Ex-army officer to row 2,000 miles around UK – and five more local stories you missed this week
A former army officer who will row solo around the UK for 2,000 miles is one of our best local stories of the week.
Gloucestershire Live reported how ex-Parachute Regiment member Mike Ellicock, 49, will take on the challenge of rowing around the country in fewer than 80 days.
Elsewhere, a Warwickshire man who used to drink 14 cans of Pepsi Max a day has managed to quit his habit after hypnosis, while a first date on a beach went rather awry when a car got stuck at the seaside in Dorset.
You can read the full version of each of our selected articles through the links under each story – or read more top headlines from around the UK's regions on the Yahoo UK local news page.
A former Parachute Regiment officer is on a mission to set a new record as the quickest individual to row solo around Great Britain for 2,000 miles.
Mike Ellicock, hailing from Lewes in East Sussex, sustained injuries during a hostage rescue operation in Sierra Leone in 2000 when he was just 25 years old.
He managed to recover fully and later led a team of paratroopers during missions in Iraq. Now at 49, the father-of-three is embarking on a historic attempt to circumnavigate the UK by rowing boat in less than 80 days, which would make him the fastest to achieve such a feat.
Read the full story from Gloucestershire Live
A Bedworth dad who drank 14 cans of Pepsi Max a day and 'couldn't stop' has ditched his habit - after being hypnotised.
Dean Gavin, 52, would have his first can when he woke up, and would even take a Pepsi Max to bed with him to sip on through the night.
But the £3,000 a year 'heavy addiction' was wreaking havoc on his sleep and making his Tourettes tics worse. In a desperate bid to help him stop reaching for the sugar-free fizzy drink, Dean turned to a hypnotherapist.
Read the full story from Coventry Live
Yorkshire Wildlife Park is celebrating as they welcome the birth of two Amur Leopard cubs.
The award-winning park says it is a 'remarkable step forward' in the battle to save the big cats from extinction.
The new duo is only the second and third of their specifies to be born in the whole world this year.
Mother Kristen, 13, gave birth last week and is currently spending all her time nursing the babies.
Read the full story from Hull Live
An East Lothian family was amazed after capturing breathtaking footage of a shark swimming just feet off the shore of their local beach.
Alan Nash, who shot the footage from a drone, said the creature was so close you "could have just swam out to it," estimating it was only 100 metres away.
Alan and his family of five discovered the basking shark off the shores of Longniddry Beach around 5pm on 30 April.
Read the full story from Edinburgh Live
We've all had a difficult first date – but this one is perhaps up there as being one of the trickiest.
A Bournemouth resident drove on to the sand at Boscombe beach, east of the pier, which could have been a romantic spot to get to know his date.
However, his Jeep Cherokee became wedged in the soft sand – not too far from the water – despite having four-wheel drive and a 'sand' mode.
Read the full story from The Daily Echo
An eight-year-old girl has found her passion in go-karting racing and is now racing on the track competitively.
Ava-Lily first went in a go-kart when she was just seven and less than a year later she is now competing at various competitions across the county each month.
Back in January 2024, Ava-Lily's brother had a birthday party at Gridline Racing in Lincoln but at the time she was too small to join in on the fun.
Read the full story from Lincolnshire Live
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
East Lothian man 'knew he was different growing up' and diagnosis made perfect sense
An East Lothian dad of two who was diagnosed with autism late in life found community at a "life-changing" men's group. Owen Siddalls, 48, always knew he was different from other kids growing up but it wasn't until decades later when another family member was diagnosed with autism that Owen realised he was neurodivergent. He received a formal diagnosis at age 44 and opened up to Edinburgh Live about his journey building a community. READ MORE: Edinburgh firefighters rush to scene of incident on residential street READ MORE: Film crew descends on Edinburgh city centre for 90s classic movie remake Owen said: "My late diagnosis came as a result of a diagnosis of someone close to me and at that point I then learned about it being hereditary. "The diagnosis itself was enlightening in many ways but didn't change who I was and how my mind was wired, it just allowed me to understand more." Owen, who lives in Pentcaitland, noticed his fitness and mental health were deteriorating after as he and his wife started a family and his role as a husband and new father began to change. However, things changed after Owen discovered a community group aimed at boosting men's mental health and fitness. Dads and Dudes was formed by Alan Nash in Longniddry in 2022 and has grown into a large community of men who meet regularly to improve their health and fitness. According to Mental Health UK, men are more likely than women to experience substance abuse, exhibit violence, and to die by suicide. Societal pressures often deter men from seeking help and instead encourage them to "man up", says the charity. The group offers a safe space for men to vent, talk about problems, and find community. Owen added: "The self-social exclusion that I've created in my mind, I came to realise that what Dads and Dudes allows for is all sorts of people and all sorts of mannerisms. It offers a group of guys to put aside having to watch what they're saying in front of their partners and kids and get stuff out of their system. "It's like therapy, it's just to vocalize what's going on. It's to help us share frustrations in safe group where if you wanted to say something, it's not going to be overanalyzed. 'I think I am a happier person. It has improved my mental health and my ability to handle things thrown at me which I previously would have squandered under. 'It helps demystify the concept of men and mental health and not talking about things. There is a degree go collectiveness that the sessions offer. We don't all need to be social butterflies.' Dads and Dudes meets weekly across East Lothian and Edinburgh, offering physical training sessions where men can make social connections. Founder Alan Nash told Edinburgh Live the community was "life changing" for him. He launched the group after he realised he was lonely training on his own. It began with just a few men meeting in Alan's garden and has grown to a group of 50 to 100 members per session. He said: "There is a bit of demand for men to have place to feel confortable and turn up and talk without judgement. It's been life changing to the point of new friends I've got. "We've found role models in the community for the kids, people who can look after each other. It's something I'm proud to have started and keep going." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Los Angeles Times
2 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
The Sports Report: Max Muncy, Tanner Scott are key to Dodgers' victory
From Jack Harris: It was a night of redemption at Dodger Stadium. For the struggling home team, its recently beleaguered closer and its enigmatic third baseman most of all. In a 6-5 win against the New York Mets on Tuesday, Max Muncy atoned for a costly fifth-inning error with a two-home run performance, including a game-tying blast in the bottom of the ninth. Left-hander Tanner Scott snapped out of his recent funk, throwing a scoreless 10th inning a night after taking a loss in the same situation. And after two consecutive frustrating defeats, the Dodgers finally bounced back on Freddie Freeman's walk-off double in the bottom of the 10th; earning a win that kept them in sole possession of first place in the National League West, and chased a few demons for both Scott and Muncy in the process. 'We needed every bit of it,' manager Dave Roberts said. 'It's good to see the resilience from a lot of our guys.' Continue reading here Dodgers star Freddie Freeman's family appreciated kind gesture from slain Baldwin Park officer Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball legend with ties to the Dodgers, dies at 89 Judge orders woman who accused ex-Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer of sexual assault to pay damages by default Dodgers box score MLB scores MLB standings All Times Pacific NBA FINALS Oklahoma City vs. Indiana Thursday at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABCSunday at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABCWed., June 11 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCFriday, June 13 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABCMonday, June 16 at Oklahoma City, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Thursday, June 19 at Indiana, 5:30 p.m., ABC*Sunday, June 22 at Oklahoma City, 5 p.m., ABC* *if necessary Automatic runner Zach Neto scored on Taylor Ward's bases-loaded double-play groundout to lift the Angels to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in 10 innings on Tuesday night. Nolan Schanuel had two RBIs and Neto added two hits and an RBI to give the Angels consecutive wins for the first time since capping an eight-game win streak on May 23. Kenley Jansen (1-2) pitched a scoreless ninth inning to pick up the win a night after getting a save and Reid Detmers got his first save. Continue reading here Angels box score MLB scores MLB standings From Gary Klein: Puka Nacua is using organized team activities to hone his craft and prepare for his third NFL season. But the Rams' star receiver also recently took time to help others prepare to avoid potential health challenges. Nacua last week returned from a trip to Samoa, where he and his mother joined medical professionals from Utah Valley University to provide testing, clinics and education about diabetes. Nacua said his father, who died when Nacua was a youngster, experienced complications from the disease. So the opportunity to travel with his mother to his maternal grandmother's village was 'kind of a full-circle moment' for his family, Nacua said Tuesday. 'To be able to go and improve the situation in the homeland was something sweet,' Nacua said after the team went through a workout. Continue reading here From Kevin Baxter: It doesn't seem that long ago that Christen Press was helping the national team to consecutive World Cup titles. She was unstoppable then, a key cog in the greatest women's soccer team in history. Yet she played her 155th and final match for the U.S. in the Tokyo Olympics. It doesn't seem that long ago that Press, just 18 days removed from those Olympics, became the first player signed by expansion club Angel City. She was bringing the NWSL to her hometown and was being rewarded with what was then the richest contract in league history. Yet she's started just 10 games since then, losing most of the last three seasons to a stubborn anterior cruciate ligament injury that took four surgeries to repair. Press eventually will be inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, but she isn't ready for that trip just yet. If her body isn't always willing, her mind and her heart are still keen on the sport, so Press makes her most valuable contributions now in the quiet of the locker room. Continue reading here From Thuc Nhi Nguyen: Already slated to be the first venue in the world to host events from three different Olympic Summer Games, the Coliseum will help break new ground for the Paralympics in 2028. The iconic stadium is at the center of the first Paralympic Games in L.A. as it hosts the para track and field competition, LA28 announced Tuesday in an updated venue plan that placed 23 disciplines into their future Paralympic homes. 'This is a momentous occasion for the city of Los Angeles,' para swimmer and Inglewood native Jamal Hill said in an interview with The Times. 'Being a native Los Angeleno, you always hear about this melting pot of Los Angeles and many times, that melting pot, the default is to really thinking like, ethnic or racial or even cultural based. … I think it's really, really beautiful and inclusive now that that melting pot is really starting to cover ability.' Continue reading here All times Pacific STANLEY CUP FINALS Edmonton vs. FloridaWednesday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNTFriday at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNTMonday at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTThursday, June 12 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNTSaturday, June 14 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT*Tuesday, June 17 at Florida, 5 p.m., TNT*Friday, June 20 at Edmonton, 5 p.m., TNT* * If necessary 1870 — Ed Brown becomes the first Black jockey to win the Belmont Stakes, with Kingfisher. 1927 — The United States wins the first Ryder Cup golf tournament by beating Britain 9½-2½. 1932 — Faireno, ridden by Tommy Malley, wins the Belmont Stakes by 1½ lengths over Osculator. Burgoo King, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, doesn't race. 1966 — Ameroid, ridden by Bill Boland, wins the Belmont Stakes by 2½ lengths over Buffle. Kauai King, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, finishes fourth. 1974 — NFL grants franchise to Seattle Seahawks. 1984 — 1960 champion Arnold Palmer fails to qualify for the US Open Golf Championship for the first time in 32 years. 1987 — Danny Harris defeats Edwin Moses in the 400 hurdles at a meet in Madrid, ending the longest winning streak in track and field. Moses, had won 122 consecutive races dating to Aug. 26, 1977. 1988 — West Germany's Steffi Graf beats 17-year-old Natalia Zvereva of the Soviet Union in 32 minutes with a 6-0, 6-0 victory to win the French Open for the second straight year. 1990 — Penn State is voted into the Big Ten. The school becomes the 11th member of the league and first addition to the Midwest-based conference since Michigan State in 1949. 1994 — Haile Gebrselassie becomes the first Ethiopian to set a world track record with a time of 12:56.96 in the men's 5,000 meters at Hengelo, Netherlands. 1998 — Harut Karapetyan of the Galaxy scores three goals in five minutes for the fastest hat trick in MLS history in an 8-1 rout of the Dallas Burn. The seven-goal margin sets an MLS record. 2005 — Justine Henin-Hardenne beats a rattled and fumbling Mary Pierce 6-1, 6-1 to win the French Open, capping a comeback from a blood virus with her fourth Grand Slam title and her second at Roland Garros. 2005 — Eddie Castro sets a North American record for most wins by a jockey in one day at one track, winning nine races on the 13-race card at Miami's Calder Race Course. 2008 — The Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup for the fourth time in 11 seasons with a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 . 2011 — Li Na becomes the first Chinese — man or woman — to win a Grand Slam singles title. She beats Francesca Schiavone 6-4, 7-6 (0) in the French Open final for her fifth career title and first on clay. 2016 — Garbine Muguruza wins her first Grand Slam title by beating defending champion Serena Williams 7-5, 6-4 at the French Open, denying the American her record-equaling 22nd major trophy. 1940 — The Pirates beat the Boston Bees 14-2 in the first night game at Pittsburgh's Forbes Field. 1940 — The St. Louis Cardinals play their first night game at Sportsman's Park, defeating the Brooklyn Dodgers 10-1. 1951 — Pittsburgh's Gus Bell hit for the cycle to lead the Pirates to a 12-4 victory over the Phillies at Philadelphia. 1964 — Sandy Koufax pitched his third no-hitter, striking out 12, as the Dodgers beat the Phillies 3-0 in Philadelphia. 1968 — Don Drysdale of the Dodgers blanked the Pirates 5-0 for his sixth straight shutout en route to a record 58 2-3 scoreless innings. 1972 — A major league record eight shutouts were pitched in 16 major league games: five in the American League, three in the National League. The Oakland Athletics swept a pair from the Baltimore Orioles by identical 2-0 scores. 1974 — The game between the Cleveland Indians and the Texas Rangers at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium was forfeited to Texas. Umpire Nestor Chylak had problems with fans all night on 10-cent beer night. The crowd got out of control when Cleveland tied the score 5-5 in the bottom of the ninth. 1989 — Toronto beats Boston 13-11 in 12 innings after trailing 10-0 after six. Red Sox starter Mike Smithson threw six scoreless innings before leaving in the seventh because of a foot blister. The Jays then scored two in the seventh, four in the eighth and five in the ninth and two more in the 11th on Junior Felix's home run. It was the biggest lead the Red Sox have blown and their 12th consecutive loss to the Blue Jays at Fenway Park. 1990 — Ramon Martinez struck out 18 and pitched a three-hitter, sending the Dodgers past the Atlanta Braves 6-0. 1996 — Pamela Davis pitched one inning of scoreless relief and got the win in a minor league exhibition game. She is believed to be the first woman to pitch for a major league farm club under the current minor league system. The 21-year-old right-hander pitched for the Jacksonville Suns, a double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, against the Australian Olympic team. 2000 — Esteban Yan of the Tampa Bay Devil Rays becomes the 77th major league player to hit a home run in his first at bat, but just the fourth American League pitcher and the first since the Angels' Don Rose in 1972, the year before the designated hitter rule took the bat out of AL pitchers' hands. 2005 — Rafael Palmeiro and Melvin Mora each hit grand slams to help Baltimore rally for a 14-7 win over Detroit. 2007 — Mark Ellis hit for the cycle and Eric Chavez had a two-out homer in the 11th inning to lift Oakland to a 5-4 win over Boston. 2009 — Randy Johnson became the 24th major league pitcher to win 300 games by leading San Francisco to a 5-1 victory over the Washington Nationals in the first game of a doubleheader. 2012 — Mike Scioscia of the Angels became the ninth manager in AL history to manage 2,000 games with one club. The Mariners beat the Angels 8-6. 2018 — In a doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees OF Aaron Judge sets a record by striking out eight times. 2019 — San Francisco Giant Manager Bruce Bochy wins his 1,000th game as the manager of the Giants with a 9-3 victory over the New York Mets. 2022 — The rule preventing position players from pitching in a close game is invoked for the first time when Crew chief C.B. Bucknor objects to Dodgers manager Dave Roberts calling on OF Zach McKinstry to pitch the 9th inning against the Mets with his team trailing, 9-4. The rule, adopted before the 2020 season but not implemented until this year due to the upheavals caused by the coronavirus pandemic, states that a team cannot use a position player on the mound unless there is a difference of six or more runs between the two teams. Roberts is thus forced to use a real pitcher, Evan Phillips, to pitch the final inning. Compiled by the Associated Press That concludes today's newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you'd like to see, email me at To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
1 dead after Jeep crashes into canal near Lost Hills
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The California Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal wreck that took place Monday evening. The driver of a 2018 Jeep Compass has died after veering off the southbound lanes of Interstate 5, near Highway 46, and crashing into a dry canal, according to CHP. Officers received reports of the crash at about 6:20 p.m. Verdict reached in trial of ex-Kern deputy charged with sex crimes The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene, officers said. Alcohol does appear to be a factor in this wreck, according to CHP. The identity of the driver will be released later through the Kern County Coroner at a later date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
