Local News

Shop prices will rise in 2025 as the key Christmas trading period failed to meet retailers' expectations, according to industry data.Shop sales grew just 0.4% in the so-called golden quarter, the critical three shopping months from October to December, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and big four accounting company KPMG. Many retailers rely on trade during this period to see them through tougher months such as January and […]

For days, the attacks had been raining down from Elon Musk and his supporters on Keir Starmer, safeguarding minister Jess Phillips and the wider government, over handling of the historical sex abuse cases. The consensus in Number 10, as voiced by another leader subject to Mr Musk's ire - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz - was do "not feed the troll". And so, as Mr Musk posted dozens of times about sex […]

A six-month-old baby girl has died after a crash in a multi-storey car park.Sophia Kelemen, from the Leigh area of Manchester, was injured in a collision in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, on Thursday. Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed Sophia was initially taken to hospital but died of her injuries the following day.The force said the collision happened on the ground floor of the car park and a man has been arrested in connection with […]

More than half of private sector firms are planning price hikes to help offset looming tax increases announced in the chancellor's first budget , according to a corporate lobby group.The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) warned business confidence was at its lowest level since the market meltdown that followed the Conservatives' mini budget of autumn 2022. Its survey of almost 5,000 firms found worries about tax stood at levels not […]

London's roads are the most congested in Europe, with drivers spending around 101 hours in traffic last year, according to a new report.The total cost to London was estimated at £3.85bn - an average of £942 per driver. Paris had the second most congested roads in Europe in 2024 with 97 hours of delays per driver, followed by Dublin with 81 hours, according to the report by transport analysis company […]

Former RuPaul's Drag Race UK winner James Lee Williams, known as The Vivienne, has died at the age of 32. In a statement, a spokesperson said: "It is with immense sadness that we let you know our beloved James Lee Williams - The Vivienne, has passed this weekend. "James was an incredibly loved, warm-hearted and amazing person."Their family are heartbroken at the loss of their son, brother and uncle. They […]

Elon Musk has said Reform UK needs a "new leader" because Nigel Farage "doesn't have what it takes".The X owner posted the tweet on Sunday following days of headlines over his comments about the historic grooming scandal that took place across UK towns and cities more than a decade ago. Mr Musk, who has spoken positively about Reform UK on his social media platform and who met Mr Farage at […]

Crystal Palace football club has become the first in the world to offer permanent technology for fans who are visually impaired, to improve their match experience.Launched earlier in the football season, the Give Vision headset relies on a private 5G network at Selhurst Park and offers the user live vision of the game, which wouldn't otherwise be possible to a visually challenged eye. Neale Ormston has been a Crystal Palace […]

Outside it is the bleak midwinter. We are smack bang in the middle of some of the country's best agricultural land.But inside the cavernous warehouse where we've come, you wouldn't have a clue about any of that: there is no daylight; it feels like it could be any time of the day, any season of the year. We are at Fischer Farms - Europe's biggest vertical farm.The whole point of […]