about the burden of legend, flamboyance and legacy in tennis without mentioning one of the greatest athletes, icons and sporting performers of all time: Serena Williams. She transformed the visual politics of tennis, forcing a traditionally white sport to reckon with a Black woman as its defining image.

As a young woman, Williams discovered Flo-Jo’s lace and hooded speed suits – part of her lineage, part of her future legacy.

“I was inspired by Flo-Jo, who was a wonderful track athlete … when I was growing up,” was the response Williams offered when being probed on the one-legged Nike catsuit she wore at the 2021 Australia Open.

The lineage between Flo-Jo, Williams and Osaka – with their striking sportswear, luxury fashion, activism, global celebrity and desire to challenge the status quo – points to a longer tradition of Black women using style not as decoration but as cultural authorship.

Who gets to embody tradition?

If Williams challenged who could belong in tennis, Osaka represents a generation asking who gets to define its future image. This is why companies such as Louis Vuitton and Nike invest in Osaka. Not because she wears clothes well but because she embodies a globally marketable story about race, gender, resistance, femininity, identity and youth culture.

Afterall, Osaka is exceptional. A multiple grand slam champion and the first Asian world number one, she belongs firmly within tennis’s elite.

Paying tribute to her multicultural roots, Osaka said last year: “My heritage is my power.” She has forged a complex public image combining influences from Black diasporic culture, Japanese aesthetics, luxury fashion and contemporary celebrity branding.

Constantly challenging expectations of her Japanese identity – femininity, humility and modest public behaviour, Osaka moves between these worlds with a fluency that reflects the global nature of modern sport itself, negotiating her own cultural identity. Perhaps this is at odds with the traditionally quaint world of tennis.

Misogynoir is the sexism that is experienced particularly by Black women. This could explain why expressions of individuality that are commended as innovative in some athletes, such as Roger Federer’s military suit at Wimbledon in 2009, are more likely to be treated as controversial – as the furore around Williams’s outfits has shown.

A few days after Osaka’s latest couture arrival at the French Open, her opponent Laura Siegemund was asked what she thought about all the fashion. “I come here to play tennis, not to put on a fashion show,” she replied.

Fair enough. But let’s not forget that tennis has always been a fashion show. From Lenglen to Serena Williams, athletes have been using clothing to communicate identity, aspiration and difference for more than a century.

Naomi Osaka’s fashion intervention is not a distraction from tennis. It is part of a much older struggle over who gets to define the sport’s image, its values and ultimately its future.

Fans of ITV’s Endeavour and DCI Banks must watch this period crime drama

Crime drama enthusiasts have just discovered their next obsession – and it’s an ideal watch for devotees of ITV series such as Endeavour and DCI Banks.

Australian crime series The Doctor Blake Mysteries is set in the 1950s and centres on Dr Lucien Blake (portrayed by Craig McLachlan) as he solves cases alongside the police, reports the Express.

The programme opens with Dr Blake returning to his hometown of Ballarat after a 30-year absence, having studied medicine in Scotland before serving in the Far East during the Second World War. He takes over his late father’s practice and assumes the position of police surgeon.

In the course of his daily duties, Dr Blake employs his sharp powers of observation to function as an amateur investigator, unravelling complex crimes.

The series ran from 2013 to 2017, concluding with a television film that tied up the storyline.

McLachlan, formerly known for his roles in Neighbours and Home and Away, earned a prestigious Golden Logie for his leading performance in The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

On Reddit, numerous viewers recommended it as essential viewing following ITV’s Inspector Morse prequel Endeavour.

One user wrote: “The Doctor Blake Mysteries (set in 1950’s-1960’s Australia, way darker than Endeavour). I’ll also second Inspector George Gently (amazing series! ) and Unforgotten.”

While another contributed in a separate Reddit thread on the same subject: “Agree with all the foyles war and george gently suggestions, they’re awesome. I would add dr. Blake mysteries, father brown, grantchester… [sic].”

The Doctor Blake Mysteries has garnered significant acclaim on IMDb, with one viewer awarding a 10/10 rating and stating: “Craig McLachlan’s acting is brilliant in this show! I just can’t say enough of his brilliance at portraying the part of Dr. Blake. As I said, outstanding acting on Craig’s part.”

Another highly-rated review described it as a “thought-provoking show”, noting: “Amazing writing and intrigue. Dr. Blake is a marvel. I wish they had shows like this in the US.”

A third enthusiastic reviewer observed in their top-tier assessment: “It is a classic example of the period detective genre like ‘Ripper Street’ or ‘Murdoch Mysteries’ with a little bit of 21st century hindsight.”

The same viewer continued: “I didn’t find Blake at all grumpy – quite the opposite. I get a little fed up with the short tempered detectives of the likes of Frost or DCI Banks.”

The Doctor Blake Mysteries is currently available to stream on U and Channel 4 at no cost.

Officers arrested a man on suspicion of attempted murder after being called to Johnson’s of Old Hurst, in Huntingdonshire, at 1.24pm on Thursday to “reports of an incident involving a three-year-old boy, during which he ended up in the crocodile enclosure”, Cambridgeshire Police said.

A villager who did not want to be named told the Press Association that the zoo owner’s wife, Tracey Johnson, jumped in to try to save the child.

And a local told The Sun: “Apparently, the wife of the zoo owner, Tracey Johnson, jumped in to the enclosure to save the child.”

The boy was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge with serious injuries and is critical but stable, the force added.

A 30-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, police said.

Detective Inspector Verity McCann said: “At this stage we are speaking to people who were at the zoo at the time of this distressing incident to understand more about the circumstances.

“We do not believe the man arrested and the child are known to each other.

“Officers are supporting the boy’s family at hospital and our thoughts remain with them.”

In a statement on social media, Johnson’s said that “out of respect to the family” Tropical House will remain closed until further notice.

They added: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the boy and his family following the incident that occurred today.”

An ambulance, a rapid response vehicle, an ambulance officer vehicle and an air ambulance were sent to the scene, the ambulance service said.

A uniformed police officer was at an entrance to the site on Thursday evening, with a marked police car parked in the car park.

The zoo is off a leafy rural lane with residential properties along it in the village of Old Hurst, with a tea room, farm shop and steakhouse also at the site.

The zoo is home to more than 100 animals, including lions, tigers, sloth bears, capybaras, and meerkats.

The crocodiles are kept inside a tropical house building in a converted cattle shed, and there are also other animals in outdoor enclosures.

A blog post on the zoo’s website says the crocodiles were initially kept to help dispose of waste meat from the butchery, but they went on to be the start of a zoo.

The Johnson family has cared for and been involved with crocodiles for the last two decades and Andy Johnson, who is the current owner, has participated in composing a “European published dossier on the farming, welfare and husbandry of crocodilians”, according to the zoo’s website.

Mike Annicelli, 52, who lives close to the zoo, said he had previously visited the attraction and had felt safe.

Describing the crocodile enclosure, he said: “Everything is elevated, you’re far away from the animals.”

He said there was a “raised platform” and estimated the crocodiles were about 15ft below and that there was fencing along walkways which he estimated was around 4ft high.

Local councillor Charlotte Lowe said she “can’t fathom” how the boy ended up in the crocodile enclosure.

Speaking outside the attraction on Thursday evening, the Huntingdonshire District Council councillor for Warboys ward said: “I can’t fathom how it’s happened because they’ve got all the right protection and safety equipment, for want of a better word, in there.”

She continued: “This incident, I think it’s shocked an awful lot of people, especially the locals.”

Ben Obese-Jecty, the MP for Huntingdon, said: “I am aware of the incident at Johnson’s of Old Hurst and have been liaising with senior officers at Gold Command who are treating this as a critical incident.

“This is now a live criminal investigation and I would ask people to refrain from speculation online.

“The police will provide an update with further information in due course.

“My thoughts are with the young victim and his family during a hugely traumatic and difficult time.”

Alastair Torrance, deputy chairman of Old Hurst Parish Council, said: “I do feel enormously for the family of the child.

“It must’ve been absolutely terrible for the child and the family.”

A spokesperson for Huntingdonshire District Council said: “We are aware of the serious incident that has taken place today at Johnson’s of Old Hurst.

“Our thoughts are with the young boy and his family at this very difficult time.

“We are working closely with partners, including Cambridgeshire Police.

“We urge people not to speculate on the circumstances surrounding this incident while inquiries are ongoing.”