Charlotte Higgins on The Archers: it's all kicking off in Ambridge
A miasma hangs over Ambridge; an enchantment of sorts. Its inhabitants seem bizarrely foggy about events in the outside world. For example, the word Palestine cannot be spoken in the village. The Malik family have been saying a few prayers during iftar, among which 'Let it stop soon,' is the nearest anyone has come to mentioning The Situation. They have now moved back to their house on the recently sewage-engulfed Beechwood estate – departing their temporary accommodation at the Ambridge Hall B&B perhaps just before the well-meaning joining-in-with-Ramadan by Lynda Snell (MBE) got oppressive. The Snells, on the other hand, are missing the Maliks so much that Constanza upped and died (she's a llama).
Ah, the sewage. Aside from its olfactory effects, the longer-term consequences continue. No one wants to eat cheese or yoghurt artisanally produced amid human excrement, remarkably, so Helen Archer's organic dairy business is in trouble. The plan is to make one of Clarrie Grundy or Susan Carter redundant, a typically humane move from the Bridge Farm Archers. The threatened job loss has only strengthened Emma Grundy's resolve to campaign against the evils of Borchester Water. She and Pat Archer turned up at a demo dressed as giant bog rolls, and soon, a plan for a bellringing protest at St Stephen's church was hatched. Alan Franks, at his trendy vicar best, loved the idea, and a 10-hour campanological marathon, plus an outburst of citizen handbell ringing, was devised. Not everyone was delighted. Martyn Gibson, twirling his moustache and swirling his evil capitalist's cloak, swept into the church on the verge of an apoplexy. The bells rang out, nonetheless.
A copy of the Guardian must have been smuggled into George Grundy's prison, because he made rather a chilling joke about maths prodigy Brad Horrobin becoming his financial accomplice just as soon as he sets up a family crime cartel – a future for Brad that was fearfully mooted by this column back in November. At any rate, when Brad confessed that he could no longer keep George's video business alive, the young inmate didn't seem to care – strongly suggesting that an alternative, and I'll warrant nefarious, business idea has taken root. I would hate to think of dear Brad morphing into Stringer Bell, but stranger things have happened.
This is the last A Month in Ambridge for a while. I'll be back in the autumn. In the meantime I'll be writing a book, and spending much of my time in Ukraine. I'll keep listening, of course. In Ambridge, the agricultural year will roll on: the sheep will still need shearing, the harvest collecting and Natasha's stilettos polishing, even when the rest of the world teeters on the edge.
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Scottish Sun
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Moment naked PT chases down arsonist who set fire to three cars on his drive in middle of the night
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THIS is the moment a personal trainer chased down an arsonist while naked after three cars were set on fire outside his house. Mike Hind captured the blaze on his Ring doorbell in the dead of night as his children were sleeping peacefully. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 Mike Hind ran out of the house naked, screaming at his family to get out Credit: BBC 5 A man dressed in joggers and his hood up splashed petrol across each of the cars Credit: BBC 5 Mike chased down the arsonist before returning to put on a dressing gown Credit: BBC The 41-year-old gym coach, who lives in Middlesbrough, posted the shock footage on social media. It shows a man dressed in joggers and his hood up splashing petrol across each of the cars parked in the driveway at midnight on Tuesday. He then sets the vehicles alight quickly before sprinting away. The cars caught fire instantly, with flames spreading across the floor. Ring doorbell footage then shows an undressed Mike running out of the house. The PT - who has an MBE for charity work - then chased down the arsonist while still half dressed before returning to put on a dressing gown. His wife and children were then seen running away from the house in their pyjamas, with Mike following then and ringing the emergency services. He tried to douse the flames with a hosepipe as fire crews rushed to the scene, with thick smoke steaming from the cars. Posting on Facebook, Mike said: "The cars I do not care about, but my children and wife were all asleep. "I cannot get what happened out of my head and that scream from Skye will stay with me forever. Am I covered by insurance if my car's vandalised? Vandalism, which is intentionally causing damage to another person's property, is a criminal offence and it's estimated that up to thirty per cent of motorists – and their cars – per year are victims of it. Offences include bodywork being keyed, dented, and damaged with graffiti, and windows being smashed. Vandalism is setting drivers back almost £2 billion (£1.9 billion) every single year and average repair costs stand at £661 per car. From 2016 – 17, almost three million drivers had their cars vandalised and the total value of criminal damage to motor vehicles increased by 9.5 per cent. 18% of drivers in the UK are a victim of car vandalism and 41% of these motorists have an inkling about who deliberately damaged their car. This can be of help when reporting the issue to the authorities, which is strongly advised if you experience any type of vandalism. It is estimated that up to 58 per cent of vandalism problems are not reported; this is because many people have little faith that the criminal will be caught and charged with the crime. Even if the authorities cannot act, it is important that there is a record of the crime for insurance purposes. Vandalism is covered by the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance policy. Most insurance companies offer vandalism cover, as standard and vandalism issues tend not to affect a drivers no claims bonus. For this reason, you should always inform your insurer if you have suffered from any vandalism issues, as they will be able to cover the repair costs. In some cases there will be conditions, such as having to go to a specific garage to have the damage repaired. "How can I take this memory away from my kids, we could all have not woken up this morning and that honestly breaks me to say it! "Why me? What have I done? I have always tried to help people, as a family we spend our life working and sharing what we have with the people of Teesside. "Can you imagine the fear as a parent this happening?" Speaking to the BBC, he said he had stayed awake watching TV when he saw an orange flash outside. He saw the three cars on fire and screamed at his family to get out. A police spokesperson said: "Cleveland Police has launched an investigation after officers were called to reports of an arson in the Hemlington area of Middlesbrough shortly after midnight on Wednesday 21st May 2025. "It was reported that three cars parked on the driveway of a residential property were set alight and officers, crime scene investigators and Cleveland Fire Brigade attended the scene. "Three cars were significantly damaged but thankfully no one was injured. "Detectives from Middlesbrough CID are leading the enquiry and are working closely with our colleagues in the fire brigade. "We would urge members of the public not to speculate online to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation whilst enquiries continue. "Anyone with information or any relevant CCTV/doorbell footage, is urged to contact Cleveland Police on 101, quoting reference number 090915." 5 Ring doorbell footage showed the moment the cars were set on fire Credit: BBC
