Local News

Fraud experts are set to investigate suspicions thousands of students are fraudulently claiming hundreds of millions of pounds in student loans with no plans to study - or pay the money back.The Public Sector Fraud Authority has been directed by Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson to start work immediately to halt the "growing threat" and support investigations that are already under way. It follows a Sunday Times investigation which reports students […]

Campaigners say a new 100% council tax premium on second homes in England will do little to ease the housing crisis, with one group describing it as a "naked cash grab".Exclusive Sky News data shows around 75% of councils in England will introduce the discretionary charge from April - essentially doubling the council tax on properties classed as second homes. England follows in the footsteps of Wales, which already charges […]

The average family could be £1,400 a year worse off by the end of the decade, new analysis suggests.Frozen tax thresholds, rising mortgage and rent costs, and falling real earnings are all predicted to take their toll. But living standards for the poorest third are forecast to drop twice as much compared with middle and high earners.The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) believes the government will miss one of its stated […]

The bomb squad has carried out a controlled burn of explosive chemicals found at a seafront home in Sussex.A major incident was declared and 73 people evacuated from their homes after explosives and 500 canisters containing more unknown chemicals were discovered at a house in St Leonards, near Hastings. The additional 500 canisters are not thought to be explosive, although they will be tested by specialists.The Hastings Half Marathon, which […]

An inmate who escaped from a prison van on a motorway has been found after a three-day search.Jamie Cooper, 33, fled from the vehicle on the M55 motorway near Catforth, Preston, as it was travelling to Lancaster Magistrates' Court shortly before 9am on Wednesday, Lancashire Police said in a statement. He was found in Blackburn on Saturday afternoon after officers stopped a car that had travelled from Bolton, the force […]

The government is considering sending failed asylum seekers, including those arriving on small boats, to overseas 'migrant hubs', Sky News understands.A Home Office source has told political correspondent Amanda Akass that the government is in the "very early stages" of discussions around the idea, and is keen to learn about what Italy has been doing in Albania. The right-wing Italian government has built two facilities in the Balkan country aiming […]

A 103-year-old Second World War veteran has been sharing his stories of the frontline with primary school children in Salford - as part of a new project to celebrate the anniversary of VE Day.Bombardier Tom Jones was called up to serve in the Royal Artillery as the war broke out in 1939 - when he was aged just 17. He spent time defending the Liverpool Docks and was later posted […]

A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman in her 40s was found dead at a home in Essex.Police have said the suspect - a man inn his 20s, has been taken to hospital in a serious condition.Officers were called to a property on Skelmersdale Road in the seaside town at 11:30am on Friday.Essex Police said officers attended with ambulance crews and an air ambulance but […]

Three teenage boys have been charged with rape of a girl under the age of 16, police have said.The incident happened on 10 February last year in Newbold, Rochdale, according to Greater Manchester Police.The force said each of the boys, aged 13,14 and 15, have been charged with one count of rape of a female under 16.Additionally, they have all been jointly charged with two further counts of rape of […]