Global Trade

A pub in Derby has abruptly closed with a handwritten note placed on the door saying the brewery owner was unhappy about photos of it being shared online.

The Abbey, in Darley Abbey, dates back to the 15th Century and is one of the last surviving buildings from an extensive monastery.

Multiple sources told the BBC the current landlords were informed by Samuel Smith's Brewery, which owns the pub, they had broken policies and were dismissed with immediate effect.

The brewery has refused to comment on the closure.

Samuel Smith's operates about 200 pubs across the UK and is famous for its strict rules laid down by owner Humphrey Smith.

These include a no-swearing policy, no televisions or jukeboxes and a ban on the use of mobile phones or laptops in its public houses.

The Abbey's closure comes after another pub owned by the brewery in Bradford shut unexpectedly in September 2024.

The brewery also shut down another historic pub in north-west London in February.

Martin Repton, a councillor at Derby City Council, posted on Facebook: "All the brewery have said so far is that the managers did not follow company policies, which the couple deny emphatically.

"We're all really sad and sorry for the landlords, who have now lost their home and livelihood."

The Abbey had been closed for five years before re-opening in September 2024.

Repton, who was part of the campaign to get it reopened, told the BBC the fresh closure had come as a shock to the local community.

"I went in for a quick pint on Tuesday and everything seemed to be OK, although I know that the landlords have come under a certain amount of pressure in recent months," he said.

"I was rung and told the pub was to close immediately.

"People are absolutely appalled and shocked by the immediate closure.

"We were starting to build up the trade again. It's a good pub with great atmosphere, in the village centre.

"It's an important and integral part of the village and village life."

An arts festival celebrating Grimsby's seafaring heritage and future relationship with the sea is due to be held.

The fifth annual Festival of the Sea will focus on accessibility and sustainability and will include sensory workshops, guided walks and performances.

North East Lincolnshire Council said the festival was "a perfect way to show how our past and great heritage can be brought into the modern day".

The free family event will be held at Alexandra Dock, from 11:00 to 17:00 BST on 21 June.

Activities include "Save the Sea" with the British Divers Marine Life Rescue, marine-themed crafts and a competition to win cuddly sea creatures.

A guided walk will take participants through Grimsby's deep-rooted connection to the sea and waterfront, past and present.

There will be an opportunity to get hands-on with seafood-themed crafts while learning about different types of seafood and their nutritional benefits.

The festival's education programme will explore topics such as the history and future of healthy eating.

There will also be music from local artists.

Councillor Hayden Dawkins said: "I am absolutely delighted that this festival will once again provide a showcase not only for our area, but also for our local creative talent."

Festival of the Sea was Highly Commended at the 2024/25 Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland Tourism Excellence Awards.

The world's most historic golf course at St Andrews is cutting the cost of playing a round to £42.50 in a bid to make the sport more accessible to Scottish players.

Between May and October, 179 tee times will be made available at the reduced price.

It means 716 golfers with Scottish postcodes will have the chance to play St Andrews' four courses at an 87.5% reduction on the regular high season green fees.

The full price of a round at the Old Course is currently £340.

Public safety is at risk because the justice system is starved of resources, two police and crime commissioners (PCCs) have said.

Hampshire's Donna Jones and Thames Valley counterpart Matthew Barber said the government's Spending Review on Wednesday should address "chronic underfunding" of the Ministry of Justice.

The Conservative PCCs said cuts had led to "clogged" courts, collapsed legal cases and overstretched services to manage offenders in the community.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said the government had already invested in prison-building and probation services, as well as increasing sitting days at crown courts.

The PCCs, who oversee police forces in their areas, said the "buckling" justice system had "left victims in limbo".

In an online statement, they wrote: "Officers are working tirelessly to arrest dangerous individuals.

"Too many of these cases are falling apart because courts are clogged, evidence is lost, or legal processes fail due to under-resourcing.

"Releasing thousands of prisoners early and proposing lighter sentences in the community may relieve pressure, but only if community supervision, rehabilitation services and offender management teams are properly funded.

"Where rehabilitation is right, it must be resourced and monitored. At the moment, neither is happening to the standard the public expects."

The commissioners said 16,231 prisoners were released early in 2024 under the government's plan to ease overcrowding in jail.

The number of court cases awaiting trial nearly doubled in five years to 73,105 cases in September 2024, they added.

The MoJ said: "This government inherited a justice system in crisis, but we are gripping the situation and have taken immediate action.

"We've confirmed plans to invest £4.7bn more in prison building to make sure the public are never again put at risk by running out of prison places.

"This is backed by a boost of up to £700m a year by 2028-29 for probation services, and a record allocation of crown court sitting days to tackle the backlog and deliver swifter justice for victims."

In a separate statement, Dorset PCC David Sidwick urged the government to change the police National Funding Formula, which he said left his county "continually at the bottom of the list".

The Conservative said: "Currently, Dorset receives the second lowest amount of police grant funding of any force in England and Wales."

The Home Office has been approached for comment on the funding system.

An animal rescue centre is warning cat owners not to "get caught out this summer", as unneutered strays have caused an influx of kittens.

Staff at Bath Cats and Dogs Home say they are currently caring for almost 30 kittens and their mums, many of which are believed to be abandoned.

The high cost of living has left many pet owners struggling to care for an unplanned litter of kittens, and a decline in adoption leaves them without a permanent home.

As the weather warms up, cats are more likely to roam, interact, and find food – prompting the shelter to urge owners to neuter their pets to prevent unwanted litters.

Cats can become pregnant as early as four months old and, if not neutered, may produce up to three litters a year – potentially resulting in hundreds of kittens over their lifetime.

This contributes to the overpopulation of surrendered or abandoned cats in shelters and rescue organisations, which are already struggling to stay afloat.

Staff at the animal shelter said it costed about £1,700 to house a mum and a litter of kittens for a three-month stay.

On one day in May, a total of 15 cats arrived at the rescue shelter.

Chrissie Anderton rescued an abandoned cat and her six two-day-old kittens from a field in Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, and cared for them for two weeks.

"Having four pets already, sadly, the high cost of keeping seven more cats just wasn't possible in the long term," she said.

"It was hard to say goodbye when I took them to the brilliant Bath Cats and Dogs Home, but I know they are in the safest place and will have a happy future."

In 2024, the rescue centre performed 185 cat neutering operations in their vet suite, which potentially prevented 1,700 unwanted kittens out in the community.

"It is really tough when abandoned pregnant cats or mums and their kittens are left to fend for themselves in the wild, with no food and at risk from predators," a spokesperson said.

"Luckily, some of our current rescue cats were rescued by RSPCA inspectors or members of the public who brought them to us or via a local vet."

The charity expects to see a record number of kittens being born on its site over the next few months and has launched an appeal, called Feline Summer, calling for donations to help care for them.

'Please reach out'

The 2024 RSPCA Kindness Report revealed that 78% of pet owners say the cost of caring for their pets has increased over the past year.

Nicola Charman, training and behaviour manager at Bath Cats and Dogs Home, warned: "Don't get caught out with unwanted kittens this summer, ask your vet about getting your cat neutered early to avoid unwanted litters.

"If you find an abandoned cat with kittens, please reach out to your local vet or animal rescue centres for help.

"We're here to help but it stretches our resources to the limit caring for so many kittens, so please support our appeal A feline summer so we can continue picking up the pieces for cats in need."

Controversial proposals for a £10m Marks and Spencer food hall on the Issa brothers' Frontier Park were set to be debated again after they were dealt a blow by the High Court.

The legal block meant the planning process for the retailer's new outlet, to replace their existing store in Blackburn town centre, had to be rerun from the start.

Now a revised application from Monte Blackburn, the property arm of Mohsin and Zuber Issa's business empire, which owns Frontier Park just across the border between Blackburn and Rishton, is back before Hyndburn Council's planning committee.

A new planning officer's report to be put to the meeting later will urge the councillors once again to refuse it.

'Our best option'

In April, planning permission was granted for the outlet near the M65 after an officer's recommendation to reject it was rejected.

Approval was given despite a last-ditch attempt by Blackburn with Darwen Council to offer land at the cleared Thwaites Brewery site, originally earmarked for a new Morrisons supermarket, as an alternative.

Later, Tesco launched a judicial review of the decision, which Hyndburn Council opted not to contest.

This resulted in the planning permission being quashed by the High Court.

Monte and M&S have submitted new evidence to Hyndburn Council addressing the High Court decision and urging approval for the proposal, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

M&S bosses made clear this week that they would not renew the lease for their existing 1980s all-purpose store in Blackburn town centre's King William Street when it expires in September 2027, regardless of the final Hyndburn decision.

The planning officer's report said: "The council considers that there are preferable sites which are available, suitable and viable."

Tesco has submitted a new objection to approval on grounds including the proposed M&S store's impact on Blackburn and other nearby town centres.

The council also submitted a new objection, which said the new application "unfortunately does not overcome the concerns which have previously been raised".

An M&S spokeswoman said: "We're investing in our stores to bring customers modern spaces where they want to shop, and our proposed location is the best option in Blackburn.

"As the current store cannot offer the customer experience we strive for, we will not have a store in Blackburn if our plans are refused."

BBC Sounds

New cameras are set to be installed across speeding hot spots in the West Midlands.

A deal has been reached by West Midlands Police, the Police and Crime Commissioner and West Midlands Combined Authority to help target more speeding drivers.

The Joint Working Agreement will aim to help the bodies reach their targets to halve the number of deaths and serious injuries on the roads by 2030 to zero by 2040.

The agreement will be discussed by members of the WMCA's Transport Delivery Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 6 May.

Mat MacDonald, West Midlands Road Safety Commissioner, said average speed enforcement is a "critical tool" in getting the most dangerous drivers off the roads.

He said: "Rolling this technology out will without a doubt prevent collisions, save lives and make journeys less dangerous for everyone who uses our road network."

'More fines issued'

The new agreement will enable:

• New cameras to be installed in the places where the risk of death or serious injury on roads is greatest

• Cameras to be better maintained

• Better use of existing cameras

• Other types of camera enforcement, such as "spot cameras" that use the latest technology to more easily capture images of speeding cars, and red-light cameras

• More fines to be issued which leads to more drivers going on speed awareness courses, to encourage more people to stay within the speed limit

Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker, said the scheme will help bring more offenders to justice.

"It's a tragedy that so many lives are lost on our roads each year – the impact on victims' families is truly heartbreaking," he said.

"Unfortunately, speeding and dangerous driving is blighting our region which is why we are cracking down on those who are determined to use our streets as a racetrack."

A 120-year-old plane tree in north London, which has been under threat of being felled for the past three years, is once again facing the axe.

Haringey Council says the tree on Oakfield Road, Stroud Green, needs to be removed as it is causing damage to nearby properties. The council has given residents until 17 June to respond to its notice.

Dr Gio Iozzi, who is among those fighting to save it, said: "It feels like the tree is still the fall guy in this situation and it is just morally, ethically, environmentally wrong."

"This healthy tree has been implicated in damage… it has been blamed for all the other factors that contribute to subsidence in houses," she added.

She told BBC London that insurers had recently agreed to finally pay for the work on the two houses affected by subsidence, meaning there was "no need to fell this tree".

Dr Iozzi added: "There is no rationale now for the council to want to fell the tree and yet they're intending to push forwards with felling this tree.

"We feel like this is madness, we need these big canopy trees they are so important for our health, our lungs."

In its consultation, the council said the tree had "contributed to tree root damage to the adjacent properties, pruning was unsuccessful, and movement of the properties has continued".

But environmental campaign group Haringey Tree Protectors told the Local Democracy Reporting Service these claims were unsubstantiated.

It has urged people to send in their views so the council can "understand how the public feel about protecting their mature street trees".

Dr Iozzi said poor foundations, clay soil movement, droughts or floods could also be contributing to issues with the homes' foundations and she believed there was not enough evidence to support the tree's removal.

"Trees should not be felled just in case there is the potential of damage to houses in the future," she said.

"If this logic is followed, all trees in Haringey would need to be felled just in case."

Local resident Andrew Brenner, who lives opposite the tree, told BBC London: "If you take down a tree on the off-chance that it's going to cause a problem in the future, that could lead to every single tree on every tree-lined street in London being taken out.

"I think it's a real risk that we're going to lose lots of trees for no reason except that it's to prevent some future possible problem."

A Haringey Council spokesperson said it was undertaking the latest consultation in view of new statutory requirements that had come into force.

"Our proposal is based on consideration of the evidence submitted on behalf of the owners of the properties," the spokesperson added.

They said the council would consider all feedback before making a final decision.

The fountains in Hull's Queen Victoria Square will remain closed after further faults and concerns over water quality were discovered, the council has confirmed.

The water feature has been closed since May 2023 and is fenced off behind a metal barrier.

Gillian Osgerby, a senior officer at Hull City Council, said issues with the internal mechanism, which "can affect water quality", had been discovered during repair works.

"Despite our best efforts to reopen the fountains, we will not do so until the issues have been fully resolved, and the water quality is satisfactory," she said.

The fountains were installed as part of a £28m regeneration scheme to mark Hull's year as UK City of Culture in 2017.

Ms Osgerby, the interim assistant director for major projects and infrastructure, apologised to residents and said further tests would be carried out to ensure the fountains are safe.

"While we understand this is disappointing, public safety is our top priority," she added.

Emma Hardy, the MP for Hull West and Haltemprice, has expressed her frustration at the ongoing closure of the fountains

On Monday, she told BBC Radio Humberside: "I was there the other day, the area is fenced off, it's not clean and it makes the city centre look a mess.

"We want people to come to the city, visit the shops and museums and having the fountains in the state they are will put people off."

Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Soundslatest episode of Look North here.