Month: January 2025

Fewer than half of parents think children should know how to use books correctly before starting primary school, a survey has suggested. Only three in four (76%) parents think children should be toilet trained before joining Reception, according to a poll for early years charity Kindred2. Children are entering primary school with delays in basic motor skills and a lack of core strength, teachers have suggested. It comes after the […]

Retail crime is “spiralling out of control” at more than 2,000 incidents a day, according to the latest figures. Incidents including racial and sexual abuse, physical assault and threats with weapons have reached three times the level they were in 2020, when there were 455 incidents a day, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) Annual Crime Survey shows. Over the last year, there were 70 incidents a day which involved a […]

Almost 11 million people were hit with letter post delays over Christmas, Citizens Advice has found. As well as Christmas cards not arriving on time, some 3.4 million UK adults faced a serious consequence as a result, including missing vital health appointments, bills, legal documents, letters from the bank, fines and benefit decisions. The worst-hit region for letter delays in the past month was the South East, with 27% of […]

Households in England and Wales will see an average £123 or 26% increase to their yearly water bill from April 1, final figures show. The rise, confirmed by industry body Water UK, will take the average water and wastewater bill from £480 to £603 for the next year alone. This equates to an increase of around £10 a month, from £40 to £50. However millions of households face even steeper […]

Actor Noel Clarke has lost a bid to get the Guardian publisher’s defence in his libel claim struck out ahead of a trial. The 49-year-old is suing Guardian News and Media (GNM) over a series of articles, including one from April 2021 which said 20 women who knew Mr Clarke in a professional capacity had come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct. In a statement at the time, the former […]

A “small number” of cans of Coca-Cola and Appletiser have been recalled in the UK after testing abroad revealed elevated levels of the chemical chlorate. The recall includes imported cans of 6x250ml Appletiser multipacks which were sent only to supermarkets in the UK and imported cans of Coca-Cola Original Taste, Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, Diet Coke and Sprite Zero, which were only sent to cafes and restaurants during a limited time […]

Princess Beatrice has welcomed her “tiny and absolutely perfect” baby daughter Athena after giving birth several weeks premature. The late Queen’s granddaughter’s second child was born a week ago weighing 4lb 5oz and both mother and baby are said to be healthy, doing well and now at home, Buckingham Palace said. Beatrice’s husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi posted an emotional tribute to his daughter, saying he and the princess were “completely besotted” […]

Love Island star Jack Fincham has been jailed for six weeks after his black cane corso dog called Elvis bit a runner. The 32-year-old, who won the 2018 series of the ITV2 show with Dani Dyer, gave a thumbs up as he was led to the cells at Southend Magistrates’ Court as a woman in the public gallery wept. Fincham, whose address was given in court papers as Swanley in […]

The Government will back a third runway at Heathrow Airport as it looks to go “further and faster” on growth, the Chancellor has announced. In a wide-ranging speech on her measures to boost Britain’s flagging economy, Rachel Reeves said the case for a third runway was “stronger than ever”. She said: “We cannot duck the decision any longer. I have always been clear that a third runway at Heathrow would […]