National Highways anticipates that the road will be permanently repaired in 2027

A damaged part of the A1 that has been undergoing repairs since a fatal crash in 2024 needs more “extensive” work next year. A lorry crashed on the A1 southbound at Water Newton, near Peterborough, in November 2024.

The lorry driver, a man in his 40s, died. The crash also caused significant damage to the Billy Brook culvert at Water Newton.

Since the crash, a section of the road has seen lane closures and reduced speed limits. National Highways said the bridge is expected to be “permanently repaired” in 2027.

National Highways has since said it needs to replace the culvert rather than repair it. A highways spokesperson said: “We restored the A1 southbound at Water Newton back to two lanes last year and have since been planning the best solution for a permanent repair.

“This will be extensive and complex work to plan and construct an entirely new culvert to replace the damaged structure. We will begin preparations this year so we can start work on the permanent repair in 2027.”

A reduced speed limit will remain in place during the works.

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By LILY JOBSON, SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Published: 19:13 BST, 6 September 2026 | Updated: 19:25 BST, 6 September 2026

Alicia Vikander looked incredibly glamorous in a blue ruffled gown as she joined her husband Michael Fassbender at The Echo Chamber premiere in Venice on Sunday.

The Swedish actress, 37, oozed elegance in the thigh-high split dress adorned with a huge bow on the front.

Alicia was the star of the show on the red carpet before sharing a sweet kiss with her supportive husband in front of the cameras.

Michael, 49, looked dashing in a black tuxedo and sunglasses while smiling for photos alongside Alicia.

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The couple, who met on the set of The Light Between Oceans in 2014, tied the knot in October 2017 during a private ceremony in Ibiza, Spain.

They welcomed their first son in 2021 and their second son, whose name has not been revealed, earlier in 2024. They now reside in Lisbon, Portugal, with their two children.

Alicia Vikander looked incredibly glamorous in a blue ruffled gown as she joined her husband Michael Fassbender at The Echo Chamber premiere in Venice on Sunday

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The Swedish actress, 37, oozed elegance in the thigh-high split dress adorned with a huge bow on the front

Alicia was the star of the show on the red carpet before sharing a sweet kiss with her supportive husband, 49, in front of the cameras

The Echo Chamber is a somber, intimate love story following a drug-addicted music producer Leo (played by Luca Marinelli), and an enigmatic physiotherapist, Anne (played by Alicia). 

Their codependent relationship circles through intense attachment, care, control and separation.

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Directed by Andrea Pallaoro, the film serves as a highly anticipated Golden Lion contender and is adapted from the final screenplay penned by legendary Italian film-maker Bernardo Bertolucci before his death.

Alicia was joined on the red carpet by her co-stars Luca Marinelli, Susan Sarandon and director Andrea.

Susan, 79, displayed her incredibly youthful looks in a simplistic strapless black gown and opted for a swipe of red lipstick.

Orlando Bloom made an appearance dressed in an all-black tuxedo as he smiled for photographs.

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Meanwhile, Irina Shayk, 40, showcased her model physique in a vintage Dolce & Gabbana dress with racy tie up detailing.

The model recreated fellow runway star Bella Hadid’s 21st birthday look, wearing the exact same dress. 

Michael looked dashing in a black tuxedo and sunglasses

The Echo Chamber is a somber, intimate love story following a drug-addicted music producer Leo (played by Luca Marinelli), and an enigmatic physiotherapist, Anne (played by Alicia)

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Alicia was joined on the red carpet by her co-stars Luca Marinelli, Susan Sarandon and director Andrea (L-R)

Susan, 79, displayed her incredibly youthful looks in a simplistic strapless black gown and opted for a swipe of red lipstick

Orlando Bloom made an appearance dressed in an all-black tuxedo as he smiled for photographs

Meanwhile, Irina Shayk, 40, showcased her model physique in a vintage Dolce & Gabbana dress with racy tie up detailing

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She flashed her underwear in the daringly-cut gown on the red carpet

The model recreated fellow runway star Bella Hadid’s 21st birthday look, wearing the exact same dress

Arsenal came from behind to see off Chelsea with Mikel Arteta’s side dominating as they look to evolve into a side that dominates games with an eye-catching style

They won the title last season by outmuscling opponents. Now Arsenal are threatening to win it again but this time with real style and an extra swagger.

Mikel Arteta’s reigning champions have gone from set-pieces to slick, beautiful football as Martin Odegaard’s winner was an absolute cracker.

It was hard fought, tense and a superb London derby as Chelsea gave Arsenal a really tough examination and showed they will be a force to be reckoned with under Xabi Alonso. But Arsenal passed the acid test, they showed they are determined to retain their title and they are playing with the shackles off even if the dying minutes felt rather nervy.

Incredibly, Chelsea have not beaten Arsenal in 12 meetings which dates back to August 2021 and the gap is still there because the Gunners look embolden by last season’s success.

Furthermore, Odegaard is well and truly back. The Arsenal captain missed so much of last season through injury and, when he was around, he was nowhere near his best. But Odegaard showed in the World Cup for Norway that he has got the bit between his teeth again and is getting back to the levels which made him one of the best midfielders in Europe.

Chelsea do possess a dangerous forward line of Morgan Rogers, Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer but they were up against the Premier League’s meanest defence. And when Chelsea substitute Estevao Willian did produce one piece of late magic he was thwarted by Arsenal keeper David Raya’s incredible last-gasp save.

This really felt like a big moment for Arsenal because it was without the biggest game of the Premier League season so far and it sent a clear message to the rest.

The only strange thing was to see Arsenal actually concede a goal which was their first this season. It was messy and came after just 77 seconds. All that talk about mean defences and the clean sheet record is gone in just over a minute. Reece James’ free kick was not cleared properly. Jorrel Hato then headed it and the ball fell for Rogers who hit it full on the volley.

Rogers’ shot then bounced past Arsenal keeper David Raya’s despairing dive and the reigning champions had conceded their first goal of the season after just 77 seconds. The Emirates was stunned. But Arsenal then produced some of their best football this season. Arsenal had so much play, so much possession and pressure. They pinned Chelsea back.

Riccardo Calafiori had the ball in the net but it was disallowed because VAR showed Ezri Konsa was offside. They were putting Chelsea keeper Emiliano Martinez under real pressure.

It eventually told when Arsenal leveled after 25 minutes. Declan Rice’s short pass set up Kai Havertz and the Arsenal striker cut inside the box and then fired a low shot which caught out Martinez at his near post.

This was a really top quality London derby. Chelsea were dangerous on the break and Pedro Neto led one counter attack in first half injury time and his long range effort hit the far post.

Arsenal then produced a moment of pure magic for the winner. Havertz started the move in the centre circle. Calafiori carried it on. Then Christos Tzolis played a low cross field pass, Havertz dummied it and the ball went straight to Odegaard who calmly slotted past Martinez.

Tzolis will get credited with the assist but he should really share it with Havertz. What a dummy. It left the Arsenal fans marveling at the brilliance of the goal. Arsenal really should have put the game to bed. Bukayo Saka saw a terrific curling effort saved by Martinez and the Chelsea keeper also made a couple more last gasp stops.

Arsenal were well worth the win.

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US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Kyiv on Sunday for high-stakes negotiations with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, capping a high-wire weekend of shuttle diplomacy aimed at breaking a long-standing stalemate in the war.

The diplomatic mission follows a three-hour meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow a day earlier, and represents Washington’s most direct effort to revive peace talks since the outbreak of the US-Iran war in February.

The trip marks the American envoys’ first official visit to the Ukrainian capital after traveling by train from Poland, having previously made eight visits to Moscow.

While details of the discussions have not yet been made public, Witkoff said the US team had been “very encouraged” by what he described as “substantive, important” dialogue in a statement made to reporters after the first round of discussions.

White House officials added that the envoys discussed “plans for next steps”, with a formal announcement anticipated in the coming weeks.

The delegation’s arrival has brought with it a temporary three-day agreement between Moscow and Kyiv to pause air strikes targeting each other’s capitals through to Monday.

The localised truce allowed the American emissaries to travel safely into Kyiv where Zelensky greeted Witkoff and Kushner in Sophia Square – just hundreds of metres from where Ukraine’s SBU intelligence headquarters were struck by a Russian drone on Friday – before hosting them at Saint Sophia Cathedral for bilateral talks.

In spite of the brief lull over Kyiv and Moscow, however, intense combat continued unabated along the 1,200km front line, with Ukrainian authorities reporting at least eight civilians were killed and nearly 70 injured over the previous 24 hours.

Russian air defences claimed to have intercepted 258 Ukrainian drones across 14 regions in the same period.

Ukrainian forces launched deep drone strikes overnight against the Ryazan oil refinery roughly 300 miles inside Russia, sparking a major fire at the facility.

Russian retaliation has since pounded regional Ukrainian targets outside the capital and claimed missile strikes against two commercial cargo vessels near Odesa on Sunday, alleging they were transporting Western military supplies through the Black Sea.

The ongoing violence underscores the severe friction surrounding the negotiation efforts.

During Saturday’s discussions at the Kremlin, foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov stated that Putin presented a comprehensive assessment of the battlefield, expressed complete confidence in Russian advances, and insisted that any lasting peace must address the “root causes” of the conflict.

Mr Ushakov characterised the talks as constructive and candid, noting that discussions also touched on potential long-term economic cooperation between Washington and Moscow, although no concrete breakthroughs were announced.

Previous talks were stalled over Russian refusal to compromise on its demand for Ukraine’s total withdrawal from fortified towns in the Donbas and Kyiv’s formal renunciation of Nato membership.

The Kremlin’s uncompromising tone appears largely unchanged, further underscored by foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s warning that German accusations over a foiled airport drone plot mark what is “by and large the start of a real war”.

Accusing Berlin of escalating direct confrontation, the aggressive rhetoric highlights a widening rift between Moscow and European capitals even as US mediators seek common ground.

In Kyiv, Ukrainian officials have expressed firm limits on what concessions they would consider.

Citing the extent of Russian losses, foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has argued that Moscow is in “no position” to dictate peace terms.

The talks come just weeks ahead of forecasted temperature drops, with Ukrainian authorities racing to fortify municipal heating systems and shore up power generation before autumn cold sets in.

A significant portion of Sunday’s talks in Kyiv are believed to have centred on Ukraine’s urgent winter energy needs following previous Russian strikes that destroyed 9GW of power generation, with national security advisers from the UK, France, and Germany expected to join expanded discussions focused on coordinating long-term energy and security guarantees.

A crowd of supporters at the AfD election night party HQ erupted in cheers as the projections came up on the screen.

A short while later, people burst into singing Germany’s national anthem.

“We have made history in this state,” Siegmund said. His opposite number in the CDU, Sven Schulze, conceded victory and said his party would have to deal with the result: “This was an extremely tough and intensive election campaign.”

Germany’s centre-left SPD described the outcome as “truly dramatic” and national leader Lars Klingbeil, whose party is in government nationally with the CDU, described the outcome as a “signal to Berlin”.

AfD stands for Alternative für Deutschland. It has not only dominated the election campaign, it is emerging as the dominant force in the result as well. Although the outcome was initially unclear, the party’s supporters believe they are on the march.

Turnout in Saxony-Anhalt was particularly high at an estimated 78%, and AfD supporters in Magdeburg praised Siegmund’s success in winning over voters.

One man called Ollie said: “This man gives us what no-one else can give.”

“No matter what government, they all just promise things to get better. This is a party for the working people. It is the alternative for Germany,” he told the BBC.

Other parties refuse to go into coalition with the AfD, operating a Brandmauer or firewall aimed at keeping the far right out of government. In Saxony-Anhalt, the BSW has offered to co-operate with the AfD on some issues if it gets into the state parliament.

The AfD leads the opinion polls nationally, ahead of the ruling conservatives of Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the Social Democrats, but their heartland lies in the eastern states.

They also won the 2024 state election in neighbouring Thuringia, but failed to secure enough seats to win power.

The billions that the UK has lost to Brexit could wipe out NHS waiting lists and create a world-class service if recouped, a leading economist has warned.

In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Nick Bloom, a professor at Stanford University, said up to 8 per cent of GDP was wiped off the UK economy by leaving Europe, through lost trade, increased red tape and delays in pushing the Brexit deal through.

That is close to the 9.7 per cent spent on health before the Covid pandemic, which he said could be used to bolster the overrun and struggling health service.

He said infamous claims made by the Leave campaign that Brexit could free up £350m a week to spend on the NHS, in a controversial slogan emblazoned across the side of a battle bus, were “exactly and perfectly wrong”.

Prof Bloom urged the UK government to forge closer ties to the bloc in a bid to limit the damage further and claw some of the losses back.

He said: “So we’ve lost six to 8 per cent [because of Brexit]. Imagine getting that back and spending all that money we lost on the NHS. Suddenly, you would go from the current NHS to one that would be amazing.

“Budgets would go up by about two-thirds; probably, waiting lists would disappear. Hospitals would be refurbished, you’d have better-paid doctors, better-paid nurses, better equipment… So one way to look at it is all the money we’ve lost. If we hadn’t lost it, we could have spent it on the NHS. We’d have a world-class national health service.”

Prof Bloom, who was speaking to The Independent as part of its Europe: The Way Back campaign, which is calling for the UK to rebuild its relationship with Europe, is the co-author of research that shows Brexit caused the economy to shrink between 6 to 8 per cent – more than previously thought.

He said the figure “is an enormous amount”, adding: “It’s something like £3,000 a year, per typical British person, that we’ve lost.”

He said roughly half was lost because “Brexit itself was just bad news, because it makes it harder for British firms to trade with Europe, and Europe’s about half of our trade pre-Brexit”, while the other half was due to the “mess” of approving the final deal.

“So the vote happened in 2016, but it took several years of back and forwards, and multiple prime ministers, and votes, and re-votes, and haggles, negotiations. And so businesses over this period were left uncertain and paused on investment, paused on hiring, and finally we have Brexit done,” he said.

He said the government was doing the right thing by seeking closer ties to the EU but cautioned that one of the biggest threats to that was Reform leader Nigel Farage –for decades the main driver behind getting the UK out of the EU – who remains a “spectre” still impeding the UK’s economic recovery.

“Andy Burnham’s doing a juggling act,” he said. “He’s got many balls in the air, but he’d like to get closer to the European Union. Why? Because it would improve the economy. Why? Because that would mean he doesn’t have to put up taxes or cut spending.

“But the big cost of it is this – Farage, and the Brexiteers waiting in the wings, ready to pounce on him. So he’s like every politician, trying to kind of do one thing, get closer, but say another thing, which is we are independent and have our sovereignty. And good luck to him squaring that circle.”

Former Tory health secretary Stephen Dorrell said the suggestion that Brexit would unlock more funds for the NHS was “fundamentally dishonest on a Trumpian scale” and said leaving the EU had “undermined the ability of the UK economy to create successful business and create wealth”.

He called on the “political class to face up to the fact that this has been a national disaster”, adding: “Until we address that issue head-on, we will continue to be impoverished by the events of 2016.”

Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Helen Morgan said that “patients in the NHS are paying the price with record waiting lists, crumbling hospitals, and overworked doctors and nurses… It’s time for the government to stop burying its head in the sand”.

Emma Knaggs, from pro-EU group European Movement UK, said leaving the EU had “hit us all in the pocket”.

She said: “While EU countries continue to trade with ease, UK businesses now waste tens of thousands of hours and millions of pounds meeting red-tape requirements that simply were not there before.

“That translates to billions of pounds of lost revenue that isn’t available for vital services like the NHS. To deliver the government’s own agenda for growth, ease cost-of-living pressure for all of us and boost our public services, being part of the single market and ultimately the EU is the best way to achieve it. A decade on, the UK’s experiment with life outside the world’s biggest free market has failed with death by a thousand cuts. The time to be honest about that is long overdue.”

Naomi Smith, chief executive of Best for Britain, which campaigns for the UK’s restored EU membership, said Brexit had resulted in a “slow and painful death by 1,000 cuts for the UK economy, and the knock-on effect to our struggling public services, with experts like Nick Bloom now rightly highlighting the appalling damage to our healthcare”.

The Cabinet Office and Reform have been approached for comment.

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Brooklyn Beckham and wife Nicola Peltz couldn’t wipe the smiles off their faces as they made a low-key departure from Venice Film Festival on Sunday. 

The actress, 31, was supported by her husband, 27, on the red carpet on Saturday after she collected the Rising Star Award.

Nicola looked chic in a white T-shirt and low-rise denim jeans while Brooklyn cut a casual figure in green joggers and a baseball cap worn backwards.

The loved-up couple have enjoyed a brief weekend away in the Italian city to celebrate Nicola’s achievements.  

Nicola paid tribute to her husband and family who she said ‘are the reason that I can reach to the stars’ as she picked up her award.

Her proud billionaire father, businessman Nelson Peltz, mother Claudia and brother Bradley were there to watch her, with Nelson fanning himself in the 30C heat and, at times during the wait, retreating inside.

The actress, 31, was supported by her husband, 27, on the red carpet on Saturday after she collected the Rising Star Award 

She said: ‘Hi everyone. I am normally more comfortable playing a character as an actor than standing in front of an audience, so please bear with me.

‘Thank you so much for this immense honour. To receive an award at the Venice Film Festival is something I will carry with me for the rest of my career.’

She then addressed her co-star in the film Prima, Faye Dunaway, who was given a lifetime achievement by the Kineo organisation at the same ceremony. ‘Faye you have always been an inspiration to me and learning with you has been incredible.’

She went on: ‘My family are my everything. My mum, dad, (brothers) Diesel and Brad and Brooklyn thank you. You always believe in me. To have your support is the reason I can reach to the stars in the first place.’

There was some chaos before she took to the stage, with her award being announced five times, with one presenter saying: ‘Where is our beautiful star?’

Eventually they were told that she didn’t want to accept the award until Faye Dunaway, 85, was also in place.

Accepting her lifetime achievement award Ms Dunaway said that the best advice she had was the Shakespearean line: ‘To thine own self be true’ and added that she loves Venice. ‘There is no city like it.’

Nicola started in acting in Deck the Halls with Danny DeVito, in 2006, aged 11 and posted a throwback snap on her Instagram earlier this week. 

She also appeared in The Last Airbender and Transformers: The Age of Extinction.

Nicola looked chic in a white T-shirt and low-rise denim jeans while Brooklyn cut a casual figure in green joggers and a baseball cap worn backwards

The loved-up couple have enjoyed a brief weekend away in the Italian city to celebrate Nicola’s achievements

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Brooklyn gave a thumbs up as he jumped in a water taxi to the airport

Brooklyn was every inch the gentleman as he helped Nicola climb out of the water taxi

The couple held hands as the left the Excelisor Hotel 

Nicola waved to fans as she departed their hotel

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Suki Waterhouse and her fiancé Robert Pattinson sported cutting edge looks as they departed Venice Film Festival on Sunday after a loved-up red carpet appearance

Liam (pictured) and Noel Gallagher looked in great spirits as they also departed Venice after the premiere of their Oasis documentary

Noel (pictured) looked casually cool in a navy jacket while Liam opted for a trendy suede jacket as they arrived at Venice airport

Amanda Seyfried looked effortlessly chic in a Miu Miu blue minidress on the Lido

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Irina Skayk dazzled in a glitzy black blouse and tailored trousers

Actress Zoey Deutch looked pretty in a navy dress as she departed Hotel Excelisor

Meanwhile, Alicia Vikander oozed elegance in an off-white co-ord

She smiled for a photo with age-defying Susan Sarandon, 79

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Andrea Pallaoro, Alicia, Susan and Luca Marinelli (L-R) enjoyed the sunshine on a water taxi ride

More recently she has been writing and producing films through her label Bunny Films, which is named after her late grandmother and bankrolled partly by her billionaire father, Nelson. 

Her last movie was Lola, which did not gain wide distribution and took under $1,000 at the box office.

She has been married since April 2022 to Brooklyn, the son of David and Victoria, and is at the centre of a family feud which has seen her husband cut off his family in search of ‘peace’, having explained on Instagram in January that they had tried to split him up from his wife.

Nicola has been working on her indie drama Prima since January but the film does not yet have an official release date. 

The movie also stars Dunaway, Jack Huston, Mira Sorvino and Betty Gabriel. Luca and Alessandro Morelli, known professionally as the Morelli Brothers, directed the film as their feature debut. 

Nicola stars as Margo, a dedicated prima ballerina facing life-altering decisions as modern changes disrupt her ballet company. 

The actress and her family attended a private Los Angeles screening in May for the movie, hosted by East West Bank chief executive Dominic Ng. 

Afterwards she thanked supporters and said their backing of independent film meant ‘more than I can express’.

The film has also been in the spotlight after Nicola sparked concern with her drastic weight loss while preparing for her starring role. 

Nicola beamed as she headed onto the stage to accept the award

Her proud billionaire father, businessman Nelson Peltz, mother Claudia and brother were there to watch her

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Nicola has been married since April 2022 to Brooklyn Beckham, the son of David and Victoria, and is at the centre of a family feud which has seen her husband cut off his family

Nicola has been working on her indie drama Prima since January but the film does not yet have an official release date 

Nicola is seen in Transformers: Age Of Extinction in 2014

Nicola undertook four months of gruelling ballerina training for her role which saw her drop to less than 100lb (45kg). 

Her shock weight loss came in a bid to fully embody her ballerina character – for which she committed to a strict diet and intensive training regimen. 

Just this week Nicola’s husband Brooklyn jumped to her defence and warned ‘don’t ever talk about my wife’ in an online row about her weight.

The aspiring chef hit back in the comments section of his latest Instagram cookery tutorial after one follower asked: ‘Do you comment on everyone who is concerned about your wife and how sickly she looks? She puts herself out there, feed her.’ 

Brooklyn replied: ‘Don’t ever talk about my wife. She’s absolutely beautiful and you should never comment on a woman’s body. It’s disgraceful.’ 

Holly Ditchfield, who featured on Married At First Sight (MAFS) UK, has announced that her twin sons have died nine days after being born prematurely.

In a statement shared on Instagram, the reality TV personality and her partner Aaron Summers confirmed that the infants passed away within hours of one another.

“It has been the hardest, most heartbreaking, yet most magical 9 days of our lives,” Ditchfield wrote alongside a series of photos.

“At 1pm on 03/09/2026, our darling Georgie peacefully passed away. Then, at 5am on 04/09/2026, his beautiful brother Marley followed him.

“My boys both took their final breaths in the arms of me and their daddy. There is no greater privilege, and no greater pain, than holding your children as they leave this world.”

The couple had previously revealed the boys were born prematurely at 23 weeks and five days, posting pictures of the twins in the neonatal intensive care unit.

She continued: “They gave us the most precious week of our lives. A week I would live over and over again, just to have those moments with them. To hold them. To look at them. To love them. To be their mummy and daddy.

“My boys are together again now, just as they should be, and I pray with all my heart that they are finally at peace.”

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“Nothing could ever prepare you for losing your children. Nothing prepares you for having to walk your babies to a mortuary. We have seen and faced more in these 9 days than I ever imagined possible, and my heart feels completely bruised.”

Ditchfield, who featured on MAFS in 2024, added that she and Summers plan to take time away to process their loss.

“I would have given absolutely everything to have watched Georgie and Marley grow, to hear their voices, watch them take their first steps, and see the beautiful lives they deserved to have,” she said.

“But for 9 precious days, they were here. They were ours. They were loved beyond measure. And they will forever be our beautiful boys.”

In addition to her newborn twins, Ditchfield has two children, Daisy and Dec, from a prior relationship.

The Pass Wide And Slow ride saw participants travel through the village carrying banners urging drivers to slow down and leave plenty of space when passing horses.

Despite wet weather conditions, riders completed the route from Seddon Fold Farm in Lostock through the village in Chew Moor, joined by Bolton Mayor Cllr Mohammed Iqbal for the duration of the walk.

There was an excellent turnout despite a heavy downpour. (Image: Newsquest)

The event forms part of the international Pass Wide And Slow campaign, which aims to educate motorists about sharing roads safely with horses and riders.

Speaking after the event, Cllr Iqbal said: “It was a pleasure to be here, and I want to thank Debby and everyone else for the invitation.

“It wasn’t the best of days weather-wise, but I think we have sent an important message.

“It’s important that motorists know that they need to adhere to the highway code and pass horses no quicker than 10 miles per hour and leaving at least two metres width.

Bolton Mayor, Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, (centre, rear) was among those who joined the walk (Image: Newsquest)

“So, it’s very important that we send this message out for the safety of the cars as well as the riders.

“I don’t think some people realise what damage a horse could do to a car or a car to horse and rider.

“It’s so not worth it to try and overtake too quickly or when there’s no space – people just need to give way or wait for a couple of minutes.”

Pass Wide And Slow spokesperson Debbie Barry thanked those who attended and said the campaign’s message was continuing to reach audiences around the world.

She said: “The ride is part of an international campaign to raise awareness and educate drivers on how to pass horses safely whilst sharing the roads.

“Too many avoidable incidents have resulted in death or injury to horses, riders or both on our roads.

Organiser Debbie Barry (centre) led the group through the village. (Image: Newsquest)

“It’s the groups aim to ask road users to be continually mindful of their driving behaviour around horses.”

Ms Barry added that what began in the UK has since grown into a global movement.

She said: “It started in the UK, but it’s now become an international campaign with groups sharing the message in Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

“The latest highway code update mentions passing horses and cyclists safely, but it’s currently still advisory rather than mandatory.

“We’re hoping they make it a legal requirement, but until then events like this are vital to help try and raise awareness.

Dozens of horses and riders took part in the event. (Image: Newsquest)

“Most of the horses we’ve brought out today are older and more experienced around traffic, but any horse can still be spooked.

“When that happens, it’s incredibly dangerous for everyone, including the people in cars. So we’re here today to spread the message to pass horses slowly and safely.”

Campaigners continue to advise drivers to slow to a maximum of 10mph and leave at least two metres of space when passing horses, warning that sudden movements, noise or vehicles travelling too closely can easily startle even experienced animals.

Channel 5 has confirmed the release date for its new six-part drama Forever Home

Channel 5 has revealed the release date for a new six-part thriller, Forever Home. Based on Graham Norton‘s bestselling book of the same name, the drama follows the success of the likes of Missed Call and Number One Fan.

Forever Home stars former Emmerdale actress Amy Nuttall in the lead as Carol, while Shetland’s Douglas Henshall plays her older partner Robert. The cast also includes former Loose Women panellist Denise Welch, Strictly Come Dancing star Lewis Cope and Kevin Whately, Samantha Bond, Jenny Walser, Shane Zaza and James Baxter.

The synopsis for the series reads: “When her older partner Robert’s dementia worsens, Carol Crottie starts to wonder if the reason he won’t leave his home has something to do with the whereabouts of his first wife, who ran off with Robert’s brother 20 years ago, leaving behind their two young children Kaden and Sally,” reports the Mirror.

It continues: “When Robert’s anxiety about the house’s hidden basement, rises, Carol’s curiosity is piqued as she and her mother investigate the whereabouts of Robert’s first wife, Joan. But the secrets Robert has kept will take a long time to untangle.”

When does Forever Home premiere on Channel 5?

Channel 5 has now confirmed that Forever Home will begin airing on September 14, at 9pm. The series will consist of six episodes. The release date for the thriller comes after 5 dropped a trailer, with fans left on the edge of their seats.

The clip begins with Amy’s character telling Denise’s: “Something is in the cellar.” As eerie music follows, she’s seen asking Douglas’ character: “What have you done, Robert? Any tiny little thing you might have forgotten to mention?”

“What are you talking about?” he replies. The trailer then cuts to concerns over Robert’s health, as she is heard saying: “He’s not well, it’s a memory thing.”

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Meanwhile, Lewis’ character says: “We’ve got to do something about dad.” As the trailer continues, Douglas is heard shouting as Robert: “I’m not leaving this house!”

He then catches Carol (played by Amy) discovering more evidence, as she goes through his boxes. He questions her: “What were you doing down there?” “I thought I heard something,” she replies.

As mysteries begin to emerge, Lewis’ character is heard talking on the phone to someone and urging for the house to be sold before Carol discovers anything else. It ends with Robert telling Carol: “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Viewers previously shared how excited they were for the series after the trailer dropped. One wrote: “Can’t wait for this!!” while another said: “Looks good.”

Someone else commented: “Looks great can’t wait,” while a fourth echoed: “Looks a brilliant autumn watch.” Yet another wrote: “Very excited for this 5 is totally superb who needs Netflix!?!”

Forever Home airs from Monday, September 14 on Channel 5