Latest news with #Northumberland
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
England Lioness Lucy Bronze's dreams coming true, says aunt
Lioness star Lucy Bronze's "dreams are coming true", her aunt has said, after England retained their European title at Euro Tough said she was exhausted and "quite emotional" after watching the Lionesses defeat Spain during Sunday's dramatic penalty shootout."Goodness knows how Lucy's feeling, because I feel like I've played it with them," she told BBC Radio 5 Live. "It was nail-biting. I watched every game with my mam. It was exhausting, but absolutely brilliant."It came after the Northumberland star revealed she had played in the tournament with a fractured tibia. Nan Gloria Stapleton, who watched the match at Ponteland Leisure Centre, said she was "exhausted"."That was a tense game and I knew it would be a tense game," Mrs Stapleton said."I'm pleased that it was an even game because they are both very good teams." Bronze, from Berwick-upon-Tweed, began her football journey as a child with Alnwick Town Junior Football Louise Jones said she still had a sore throat after cheering on the Lionesses on Sunday."It was wild. The amount of girls and boys that look up to her, especially the girls, it's just amazing," she said. 'Not a whisper got out' In the quarter-final against Sweden, Bronze was shown on camera self-strapping support around her right leg during a break in Sunday, she played 105 minutes in the tense encounter with Spain, before leaving the pitch in tears as she was forced it was not until the end that she admitted she had played with a fracture the whole mum Diane said the family and team's medical team knew about the injury all along."And not a whisper got out," she said. "[She] didn't want anybody else to know."Her aunt said Bronze would not "let the pain get in the way"."Lucy wouldn't damage her body but she'll play through pain if she thinks she's not gonna do anything worse to it," she added. Bronze - who plays full-back for Chelsea - has played more consecutive tournament football for England than any other 33 years, eight months and 30 days, she was England's oldest player at Euro 2025 and played 598 minutes throughout, with only Keira Walsh, Alex Greenwood and Hannah Hampton playing more for Sarina Wiegman's nan said she wanted to play football from a young age."She was only three when she was kicking a ball around and she's never wanted anything for herself, she's never wanted fancy dresses, she's never wanted fancy things," Mrs Stapleton said."She just wanted to play football all the time and it's been her dream and she's followed it through. But she puts a lot into it, mind, she works hard, she really works hard." Bronze's star potential was first noticed by Alnwick Town Juniors' coach Ray Smith."He turned around and told her, 'You'll be playing for England one day', and he was right," Ms Jones recalled."He mentored her through the whole thing and he really did look after her, and he'd seen it straight away."Ms Jones said Bronze was "a proper North East girl, a proper rock"."She can prove anybody wrong. Absolutely crazy she's done it, but she's amazing." She added the Lionesses' success had inspired more girls and women to take up football."When Lucy was with Alnwick Town Juniors, we only had boys teams. Now we have eight female teams," Ms Jones said."It shows they all look up to her" Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Electric motorbike rider, 19, dies in Bedlington crash
A 19-year-old has died after his electric motorcycle crashed, police have happened near Moorland Avenue in Bedlington, Northumberland, at about 15:00 BST on Friday. Northumbria Police said it involved a black and red Talaria electric motorcycle and no other vehicles were involved, but did not reveal any other detail about the nature of the man was given treatment at the scene but died a short time later, the force said. "Our thoughts remain with the family and friends of the young man who has sadly passed away," a representative said."Our specialist officers will continue to offer them any support they may need."The force has appealed for witnesses to come forward. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Independent
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
How Lucy Bronze defined England's run to Euro 2025 final
Lucy Roberta Tough Bronze. The clue is in the name, the second middle name, like the glue holding together an England team that prides itself on their spirit and resilience. Throughout Euro 2025, the oldest member of the squad has been its most relentless, and the source of much inspiration. 'One of a kind,' says Sarina Wiegman. 'A beast,' comments Ella Toone. 'A freak,' adds Esme Morgan – the latter two very much intended as compliments. Bronze is where the Lionesses 'get their grit and determination', according to her 89-year-old gran back home in Northumberland. The finest and perhaps defining player of her generation, it has been Bronze's seventh major tournament for England where it has felt she has stepped into the role of living legend. Younger teammates are in awe of the leadership and passion, the drive and commitment to play back-to-back 120-minute games against Sweden and Italy. The longevity, too. Bronze will soon be standing on her own in another respect: the Euro 2025 final against Spain will be her 36th appearance at a major tournament, overtaking Jill Scott to hold the record for the most as an England player. It is because of an unprecedented run of three finals in a row, to follow the near-misses in three consecutive semi-finals at World Cups and Euros before, and can be partly explained by Bronze's shifting role within that. She has gone from England's breakthrough star at the 2015 World Cup to their best player at the 2019 World Cup. Going from Euro 2022 and now into the bid to become the first England team to win back-to-back titles, Bronze stands as their most important individual on the pitch; she is no longer at her own peak, but has come to embody the fight within the collective. At 33, Bronze is midway through what has arguably been her most decisive year in an England shirt – certainly, in terms of her four goals and three assists so far in 2025, it is already her most productive. She remains the fittest in the squad, the hardest trainer. Her work ethic has never been in doubt but energy has become infectious within the England camp. When the Lionesses are down, they look to Bronze, and her performance against Sweden will go down in folklore. 'She just sort of put her shoulders back and played like, 'I am not letting us go home',' said Morgan. Her motivation throughout the tournament has been simple. 'I started playing football because I love it – when I loved it I wanted to work hard,' she said. 'I will give anything and everything when I play in an England shirt, that's my 'why'.' When Bronze was 12, she was banned from playing alongside boys with her team Alnwick Town Juniors, even though she was their best player. The FA ruled that she was at 'unacceptable' risk of injury as the boys began to go through puberty. But that decision lit a fire and started a journey that saw Bronze go on to win 139 England caps, winning five Champions Leagues and nine domestic league titles while playing for two of Europe's biggest clubs in Barcelona and Lyon, and being named in the FifPro World XI on seven occasions. In 2019, the finest year of Bronze's career, it felt as if all of England's attacking play and brightest moments flowed through her influence. Almost uniquely, Bronze could run a game from right-back, shaping it with her quality and drive. She finished runner-up to Megan Rapinoe in the 2019 Ballon d'Or and won the Silver Ball for being named the second-best player at the World Cup. If England do beat Spain to win the Euros, it does not feel as if there would be the same clamour for Bronze to be recognised in that way in terms of individual awards. Perhaps that is unfair, and a reflection that an honour like the Ballon d'Or can often overlook the qualities Bronze has displayed in dragging England through the Euros, at times bending the tournament to her will through her stubborn refusal to be beaten. 'What defines her is that resilience, that fight,' Wiegman said after the win over Sweden, where Bronze created the iconic image of wrapping up her own leg after feeling tightness in her hamstring, only to then tear it off as she marched forward to take a penalty during the shootout. 'She became a physio. She became a striker. She nailed the best penalty of the day,' Beth Mead said afterwards. 'She did it all.' 'She's someone who you listen to when she talks,' said Toone. If England win the Euros they will have done so after losing their opening game of the tournament. Following that France defeat, Bronze reminded her teammates that the Lionesses had also lost their first game at the 2015 World Cup, and still had a game-changing, transformative tournament. It demonstrates how, 10 years on, Bronze's influence comes from her example. The ability to dominate a flank through constant over-laps is no longer quite there. Against an opponent like Spain, there may be moments where Bronze is left exposed, as there were, crucially, in England's World Cup final defeat in Sydney two years ago. Bronze has not allowed that lapse to define her, though. Nor is there any need to talk about redemption. Bronze, after all, has nothing to prove, but there is still everything to fight for. Because when the going gets tough, the tough get going, by name and by nature.
BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Northumberland goats GPS tracker scheme to be expanded
A scheme tracking goats via GPS technology is expanding as part of efforts to prevent overgrazing.A herd of 13 goats spending the summer at the Druridge Bay reserve in Northumberland will wear collars with GPS trackers that can alert them to stop at certain Wildlife Trust said the collars help protect sensitive areas such as ground-nesting bird sites and ensure the goats are in the right area when they need to be scheme, which has been trialled on cattle and goats for the last two years, is expanding to West Chevington where a free roaming herd of cattle will be introduced later this summer. Staff can draw invisible GPS boundaries around grazing areas to control access and prevent overgrazing."The GPS collars allow staff and volunteers to monitor their movements from a distance, thereby allowing them to continue with the important job of grazing the reserve for the benefit of the flowers and grasses," said Alex Lister from the charity. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Moment woman carries seagull home from night out after finding it outside Wetherspoons… but gets instant karma
THIS is the hilarious moment that one drunken pub-goer took a seagull home and got instant karma. Erin Punton, 22, says she was walking home from a night out when she noticed the seagull outside a Wetherspoons in Northumberland. 5 Feeling more than a little bit tipsy, Erin scooped up the bird and began her journey home. Filming herself on the way, Erin sang her new winged friend a ballad. The video shows her belting Valerie by The Zutons - famously covered by Amy Winehouse - with the bird underneath her arm. Dressed in a pink top and a leather jacket, she can be seen shaking her hair out of her face while continuing to clutch onto the seagull. Throughout the hilarious footage, she puts a variety of filters over the camera - including one moody, vintage effect. Eventually, she staggers into her house and proclaims that the seagull is a 'beauty'. However, she then adds: 'He actually wants to stop in my room and everything but I've got nowhere for him.' Erin has revealed that when she woke up the next morning, the mysterious bird was still there. The 22-year-old said: 'I saw the bird outside Wetherspoons and managed to pick him up without even a thought. 'I don't even know what made me pick him up. 'I put him in my sitting room with a blanket. Royal Mail deliveries AXED in seaside village after terrified posties are forced to take drastic action 'When I woke up in the morning, I'd forgotten and he was just floating around the sitting room. 'I dropped him off at the vets the next day in a box and was told he had bird flu.' Horrified, Erin admitted that she had to 'bleach her whole house' after discovering her new fluffy friend was ill. She says the whole incident has left her feeling 'sick'. The news comes after the 13 seaside towns where feeding seagulls could land you with a fine were revealed. Public health and anti-social behaviour laws, introduced in 2009, were brought in to fight nuisance behavior from gulls. Feeding seagulls can cause an increase in swooping attacks, persistent begging and damage to property. Several towns have also introduced Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs) to clamp down on efforts to feed gulls. 5
