Author: Lucas Bennett

Two people have died and more than a dozen others are seriously ill following an outbreak of invasive meningitis centred around Canterbury, with students at the University of Kent among those affected.Eleven people from the Canterbury area remain in hospital in a serious condition, with the majority understood to be aged between 18 and 21. A number are believed to be students at the university. Both fatalities are also thought to fall within that age group, with the university confirming one of the two was enrolled there.The outbreak is understood to be linked to a social event in Canterbury that…

West Midlands Police have launched a murder investigation after a man’s body was discovered inside a wheelie bin at a Coventry park, with officers now appealing to the public to help identify the victim through his tattoos. The body was found by a member of the public at Cash’s Park, off Daimler Road, at around 5pm on Friday. The bin, a green-lidded Coventry City Council model, had been brought to the park under circumstances that remain unclear. Detectives believe the man, estimated to be between 40 and 50 years old, may have been struck by a vehicle before his body…

John Alford, the former television actor known for his roles in London’s Burning and Grange Hill, has died in prison, weeks after being sentenced for sexually abusing two young girls.A Prison Service spokesman confirmed that Alford, whose real name was John Shannon, died on 13 March 2026. He was 54 years old.According to a source who spoke to The Sun on Sunday, staff discovered Alford unresponsive on his bed when they opened his cell door on Friday.Alford had been jailed following a conviction for the sexual abuse of two girls, aged 14 and 15, in Hertfordshire. The offences were first…

A Glasgow theatre production has become the subject of international social media debate after promotional images of a Black actress playing Joan of Arc circulated widely online, sparking a sharp contrast between overseas criticism and largely supportive Scottish press coverage. The Citizens Theatre’s adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s Saint Joan stars Mandipa Kabana, a young actress from Bathgate, in the title role. The production, which opened on 14 February, has been co-produced with Raw Material, Perth Theatre and Aberdeen Performing Arts, and is directed by Tony Award winner Stewart Laing. International accounts on platform X, including Visegrád 24, amplified images…

A new biography about the Royal Family alleges that the Princess of Wales and the Prince of Wales viewed Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, as a threat, with Queen Camilla reportedly telling a friend that Meghan had “brainwashed” Prince Harry. The claims appear in extracts from Tom Bower’s upcoming book, Betrayal: Power, Deceit And The Fight For The Future Of The Royal Family, portions of which were published by The Times. Bower, who previously authored Revenge: Meghan, Harry, And the War Between the Windsors in 2022, alleges that Meghan was regarded as a “divisive agent” within royal circles and that friction…

A teenage girl has died following a three-vehicle collision on a Buckinghamshire road on Friday night, with three young people now in custody over her death. Thames Valley Police said the crash took place on the A355 at approximately 9.20pm, involving a white Toyota Yaris, a grey Toyota Hilux, and a motorbike. The 15-year-old girl was a passenger on the motorbike at the time of the collision. Three arrests have since been made. The 16-year-old boy who was riding the motorbike carrying the girl has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. A further two teenagers —…

A Jewish school in Amsterdam has been struck by an explosion in what the city’s mayor has described as a deliberate and targeted attack on the Jewish community.The blast struck a religious school in an upscale residential neighbourhood on the city’s south side. Dutch media reported the incident as a purposeful act, and Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema confirmed she believed it to be a targeted attack. It remains unclear whether anyone was injured.Ms Halsema condemned the incident, describing it as a cowardly act of aggression and stating that Jewish residents of Amsterdam face a growing pattern of antisemitic incidents that…

The United States is sending thousands of marines and a naval warship to the Middle East as Washington moves to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved a deployment request from US Central Command, authorising the dispatch of part of a Marine Amphibious Ready Group alongside the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and the USS Tripoli, according to the Wall Street Journal. The USS Tripoli, previously stationed in Japan, was tracked moving through the Bashi Channel — the waterway between Taiwan and the Philippines — on…

A police helicopter helped officers corner three teenage boys hiding in a field in South Ockendon after a stolen motorbike was traced to the area. Thurrock neighbourhood and local policing teams responded after a theft was reported, moving to surround land north of the A13 while the National Police Air Service provided aerial support overhead. When officers closed in, the teenagers were found alongside three vehicles — a motorbike matching the reported stolen one, a moped believed to have been taken the previous day, and a Surron e-bike. Realising they were being watched from above, the group attempted to move…

Two young men who had just finished their A-level exams never made it home after a late-night snack run turned fatal when the driver of their car raced a friend’s vehicle at speeds exceeding 100mph before losing control on a rural Lincolnshire road. Harrison Carter, 18, and George Stephenson, 17, died at the scene when the Kia Niro carrying them struck a tree on Toll Bar Road in the village of Marston on 20 June last year. The unlit road carried a 60mph speed limit and featured a warning sign for the approaching bend that the driver failed to negotiate.…