Business

A company which runs a helicopter passenger service between the Isles of Scilly and the mainland is expanding its fleet to meet increased demand.

Penzance Helicopters runs up to 11 daily flights between the islands and Penzance, taking up to 10 people per crossing.

The company said the addition of another helicopter would increase its fleet to three aircraft and allow up to 17 crossings per day.

David Page, Penzance Heliport base manager, said passenger numbers had increased by 30% since helicopter operators Starspeed took over running the service in 2022.

"The addition of a third aircraft will make a significant investment in the resilience, reliability and extra flights to the islands which is obviously what we need," Mr Page told BBC Radio Cornwall.

He added: "Initially we'll lease it [the aircraft] for a long-term period with the aim, eventually, to purchase it like we've done with the other two.

"The two we're running at the moment ranged between about £15m and £20m."

Mr Page said the business had connected with the community and held classes for schools and invited the local Women's Institute group for a tour.

"It's an ambition of mine to really connect with our neighbours and the community and we have worked hard as a team to do that over the past three years," he said.

Penzance Helicopters expect to receive their new aircraft in August and have it in operation for summer 2026.

The body of a "vulnerable" 16-year-old boy who went missing at the weekend has been identified.

Athrun, who was autistic, and believed to be wearing only blue and white patterned swim shorts and no footwear, was reported missing from West Shore Beach in Llandudno, Conwy county at about 14:00 BST on 10 May.

After an extensive sea search, North Wales Police recovered a body and it was identified as Athrun, from South Gloucestershire on Thursday.

Ch Insp Trystan Bevan said: "Our thoughts are very much with Athrun's family, who wish to thank all agencies and members of the public for their overwhelming support with the search, and for not giving up on his recovery."

He added: "This is not the outcome anyone hoped for, but we hope it can now provide some answers for Athrun's family."

A four-year-old girl's appearance on BBC drama Casualty helped prompt 5,000 new blood donor registrations, the NHS has said.

Beatrix, from Burnopfield, County Durham, who spent more than a year in Newcastle's Freeman Hospital waiting for a new heart, appeared in the Christmas special to highlight the importance of donation.

Along with thousands of new donations, the episode also saw 10,000 extra appointments made to donate blood.

Dad Terry said the scale of the impact was "absolutely staggering" and that Beatrix's life had been saved "multiple times over" by blood donors.

Beatrix's family filmed the episode for the TV medical drama in September at their home and at Durham Fire Station.

Terry said his daughter was "in her element" while filming, and when the crew were "asking her to do a thumbs up, she was being cheeky and purposely doing a thumbs down".

The NHS said the episode, which featured a number of people who had been affected by blood donation, prompted a "fantastic response" and that 1,200 appointments were booked in the hour immediately after the episode aired.

Beatrix had her heart transplant in June 2023 and needed multiple blood transfusions both during and in the run up to the operation.

When Terry heard about the number of people who had signed up, he said he was "blown away and absolutely gobsmacked".

"We owe a massive debt of gratitude to every single person that has given blood and continues to do so," he said.

The NHS said it needed "5,000 donations every day to meet the needs of hospitals and patients".

The episode, All I Want for Christmas, is available on iPlayer and was first shown on BBC One on 21 December.

Plans have been lodged to convert an empty unit in Rotherham into a craft ale and coffee house.

The unit, on Wickersley Road, was last used as a dental training centre but has been vacant for several years.

Under a proposal submitted to Rotherham Council, the venue would be named Barrel & Bean and would offer teas, cakes, local craft ales and cold food platters.

Planning officers have recommended the scheme be approved by councillors at a meeting on 12 June.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the business would be spread over two floors, with seating at ground level and a storage and preparation space to the rear of the lower ground floor.

A flat on the first floor would remain in residential use.

The venue would open daily, according to the application, and operate from 09:00 BST to 21:00 or 22:30, depending on the day.

The proposal attracted 16 letters of support and 11 objections, with concerns ranging from potential late night noise to increased litter.

Some added there was a known problem with rats near the property and they feared there would also be a lack of parking.

Supporters argued that the venue would fill a local need for coffee shops and social spaces.

They praised its emphasis on sourcing local produce.

Several also suggested that such venues typically attract a more mature clientele and would bring new life to an otherwise underused unit.

Council planning officers concluded that the proposal was in line with the authority's local plan.

In response to noise concerns, the applicant has agreed to a number of proposed conditions, including no outdoor seating, no live or amplified music, and restricted operating hours.

South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds

Brad Arnold, the singer with US rock band 3 Doors Down, has revealed he has been diagnosed with stage four kidney cancer.

The 46-year-old said in an Instagram video that he has "clear cell renal carcinoma that had metastasised into my lung", adding: "And that's stage four, and that's not real good."

The band made it big in the early 2000s with hits like Kryptonite, Here Without You and It's Not My Time, and have sold more than 13 million albums in the US.

"Now, I believe It's Not My Time is really my song," Arnold wrote to fans in an accompanying caption. "This'll be a battle so we need our prayers warriors!"

3 Doors Down emerged from Mississippi to break through with their hit Kryptonite, which reached number three in the US in 2000.

Their debut album The Better Life was the 11th biggest-selling album of the year in their home country.

They returned to the top five with the 2002 singles Here Without You and When I'm Gone, and scored US number one albums with Seventeen Days in 2005 and a self-titled LP in 2008.

They also performed at President Trump's first inauguration in 2017.

In his video, the singer and drummer said: "You know what, we serve almighty God, and he can overcome anything. So I have no fear. I am really, sincerely not scared of it at all.

"But it is going to force us to cancel our tour this summer, and we're sorry for that.

"And I'd love for you to lift me up in prayer every chance you get, and I think it's time for me to maybe go listen to It's Not My Time a little bit, right?"

Clear cell renal carcinoma is the most common type of kidney cancer, and stage four is the most serious, meaning it has spread to another part of the body.

Plans to raise ground levels next to a flood defence wall in response to anti-social behaviour fears have been given the green light.

Westmorland and Furness Council has approved an application from the Environment Agency (EA) to regrade the ground levels in order to reduce the appearance of the defence from within New Road Common in Kendal.

Concerns had been raised that the solid stone wall next to the River Kent would "reduce visibility" onto the common and lead to anti-social behaviour.

Glass panel walls were proposed by councillors instead, but the EA said the use of glass would add in the region of £750,000 to the scheme and delay construction by a year.

Plans for flood defences at the site were previously approved in 2019, but had to be changed because of "additional topographical data".

The revised proposal with raised ground levels was approved by the South Lakeland planning committee in September, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Matt Severn, previously said the proposed solid stone walls would "reduce visibility".

"I fear the proposals as they stand would make New Road a no-go area for some people as they would feel unsafe, and would be worried about harassment as they are no longer visible when exercising across the common," he said.

Six chickens have been found with their heads cut off in an allotment.

The Thornhill Gardens site in Hartlepool was broken into between 18:00 BST on Wednesday and 09:00 on Thursday.

The birds' heads were severed and another had a leg cut off, police said.

Cleveland Police has appealed for information about the "sickening" act.

A spokesperson said: "Hartlepool police are appealing for information after an allotment was broken into and someone carried out sickening cruelty to animals.

"The heads of six chickens were cut off and killed and another chicken had a leg cut off."

A CCTV camera was stolen from the allotment, along with a 6in (15cm) boning knife.

Villagers in Charfield, South Gloucestershire, say they have been ordered to remove new goalposts, bought by the community.

Local mother of three, Olivia Dibden said: "The money that we raised was donated kindly and generously by over 27 families within the village."

But days after the goalposts were put up on a public green space, close to housing on Underhill Road, residents said they were ordered to remove them within seven days.

South Gloucestershire Council said it had a duty of care to ensure all play equipment on public open spaces was "appropriately installed and maintained".

Residents said the letter stated: "If the encroaching material remains in situ, the council will remove the items and dispose of them."

Olivia Dibden said: "It was heart-breaking. The letter was entitled 'fly-tipping', which angered quite a lot of people."

A nuclear site's emergency siren may be heard this week, residents have been warned.

Sellafield, based in Seascale, Cumbria, is due to hold an emergency exercise on Wednesday.

The siren, which can be heard off-site, might be sounded as part of it, the site said.

A Sellafield spokesman said: "Emergency exercises are held regularly at all nuclear licensed sites to test their readiness in the event of an emergency."

The company added access to and from the site would be as normal up until about 08:15 BST and that residents signed up to text and email warnings might be contacted on the day.

The site manages more radioactive waste in one place than any other nuclear facility in the world.

She has given Kaleb a run for his money and now Harriet Cowan wants to be a voice for young farmers.

The 24-year-old, from Derbyshire, has become Jeremy Clarkson's new sidekick on the latest series of his popular show Clarkson's Farm, standing in for Kaleb Cooper for several episodes while he toured.

She describes herself as both a full-time farmer and nurse, working as a community nurse in Belper when she is not on the farm.

But she says her appearance in the Amazon Prime series has given her a new opportunity to speak up on farmers' mental health, be a voice for young, female farmers and attempt to change stereotypes of farming.

The programme has proved a major hit for the streaming giant since it first aired in 2021 and is now into its fourth season.

Harriet's appearances in the show have provided a further window into the mental pressures faced by the farming community.

"It's the unknown all the time," she said.

"You don't know if the grass is going to grow, you don't know how much the fertiliser is going to cost, you don't know how much you're going to sell that cow for.

"It's hard because you're in an industry where a lot of the time you work alone, and we do. It's lonely, you don't have anyone to talk to.

"I've seen a lot of farmers shut off since Covid, and they don't want to go out and socialise anymore because they're used to being isolated.

"We lost a lot of social skills. Now, it's about building them back up and getting farmers to talk again and tell people about the challenges they're facing.

"If I can do anything, I'm going to use the platform to promote the mental health aspect in farming and if I can save one life, it's something."