Headlines: Wetlands, VE Day and rugby squads
Here's our daily pick of stories from across local websites in the West of England, and interesting content from social media.
Our pick of local website stories
Thousands of people reacted to ITV West Country's video about the role of Sikhs in the British Indian Army, as those from Bristol were remembered as part of VE Day celebrations.A red "high-friction surface" is set to be installed on a cycle lane in Bristol as part of a trial to reduce conflict between cyclists, pedestrians and other road users, Bristol 24/7 reports. The Wiltshire Times reported the story of a resident who had been left "angry and saddened" after an oak tree he estimated to be 20 years old was cut down in Bradford-upon-Avon.
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What to watch on social media
Bristol Bears, Bath Rugby and Gloucester Rugby's posts about call-ups to the Lions squad attracted a lot of attention from fans on Facebook.In line with VE Day on Thursday, Cheltenham Animal Shelter reflected on its role during World War II when it became a first aid post for animals suffering war injuries and a house for carrier pigeons.Swindon Police issued a statement after a woman was arrested on suspicion of having a dog dangerously out of control, following two attacks on a person, two other dogs and a fatal attack on a cat. The BBC also covered this story.Tessa Munt, the MP for Wells and Mendip Hills, has written to the government asking it to step up research and understanding of myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME).Solid Ground, a youth-led mobile cafe which is designed and operated by its staff has opened in Swindon.Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge has unveiled its new Estuary Shoreline, a wetland landscape surrounded by wildflower meadows and native trees.And car fans are getting excited ahead of an Italian Automoto Festival taking place at Gloucester Docks on Sunday.
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The Sun
36 minutes ago
- The Sun
I'm a gardening pro – my easy steps – including a £2.25 Dunelm trick – will banish garden pests like aphids this summer
WE may well be seeing lower slug and snail numbers this summer thanks to colder weather in winter and the recent dry spells. But mother nature never makes it easy for us. Instead - of course - there's a new pest in town. 2 Aphid levels have rocketed this year - and the RHS reckons it's top of the list of gardening queries to their hotline. There's over 500 different species found in the UK - and can be red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink. They feed by sucking sap from plants - and can cause severe damage - including distorted growth, sooty mould and plant viruses - and sometimes plant death. Chelsea award winning gardener Adam Woolcott - and Webb ambassador - gave Sun Gardening some top tips on how to tackle the most common early summer pests. APHIDS Physically remove the aphids from the stems and leaves. Use natural insecticidal soaps. Blast off with water jets. Encourage predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies VINE WEEVIL Both the adult vine weevil beetles and their larvae cause damage. Adults — all female — chew distinctive 'U-shaped' notches in leaves, particularly on evergreen shrubs like rhododendrons, escallonias, and viburnums. Underground: larvae feed on plant roots and can kill container plants like Heucheras. Remove adults at night when they're most active Break the life cycle with biological controls such as nematodes (apply in spring and autumn when grubs are active) Chemical treatments are a last resort, but offer longer-term control LILY BEETLE The bright red beetles and their larvae are both covered in their excrement. They can strip a plant in days, affecting flowering and bulb health. Remove beetles by hand where practical Encourage wildlife into the garden. Birds and ground beetles will eat the larvae Grow a resistant variety. Tolerate some damage if you can — total eradication isn't always necessary. CATERPILLARS Especially troublesome in veg patches. Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars love brassicas, while box tree caterpillars are spreading rapidly across the UK, stripping foliage as they go. Remove the caterpillars by hand if you can and destroy any badly affected plants (if practical) to stop the infestation from spreading. Use biological sprays like nematodes. In some cases, hot water and a mild detergent can help. Ecover is on sale at Dunelm for £2.45. As a last resort, chemical controls can be effective Also in Veronica's Column this week... Top tips, Gardening news, and a competition to win a £250 lawnmower NEWS KING Charles made a surprise visit to Windsor Flower Show last Saturday. Celebrities including Alex Jones and Kirsty Gallacher were at the one-day show - which had wonderful village fair vibes, vegetable and cake competitions and fantastic floral displays. TOP TIP JUNE is actually a good time to take Hydrangea cuttings - and get your own plants for free. They'll have produced some soft green growth - which is what you want. Choose healthy, non flowering shoots that are 10-15cm long and cut just below the node (the leaf joint). Don't collect cuttings from plants with leaves that are turning brown. And try to collect in the morning if you can. Remove the lower leaves - leaving just one or two at the top. Then dip the end in rooting powder or gel - then pop it straight in a pot. You could splash out on seeding and cutting compost - but multi purpose will do - just add a bit of grit or perlite. Then keep them out of direct sunlight and keep moist. They should have rooted within about a month. NEWS A RARE 'sheep-eating' South American plant has flowered in an English primary school for the first time. The Puya Chilensis, with its iconic spike pattern, is normally found in the Andes in Chile. But after it was planted 10 years ago by school horticulturalist Louise Moreton, it has sent out a 10ft spike at Wicor Primary School in Portchester, Hants. It's called a Sheep Catcher as it would normally entangle wildlife, hold onto it - and then when the animal died - would take the nutrients. Ms Moreton said it was exciting but a worrying sign of global warming. WIN! Keep your lawn looking its best this summer by winning a Webb Classic Self Propelled Petrol Lawn Mower worth £249.99. To enter visit or write to Sun Webb competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 5, 2025. T&Cs apply. TOP TIP IF you want to get more flowers from your sedums (now called Hylotelephiums) and prevent them from collapsing - pinch them out around now. Pinch off around four sets of leaves down - which will make them bushier. JOB OF THE WEEK Weeds thrive this month - keep on top of them by hoeing. Tie in sweet peas, and give your plants a good feed - liquid seaweed feed is great - and Tomorite works with nearly everything. Give agapanthus a high-potash feed every couple of weeks. For more top tips and gardening news, follow me @biros_and_bloom
The Independent
6 hours ago
- The Independent
UK's biggest-ever lottery jackpot rolls over again after no EuroMillions win
The UK's biggest-ever lottery prize is still up for grabs after no one won Friday's (13 June) EuroMillions draw. Tuesday's jackpot is expected to reach around £208 million, which would make it the largest prize ever awarded in the UK, National Lottery operator Allwyn said. The total prize money has now been capped, meaning prize pots in the next winning tier will be boosted. Once it has reached its cap, and if there is no winner, it stays at this value for a further four draws until it must be won in the fifth draw. This will be on 20 June. In the Must Be Won draw, if no ticket matches all five main numbers and two Lucky Stars, the entire jackpot prize will roll down into the prize tier where there is at least one winner – likely to be five main numbers and one Lucky Star. Andy Carter, senior winners' adviser at Allwyn, said: 'A win of this magnitude would create the biggest National Lottery winner this country has ever seen. 'Get your tickets early to ensure you're in with a chance of a massive life-changing win.' He added: 'The EuroMillions jackpot is now capped, so any money that would have gone into increasing the jackpot now boosts prizes in the next winning prize tier, meaning that we're seeing multiple UK players banking huge prizes for matching just the five main numbers and one Lucky Star.' In Friday's draw, five UK players became millionaires after matching five main numbers and one Lucky Star, winning £3.61 million each. The main EuroMillions winning numbers were 02, 28, 40, 43, 45 and the lucky stars were 03 and 07. It also saw 13 UK millionaires made through a special EuroMillions UK Millionaire Maker event. 'Contrary to superstition, Friday the 13th has proven the luckiest date in the calendar for these lucky UK players,' Mr Carter said. 'All UK EuroMillions players should check their tickets and contact us if they believe they are one of tonight's lucky winners.' No players won the £1 million HotPicks jackpot – which uses the same numbers as the EuroMillions draw. No players won the £500,000 Thunderball jackpot either. The five Thunderball numbers were 01, 02, 24, 33, 39 and the Thunderball number was 13. Here are the 10 biggest UK lottery wins to date – all from EuroMillions draws: Anonymous, £195,707,000, 19 July 2022 Joe and Jess Thwaite, £184,262,899.10, 10 May 2022 Anonymous, £177,033,699.20, 26 November 2024 Anonymous, £171,815,297.80, 23 September 2022 Anonymous, £170,221,000, 8 October 2019 Colin and Chris Weir, £161,653,000, 12 July 2011 Adrian and Gillian Bayford, £148,656,000, 10 August 2012 Anonymous, £123,458,008, 11 June 2019 Anonymous, £122,550,350, April 2021 Anonymous, £121,328,187, April 2018
BBC News
8 hours ago
- BBC News
Some Barbourne Works residents able to return to evacuated flats
Some residents who were forced to evacuate their apartment block due to dangerous cladding have been allowed home, according to the building's managing 4 June, 60 people, including eight children, were told to leave Barbourne Works in Worcester after inspectors found dangerous fire safety Friday, bosses at FirstPort, which operates the building on behalf of a management company, said residents on the ground and first floors were being allowed to said a prohibition notice remained in place for residents on the second and third floors. A spokesperson for FirstPort said those homes on the upper floors did not currently meet required standards for fire escape."Work is under way to implement the necessary safety measures to enable safe reoccupation of these floors as soon as possible," they said."We fully recognise how disruptive this situation is for residents. However, this action was taken with their safety as the highest priority."We remain committed to working closely with all parties to provide continued support and timely updates as we address the issues raised." Earlier this week, some residents told the BBC the events of the past week had left them struggling."I feel mentally exhausted, because every day you don't know where you are, what you're doing or what's going on," Anne Eason veteran Chris Sherwin, 43, and Amy Hawkswood, 40, were also evacuated and are being housed at a hotel in couple are due to get married next week but Mr Sherwin said the stress of the situation had overshadowed what should be a memorable time."We're getting married, but we don't know if we will be able to do any of the plans we wanted," he said there had been a comprehensive review of the external walls and an independent fire engineer's assessment carried out on the described the situation as "complex and evolving". Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
