A woman has shared a simple hack for stopping flies in your wheelie bins – and all you need is one ingredient which can be bought for as little as 35p in major supermarkets

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Wheelie bins are rarely pleasant, given their purpose, but there are methods to prevent them from becoming utterly revolting.

Many households will be keen to avoid their bins becoming infested with flies and other insects, which can become a significant problem, particularly as temperatures rise.

If you’ve been struggling with this issue recently, one woman may have found the answer.

A TikTok user posting as @sisterpledgecleans has achieved viral status on the platform after sharing a tip that has become an “unconscious standard practice” in her daily routine.

The best part? All that’s required is ordinary table salt, which can be purchased for as little as 35p from retailers such as M&S.

In her video, the cleaning fan demonstrates washing out two small waste bins.

After ensuring they’re thoroughly clean, she adds a substantial quantity of table salt to the base before putting them back into use.

She advises: “Here’s a great hack for stopping flies in your bins.

“Sprinkle a generous amount of table salt in the bottom of clean bins.

“The salt soaks up any leaked fluid and flies and maggots die when they feed on it.”

The clip has since achieved viral success, accumulating nearly four million views and attracting more than 400,000 likes.

Thousands have also left comments on the household tip, expressing their appreciation and thanking her for sharing the information.

One person said: “Oh thank you!! Our black bin is full of flies, yet our compost/food bin isn’t. Makes no sense.”

Another responded: “I literally just cleaned my bins yesterday, why did I not see this first?!”

A third endorsed the idea and recommended: “Add baking powder and it won’t smell.”

Someone else wrote: “OMG… this is now my life hack. THANK YOU!!!!”

A different user added: “I put a puppy pad at the bottom the bin soaking side up, never had a problem!”

While a sixth TikToker said: “My bins are getting emptied tomorrow. I’m so trying this out!”

A seventh described the tip as a “game-changer” while an eighth considered the woman a “genius.”

Police are pursuing the arrest of man suspected to have a weapon, ChronicleLive reports.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Shortly before 7.45am today (Sunday), officers attended an address on Grange Crescent in Leam Lane, Gateshead, to carry out an arrest of a man.

“The man – who is contained inside an address on the street – is suspected to be in possession of a weapon and is currently refusing to comply with officers.”

The film is being released by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which will also release the only known surviving footage of the competition’s first-ever winner, offering fans a rare glimpse into Eurovision history.

The contest, which began on May 24, 1956, has grown into the world’s largest live music event.

To mark the occasion, organisers will release a tribute film featuring some of the most moving moments from seven decades of the competition.

Eurovision Song Contest to release film marking 70th anniversary

The film will be set to Uber Die Brücke Geh’n by Ingrid Peters, Germany’s 1986 entry, and will include footage from the 1950s through to this year’s contest, including Bulgaria’s first-ever win last Saturday.

It will premiere on the official Eurovision Song Contest YouTube channel on May 24.

The EBU has also teamed up with Swiss broadcaster RSI to restore the only known surviving footage of the contest’s first-ever winner, Lys Assia, singing Refrain.

The video, filmed by Vincenzo Vicari, shows the singer on stage at Teatro Kursaal in Lugano, Switzerland.

Chris Fox, a senior producer on Eurovision’s digital team who worked on the restoration, said: “Preserving the history of the Eurovision Song Contest is something very close to my heart.

“I’m proud that the EBU was able to commission this restoration so that fans can enjoy Lys Assia’s winning reprise in the best possible quality for years to come.”

The EBU has also launched the Eurofan Voice initiative, a survey inviting Eurovision fans to share feedback and help shape the future of the contest.

Martin Green, director of the Eurovision Song Contest, said: “For 70 years, the Eurovision Song Contest has shown what’s possible when public service broadcasters come together with a shared purpose: to create moments of joy, emotion and connection that transcend borders.

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“From a small theatre in Lugano in 1956 to stadiums and screens across the globe today, the Eurovision Song Contest continues to evolve while remaining true to its founding spirit – bringing audiences together through music.”

Fans can watch the 70th anniversary tribute film on Eurovision’s official YouTube channel from May 24.

Will you be watching the special Eurovision Song Contest film? Let us know in the comments.

Drivers are being warned to expect delays with problems on two major routes as drivers head out to enjoy the sunny weather.

With temperatures in the high 20s today, thousands of people are expected to take to the roads to head for beaches and countryside spots and attractions as Wales prepares for soaring temperatures.

There are two incidents on major routes right now. One has part blocked the M4 near J25 for Caerleon. The other has shut the A40 both ways through Nantgaredig. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here

Latest updates below:

Pictures show a missing fence panel and tyre tracks in the grass next at the Portland Hub, on Gardener Avenue in Willington.

Debris can be seen next to the broken fence panel and a stretch of grass churned up.

The car involved has since been removed.

Durham Police and the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) have been contacted for a statement about this incident.

Damage to the fence at Portland Hub, Willington (Image: CHRIS BOOTH/NORTHERN ECHO)

Damage to the fence at Portland Hub, Willington (Image: CHRIS BOOTH/NORTHERN ECHO)

Lawrence Shankland has been the subject of Rangers interest for a number of years and the Ibrox side are now reportedly confident they will finally land the Hearts captain

Rangers have tabled a two-year contract – with an option for a third – as they attempt to lure Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland to Ibrox for nothing. The Mirror’s sister title in Scotland, the Daily Record, reports Gers bosses are in advanced negotiations with the Scotland forward over a sensational switch to his boyhood club.

And they are rushing to trigger a clause in the 30-year-old’s deal that would enable him to depart the capital club he steered to the verge of championship success this season without Hearts pocketing a single penny. Shankland penned a three-year contract when Derek McInnes convinced him to remain at Gorgie last summer – but crucially he secured a break clause at the conclusion of the opening year that permits him to tear up his arrangement and head elsewhere.

Now Gers bosses are seeking to capitalise and remain confident they will finally capture the Jambos skipper after years of gossip and conjecture. Discussions are not yet finalised but Rangers are pushing strongly to eventually secure the signature of the devoted fan.

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The development will arrive as a devastating blow to McInnes and the Hearts support, who witnessed Shankland bag 20 goals to carry the Tynecastle outfit to within a whisker of the Premiership crown before enduring a heartbreaking final-day defeat at Parkhead to eventual champions Celtic.

It remains to be seen whether Hearts will respond with a rival bid but they won’t have long with Rangers eager to wrap up the deal swiftly before the break clause lapses. Time is also running out for Shankland, who is currently on holiday and due to link up with Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad this week ahead of Saturday’s Curacao friendly at Hampden, before the 26-man party departs for the World Cup.

Former Gers manager Russell Martin had the opportunity to snap up Shankland on a free transfer last summer but declined.

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.

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Now it seems new boss Danny Rohl is poised to rectify that mistake, having made Scotland’s 2024 player of the year his top target for this summer.

He appears set to be the first of several Scottish signings, with chairman Andrew Cavenagh confirming last week that the club intends to recruit more Scottish players in the coming weeks.

Jeremy Clarkson is finally selling wine at his Cotswolds pub after relaxing a rule he’s enforced since it opened.

When the 65-year-old opened his Oxfordshire watering hole The Farmer’s Dog in August 2024, he revealed it would “serve exclusively British” items, including several own-brand food and drink products.

One item missing from the menu was wine, but that’s until now – the pub has finally introduced its own British wine range.

“There was a time when English wine was like a child’s recorder playing; you wanted to like it, but it wasn’t very good. Fortunately, that time has gone,” the pub said in a new statement.

“Thanks to warmer summers and expert farming, Britain grows excellent grapes and makes brilliant wine with them,” it continued, before announcing the arrival of Knollbury Fort, “our own range of English wines, created to champion British farming and prove that this country now produces genuinely world-class wine”.

In August 2025, the pub started selling ketchup after a Chatham-based producer made it using solely British ingredients.

Condimaniac ketchup is made of tomato passata from Isle of Wight, apple cider vinegar from Hants, Essex salt, and sugar and onions sourced from Britain.

“Making a 100 per cent British ketchup after Jeremy Clarkson alerted us to the fact there wasn’t one was very hard,” the company’s boss Kier Kemp said in an Instagram video chronicling the sauce’s creation.

“It turned out to be really hard,” he added, noting Clarkson’s Diddly Squat team requested the sauce “as soon as possible”.

Kemp said the company has made two sauces at the same time – one containing carrots and onion “used to thicken” the sauce, as there is no purely British tomato puree.

The move is a big turnaround from Clarkson, considering the former Grand Tour star became so fed up with requests that a sign was put up telling customers to stop asking for the condiment.

Speaking about the products on offer when the pub first opened its doors, Clarkson said: “The menu changes – it’s whatever we’ve got. There’s no Coca-Cola, no coffee. Other pubs do coffee. We do British food.

“Everything that you consume in here – every single thing – even the black pepper and the sugar, is grown by British farmers.”

Diddly Squat, a 1,000-acre holding, is at the centre of Clarkson’s Farm, which follows the TV presenter’s journey as a new farmer and the challenges he faces along the way.

The 64-year-old former Top Gear presenter paid less than £1m for the pub based in Asthall, which was formerly known as The Windmill.

Its opening, however, was marred by complaints surrounding the absence of prices on the menu, with many fans suspecting that this might suggest dishes would be more expensive than at other pubs in the area.

When one person joked on X/Twitter that they would need to remortgage their home to afford a round of drinks at Clarkson’s pub, the presenter bluntly responded: “It’s £5.50 a pint.”

The Premier League comes to an end on Sunday with Arsenal having already won the league, but safety and spots in Europe are still on the line.

Before the final games of the season, we want to test your knowledge of everything that has happened in the 2025-26 campaign.

Try out our quiz to see how much you can remember about this season’s Premier League.

The chaos in the aftermath of China‘s worst mine disaster in 17 years led to a revision in the death toll to 82 ​killed, local officials said at a press conference late on Saturday.

The ‌people died in a gas explosion at the Liushenyu coal mine in China’s northern province of Shanxi late on Friday.

Initially, state media reports said at least 90 people were killed.

Even ​at the lower number, the incident remains China’s deadliest mining accident since 2009, ​when a gas explosion at the Xinxing Mine in Heilongjiang province ⁠killed 108 people.

Local officials said at the press conference the initial death ​toll from state media had been tallied in error.

“After the incident, the scene was ​chaotic, the company’s count of the number of workers was not clear, which led to the initial inaccurate number,” Guo Xiaofang, the head of Shanxi’s Qinyuan county, where the mine ​is located, said.

There were 247 workers on duty underground at the time of ​the explosion.

Two people remained unaccounted for, Mr Guo said, while 128 were injured and hospitalised, and ‌35 ⁠were uninjured.

The Liushenyu mine is owned by Shanxi Tongzhou Coal Coking Group and all four of its mines have been closed and company executives detained, local officials said at the news conference.

State-run newspaper the People’s Daily published an editorial on ​the accident on ​its front page ⁠on Sunday morning, calling for greater attention to safety in production and to “completely reverse the tendency to prioritise development over ​safety”.

President Xi Jinping on Saturday had called for authorities to “spare ​no effort” ⁠in treating the injured and conducting search and rescue operations, according to Xinhua. He also ordered an investigation into the incident.

The mine has a production capacity of ⁠1.2 million ​tons of coal per year, officials said at the ​press conference.

China last year mined 4.83 billion tons of the fuel, which forms the backbone ​of its power sector.