The 15-year-old girl reported being threatened with a knife during seven horrifying hours

Advertisement

A teenage girl was saved after being ‘randomly’ snatched off the street. The horrifying incident took place in Bowdon, Altrincham as a 56-year-old man has been arrested.

The girl reported being threatened with a knife during a seven-hour ordeal. The 15-year-old was kidnapped on May 18 and was found in the early hours May 19 in a hotel car park in Knutsford, Cheshire.

The victim, it is understood, was forced into a vehicle on Bradgate Road, Bowdon, at around 6.45pm as she walked alone. She was reported missing at around 9pm ManchesterEveningNews reports.

Police issued an alert for a specific vehicle after a witness was able to report the registration plate having heard the girl’s screams. Cheshire cops found the vehicle on a car park at the Cottons Hotel and Spa in the early hours.

The teenager was inside and a man was arrested at the scene.

Advertisement

In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers working alongside Cheshire Police have arrested a man on suspicion of abduction after a teenage girl was reported missing on Monday 18 May in Altrincham.

“A 56‑year‑old man was arrested in the early hours of 19 May and remains in custody for further questioning. Specialist officers are supporting the girl and her family.

“There is no wider risk to the public. Further updates will be provided when appropriate.”

The man arrested was a white male, Greater Manchester Police said. Detectives have been granted an extension to keep the suspect in custody for further questioning.

It is understood the incident is being treated as random and that the teenager is not known to the suspect.

Ensure our latest stories always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as your Preferred Source in your Google search settings.

Brits are being warned to expect a hot bank holiday weekend

The Met Office has said that Brits can expect an “exceptional spell” of warm weather this weekend as the UK is set for a bank holiday heatwave. The forecast follows a period of cooler weather for most of May, which is expected to come to an end this week.

The weather agency has predicted temperatures could soar as we approach the end of the week, with potential for some parts of the UK to see highs in excess of 30C. In a post on X – formerly Twitter – the Met Office wrote: “It’s been a cool May – so far. That’s set to change quite dramatically over the coming days.

“A prolonged period of very warm weather is now increasingly likely. Temperatures will rise to well above average for May with the hottest spots possibly exceeding 30 Celsius.”

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

A graphic posted on the social media platform shows the temperature difference compared with averages for the month. It shows a temperature of more than nine degrees from Friday, through to Sunday, across large parts of the UK, including areas of Greater Manchester towards the end of the week.

With most of the country set to see a hot bank holiday weekend, Deputy Chief Forecaster Greg Wolverson has suggested that Brits should prepare for an “exceptional spell” of warm weather. He said: “A very warm period of weather will develop through the weekend and into next week for much of the UK.

“High pressure will be in charge of the UK’s weather over the bank holiday weekend and this should bring fine and settled conditions to most areas. The exception will be parts of northwestern Scotland where it will be cooler and cloudier with some rain at times. There is also a small risk of some thunder in the south late on Friday into Saturday.”

Current Met Office temperature maps forecast parts of the UK to see highs of around 27C on Friday (May 22), with highs of 28C predicted for Saturday (May 23). Temperatures could increase further to 29C on Sunday (May 24), with the Met Office suggesting highs in excess of 30C could be possible on bank holiday Monday (May 25).

Advertisement

Issuing an outlook on the potential for the UK to see a heatwave, Mr Wolverson added: “Heatwave thresholds – defined as three consecutive days at or above a set temperature – are likely to be reached in parts of the UK from Sunday, most likely in southeastern England. Into next week, these conditions are expected to become more widespread, extending across central and western England and into parts of Wales, as temperatures remain well above average.”

However, with warm temperatures expected for the weekend, Brits are being to plan ahead for hot conditions. RAC breakdown spokesperson Harriet Hernando said: “With the weather set to transition from cold to hot as the bank holiday approaches, we’re going to see a lot more traffic on the roads – and with that comes the risk of many more vehicles breaking down in the heat.

“Before setting out on a long journey, motorists should make sure that their car is summer-ready. One of the biggest risks is an increase in cars overheating, especially when sat in queues of traffic with no shade.”

Nick Giles OBE, MD Leisure, Ordnance Survey added: “With a long weekend looming, and warm weather forecast, it seems the perfect opportunity to set out on an adventure on foot – equipped for the Great British weather, of course. At OS, we want to make the outdoors enjoyable, accessible and safe. I would urge anyone going on an adventure to plan ahead, including checking weather forecasts, their kit, food and drink, and please take a map or the OS Maps app.”

Speeding fines and convictions have risen sharply across the UK in recent years.

There are approximately 7,000 physical speed cameras spread across the UK’s road network.

New figures indicate that more motorists are exceeding limits and more of them are being caught, according to the BBC.

But what could happen if you slam on before a speed camera to avoid getting caught?

What happens if you slam on before a speed camera?

Sudden braking can lead to rear-end collisions, especially if the driver behind is following too closely.

It could also result in a charge for driving without due care and attention.

Quick braking may not prevent a speeding fine either.

While slowing down before a camera often won’t stop you from getting a fine, average speed cameras are designed to catch drivers who speed between two different points.

What happens if you slow down before a speed camera?

The AA explains: “Average speed cameras work by recording your speed at two different points.

“They don’t capture your speed in a single flash.

“Instead, they’ll monitor your speed over a length of road.

“This is so people don’t slow down just before they see a camera and then speed up again afterwards.

“They help to keep the traffic flowing steadily instead of stopping and starting.”

Average speed cameras calculate your speed by measuring how long it takes to travel between two different points on a road.

Speeding penalties

The minimum penalty for speeding is a £100 fine and three penalty points added to your licence.

You could be disqualified from driving if you build up 12 or more penalty points within a period of three years – check your driving licence record to see if you have points on your licence.

Within 14 days of your car being caught speeding, you’ll be sent a:

• Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP)
• Section 172 notice

Recommended reading:

AI speed camera that doesn’t flash rolled out across the UK

How far away can a speed camera catch you speeding?

If a speed camera is not visible can I challenge the fine?

You must return the Section 172 notice within 28 days, telling the police who was driving the car.

After you’ve sent the Section 172 notice back, you’ll be sent either a:

• Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN)
• letter telling you to go to court

You may have to go to court if you ignore the notice.

Have you ever been caught by a speed camera? Let us know in the comments

How can I tell if my body clock is broken?

How can I get realigned with my body clock?

The Cambridge Beer Festival allowed me to try a few new beers that surprised me.

Anyone living in Cambridge or who is a massive beer lover will have heard of the Cambridge Beer Festival. The festival has been running for 52 years and allows visitors to try a huge range of beers from across the UK and around the world.

I enjoy a beer before a football match or with friends at my local pub but I wouldn’t exactly call myself an expert. I never really stray away from my faithful pint of Guinness, so the festival really gave me a chance to try something new.

I arrived at the festival on Jesus Green and was welcomed by some of the friendly volunteers. A quick flick through the programme showed me the sheer number of beers they had available, with handy descriptions of each so I could see what I’d like.

All of the beers are in a huge tent with glasses available to buy at the door. I picked up an adorable Paddington-themed glass to try some of the beers in.

The tent had plenty of chairs and tables packed with people already enjoying their drinks. I also walked past the iconic cheese stall with its chunks of fresh bread, picnic bits, and wide range of cheeses that can be paired with different beers.

Each time I passed the cheese stall, the queue had not cleared out at all with more people joining all of the time. There were also a few places to buy merchandise and even sweets.

The main tent was buzzing with groups of people drinking and taking a look at the huge amount of beers to choose from. I made my way straight to where the Green Jack’s beers were to get myself the Marmalade Sandwich beer that is inspired by Paddington.

Marmalade Sandwich is brewed using orange peels and you definitely get a citrus aftertaste from the bitter. The drink was very refreshing and would be perfect on a hot day in summer.

After finishing off Marmalade Sandwich, I had spotted another beer that could become a new favourite. Ampersand, a brewery from Diss, had a beer on offer called Affogato.

The beer’s description simply read: “A coffee stout or dessert in a glass? You decide.” As someone who loves desserts, I knew I had to test it out.

I didn’t expect the beer to taste so much like an affogato but I could instantly taste hints of vanilla and coffee. The beer was very smooth and easy to drink and at 8%, you might start forgetting how many you have had quite quickly.

After a few drinks, it was time to get some food. I was spoilt for choice when it came to the outside food stalls and struggled to choose between kebabs and curries as well as burgers, falafel wraps, and fish and chips. After much deliberating, I decided to go for the chicken and chorizo paella, which cost £10.

The paella had been made in a huge dish, which meant some of the rice had gotten a little charred from the bottom of the pan. The rice was fluffy and soft after bathing in all of the oils and flavours from the rest of the ingredients.

The chunks of chicken were perfectly tender and worked well with the generous amount of smoky and rich chorizo. The mountain of paella was the ideal dish to have after a few pints to soak up some of the alcohol.

The Cambridge Beer Festival was a great way to discover new beers you might not usually gravitate towards. Alongside the amazing food stalls, trying out the different beers from the range of breweries makes for a fun day out with friends.

As the festival is so well organised and all of the volunteers are so friendly, it is easy to see how the Cambridge Beer Festival has been running for 52 years. For 2026, the festival will run from Monday, May 18, to Saturday, May 23.

What does science say?

OK, but what about the word “reading”?

TBH – who cares?

Helen Green was jailed for seven months after pleading guilty to dishonestly failing to notify the Department for Work and Pensions of a change in circumstances, having claimed £25,244 in PIP benefits

A woman who pocketed £25,000 in benefits after claiming she was housebound has been brought to justice after photographs surfaced showing her completing a demanding 10k race and kicking an opponent during her combat session.

Helen Green successfully defrauded the Department for Work and Pensions out of the substantial amount after claiming Personal Independence Payment, a tax-free welfare benefit for individuals requiring assistance with additional costs arising from a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability.

However, the fraudster, who claimed to suffer from severe rheumatoid arthritis, was exposed after video material emerged of her exercising at the gym and images of the 49-year-old participating in the race were submitted to investigators. She had informed the DWP she could scarcely feed herself, let alone venture outdoors and was unable to walk for more than five minutes without crutches.

Yet, photographs from a 10k race revealed her competently covering the distance without any crutches. Ms Green was also captured on security cameras at the gym participating in Zumba, Body Combat, Body Pump, Core Blast and Spin classes after the DWP was alerted to her deception through a tip-off to their fraud line.

She has appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court and was accused of falsely claiming £42,013 but her guilty plea related to an amended charge of £25,244. She was sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to dishonestly failing to notify DWP of a change in circumstances. Green dishonestly informed the DWP she required help with washing, bathing, dressing, preparing meals, eating and drinking in her claim between January 2020 and March 2023, reports the Mirror.

She even declared in her PIP paperwork her condition was permanent and anticipated to deteriorate over time. However, Green was caught out following a tip-off and an investigation was promptly initiated. Video evidence released by the DWP revealed a montage of Green exercising at the gym, as well as her smiling and gesturing during a combat class where she was seen kicking another participant.

Labour’s Minister for Transformation, Andrew Western said: “This is a slap in the face to taxpayers and the genuine claimants who depend on PIP to live their lives.

“Helen Green wasn’t just burning calories at the gym, she was also peddling lies and our investigators caught up with her.

“Let this be a warning – you can’t outrun the DWP.” Mandy Tobias of the Crown Prosecution Service added: “Helen Green pretended she had limited movement, but instead was a regular runner and active in gym classes.

“She did this for her own greed and lined her pockets with fraudulently obtained money.

“The Crown Prosecution Service presented strong evidence thanks to the investigation work of the DWP showing Green’s deception, resulting in her guilty plea.”

Stephen Guard explains why it is so “important” for him to attend Iraq15 organised by the Royal British Legion to honour those who served during the conflict.

A former soldier says he will be attending the Royal British Legion’s Iraq15 event on Friday to honour his fallen colleague who died after bravely stepping forward to volunteer.

Former Fusilier Stephen Guard, 44, from Rugby ,told The Mirror: “It could have been me. I was right next to him in that line. We were all standing there when they asked for two volunteers.

“The two new guys, they went. They were young and keen and stepped forward. One came back and one didn’t. It always seemed to be the people who volunteered or who stayed a bit longer.”

His friend who stepped forward was Fusilier Stephen Robert Manning, 22, from Erith in Kent, who was killed alongside Fusilier Donal Anthony Meade, from south east London, aged 20.

READ MORE: Retrial for ‘killer’ of six British Red Caps murdered in Iraq more than 20 years agoREAD MORE: Iraqi militia chief charged with antisemitic terror attacks in UK boasted that ‘this war will not end’

They died in Iraq on September 5th 2005, after a roadside bomb detonated while they were out on patrol in the Basrah province. They were both acting as ‘top cover sentries’ in the first of two vehicles when they were struck by the improvised explosive device, a terror for every soldier sent out on patrol in Iraq.

“They were in my platoon. They asked for volunteers and the two new guys volunteered and I thought I’m not going to volunteer because I think I’ve been there a bit longer and we’re going to be going next year anyway,” Stephen told The Mirror.

“If I had stepped forward that could have been me. That’s why it’s important I go on Friday. That’s why I’m going to honour them. I could have been the one that didn’t come home. It was a lottery and there was quite a high chance you wouldn’t come back.”

Now a window fitter and reservist Stephen will be attending the Royal British Legion event to mark the 15th anniversary of the Iraq War with a service at the National Memorial Arboretum.

The RBL will lead commemorations marking 15 years since the end of Operation TELIC, paying tribute to all who served, their families, and the bereaved. There 1500 veterans and their families are expected to attend.

It will be a poignant day and even more so for Stephen, who will lay a wreath at the service, when he finds the names of his fallen comrades etched on the Armed Forces memorial wall.

Tragically they were among the 179 British Armed Forces personnel who lost their lives in the conflict and more than 6,000 who were injured.

Stephen was 24 years old when he went to Iraq in 2006, a year after his pal’s death. He survived but his platoon suffered devastating losses.

“I left. I knew I had been lucky during my time out there and I didn’t want to push my luck further. But my other mates stayed on and went to Afghan and a lot of them didn’t come back.

“I did feel guilty. I felt like I’d let them down. In 2009, about 11 died from my battalion, it was a bad year. You feel guilty that you’ve left and you should be helping them. I was gutted hearing the names of people I was close to.”

It was not only overseas they suffered losses, as his platoon were struck by the tragedy that shocked the nation, the murder of Lee Rigby, who was killed in 2013 on the streets of London.

Advertisement

“He was a bit younger than me so I didn’t know him well but I knew the name. He was in my battalion. I was leaving and he was just getting in.

“I just remember looking for him one day when he was supposed to be on guard and he wasn’t. I think he was at home, I just remember the name, and saying ‘where is he? He’s supposed to be on guard today.’

“Then five years later I heard his name again all over the news when he got killed. It made my blood boil to hear it was happening on our own streets.”

Stephen knows only too well how lucky he is to escape with his life, having had “three or four” near misses including just after he arrived in Iraq.

“I’d been out in Jordan on an exercise for a few months and I think the army was stretched so half of us went to Iraq and half to Afghanistan. At that time they were both as bad as one another.”

He recalls: “We’d gone to the main place called the ‘A-pod’ in Basra Iraq but then we all separated and went to smaller bases, flying in at night.

“We were just following the moonlight on the river and it was swaying left and right. It felt like it was a scene from the Predator with red lights in the helicopter, when special forces are hunting for missing people.

“All the alarms were going off, something had locked onto our helicopter. So we started deploying these flares, and we were all looking at each other as if we were kind of excited but scared at the same time.”

Stephen and his 15 colleagues survived the landing and ended up in a British camp based around a hotel complex. They were targeted by mortars at first light and then last light.

“It seemed to be a pattern. At first we just got on the floor and hoped for the best but then they ordered a load of big blocks and we put them around our bed. We’d make a sort of brick wall underneath our bed and crawl through a little gap. The mortar blast kind of goes up in a fountain shape. As long as it doesn’t land on top of you, you should be alright.

“One morning when the mortars were very close, you could hear the detonations go off about a mile away and then the explosions land closer and closer. You’d sometimes hear ten in a row and then wait for them to arrive.

“One hit our tent entrance, 30 metres from where we were sleeping. A few guys got lacerations and blown up, it wasn’t a good day. We’d all hidden under our little coffin type beds whilst it was going off and the siren was blaring. We then heard the sergeant shouting ‘medic’ so you know someone had been hurt. “

Two guys had been struck, including one casualty from another regiment who ‘didn’t look great’. Stephen said: “I had three or four close calls like that, things blowing up near me. It kind of made me get my faith back.

Stephen has been married now for nearly 10 years, with two boys, one’s 16 doing GCSEs and the other is eight. “It might never have happened with one step forward or I could have stepped in the wrong spot, it could have been me that never came home. This is why it is important for me to be there on Friday, to remember those who didn’t.”

“What my team will do with the focused leadership of Jenny Gilruth as Deputy First Minister, Ivan McKee as the Cabinet Secretary for Public Sector Reform, working right across Government to make sure that we are reforming the public sector, we will be taking the steps, and it should be seen as a very clear signal from the announcements that I have made today of a Government that’s focusing on ensuring fiscal sustainability and meeting the needs of the public.”

In a 2026 study I conducted with colleagues on people with peripheral arterial disease, one participant described how leg pain had disrupted his golf for years. It forced him to stop mid-round, shake his leg and apologise to his playing partners while he waited for the pain to pass. He found it mortifying. Then he tried a small electrical device that delivered gentle pulses through pads stuck to his skin. He still had pain. But he could get round the course.

When we measured his walking on a treadmill, we found no improvement. He had not noticed. That was not the outcome that mattered to him. Before the study ended, he had already gone out and ordered his own device.

A different participant reached the opposite conclusion. The pain was still there when he used the device, he said. It had not done him any good. And he was right, in a narrow sense. The device had not eliminated his pain. What it had done was reduce its intensity and delay its onset, allowing him to walk measurably further. His expectation of complete relief meant that genuine, partial relief felt like failure. He concluded the treatment did not work.

The study did not tell a simple story of success or failure. For some participants, standard treadmill measures did not capture what had changed in daily life. For others, measurable improvements still failed to feel meaningful because they fell short of what the person had hoped for. The difference was not only the treatment, or the severity of their condition. It was what each person had been led to expect.

Recognising relief

Both men were living with peripheral arterial disease, a condition caused by a build-up of fatty deposits inside the arteries that supply the legs. It affects an estimated 236 million people worldwide. Its hallmark symptom is a cramping pain in the calf during walking that eases with rest. Over time, it can shrink a person’s world, limiting independence and increasing the risk of serious cardiovascular problems.

The recommended first-line treatment is supervised exercise therapy: structured exercise sessions led by trained professionals. But in many countries, access to supervised exercise therapy remains patchy and under-resourced. That gap is fertile territory for the wellness market.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, or Tens, delivers small electrical impulses through electrode pads on the skin to interfere with pain signals travelling to the brain. There is evidence that it can help with some kinds of pain, and it is used in hospital pain management settings. It is not a wellness product. In our study, we explored what happened when people with peripheral arterial disease used TENS independently at home, outside the controlled conditions of a clinical trial.

The findings point to something standard clinical tests rarely capture. Expectation can shape whether useful relief is recognised as useful.

That finding matters well beyond this particular device or condition. The global wellness industry is worth over a trillion dollars and operates with minimal regulatory oversight. People living with painful long-term conditions are among its most heavily targeted consumers. Companies sell electrical stimulation devices, supplements and wearable gadgets to people in chronic pain, using influencer testimonials in place of evidence and social media algorithms to reach people who are frightened, frustrated or in pain.

When a product fails to deliver the transformation it promised, patients rarely conclude they were misled. They conclude that nothing can help them. In conditions where reduced physical activity carries real health consequences, that conclusion is not merely disappointing. It is dangerous.

Poor communication can hinder treatment results

This is where the study speaks to a much wider problem. Whether a person is using a clinical device, a wearable gadget or a supplement sold online, they are often asked to judge it against expectations they did not set for themselves. Even legitimate, clinically tested treatments can be undermined by poor communication about what to expect.

The golfer’s experience illustrates this clearly. He valued an outcome that no clinical trial had thought to measure: the ability to play a round of golf without humiliation. Once he understood the device could offer that, it worked for him. His fellow participant was never given the chance to find his equivalent.

A market built around selling hope is poorly equipped for that kind of honesty. But the same danger can appear even when the person giving advice has medical credentials. Research shows that even medically qualified doctors who become prominent wellness influencers on social media are subject to many of the same pressures as their unqualified counterparts: to build a personal brand, produce content constantly, stand out from competitors and make advice sound more certain than it really is. Having a medical degree does not make someone’s Instagram post better at managing a patient’s expectations. It just makes it more convincing.

What actually helps requires something platforms cannot provide: time, a genuine clinical relationship and communication that is not contingent on making a sale. It requires asking a patient not just whether their pain has reduced, but what they were hoping to do that pain had been stopping them from doing. It requires explaining that partial relief is still relief and that the outcome worth measuring might not be the one on the form.

That kind of honesty does not feature in any influencer’s discount code, medical degree or otherwise. But for the person who just wants to get round the golf course, it might be the most important part of the treatment.