Attacks on A&E nurses have almost doubled over the last six years, with incidents often involving patients frustrated at waiting so long for care. Nurses have been punched, spat at, pinned up against a wall, had a gun pointed at them and been threatened with having acid thrown at them, according to the Royal College of Nursing (RCN).more

Microplastics are all around us – in the air we breathe, in seas and rivers, they're found in the guts of sharks, and inside growing plants. They’re also inside humans, too: in our blood, accumulating in our brains, and even in our testicles.more

Independent Cottages has named this very old Gloucestershire village the country’s most scenic. The top rated village was… Bourton-on-the-Water in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds! more

Universal Credit claimants have reached a record eight million, according to official figures published on Tuesday. This unprecedented number for July 2025 marks the highest level since the benefit's introduction in 2013.more

Policing Minister Dame Diana Johnson has said shoplifters "will be pursued and will face consequences" regardless of how much they steal, as she visited a town centre. Dame Diana made the comments on a visit to Woking as part of Surrey Police's involvement in the Safer Streets summer initiative.more

Despite the ban on XL Bullies, there were ten reported dog-related fatalities in the UK in 2024 — higher than in any full year before the ban was first announced.more

More live facial recognition (LFR) vans will be rolled out across seven police forces in England to locate suspects for crimes including sexual offences, violent assaults and homicides, the Home Office has announced.more

Poundland is continuing to undergo huge structural changes which will see almost 50 stores close this month.more

A nationally significant water shortfall is gripping England, the government has warned, as experts say the conditions could last until mid-autumn. The National Drought Group met to discuss actions to save water across the country, and Steve Reed, the environment secretary, briefed the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden, about the risks posed by the dry weather.more

Plans are moving ahead to create a new direct connection from London to the picturesque Durham coastline in the north of England. From December this year, trains will start stopping in the town of Seaham in County Durham, known for its dramatic cliffs, sandy beaches, and rich maritime history. And it's worth arriving hungry as the town has no fewer than 10 chippies, according to Google Maps.more

Employers have cut annual pay increases and pared back hiring in recent months as the economic slowdown took its toll on the jobs market. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), released on Tuesday, showed that UK unemployment edged higher in the three months to June but the official jobless rate was unchanged at 4.7%, a four-year high.more

EU citizens waiting for the Home Office to decide their pre-Brexit residency status should not be removed from the UK if they make a short return visit abroad for business, leisure or family matters, the statutory body for EU citizens’ rights has said.more

English swimming waters are five times more likely to be polluted than those in the EU, new research has revealed. Experts have said that the country is in danger of becoming the “dirty man of Europe” again as it falls at the bottom of the leaderboard for bathing water which is free of bacterial contaminants.more

Marks & Spencer has resumed its click and collect service 15 weeks after it stopped the service following a hugely damaging cyber attack. The retailer stopped taking orders on its website and app for clothing and home deliveries and also paused its in store collection service on 25 April.more

Experts found sky high level of faecal bacteria contamination across UK airports and airplane toilets. The lab tests revealed the worrying levels of damaging bacteria, which experts have now warned could leave holidaymakers extremely ill before they have even got to their destination.more

Ethnic minorities and people living in the most deprived areas of England are at increased risk of dying due to excess heat, according to research. A study, published in BMJ Public Health, is the first of its kind to assess the role of socio-environmental factors in the risk of heat-related deaths.more

Costa Coffee bosses have settled on yet another store closure, following a string of other branch closures in recent months. The coffee shop’s High Street store in Marlborough ceased trading in late July, with the staff members working at the store allegedly relocated to work at other branches.more

The UK's seas have had their warmest start to the year since records began, helping to drive some dramatic changes in marine life and for its fishing communities. The average surface temperature of UK waters in the seven months to the end of July was more than 0.2C higher than any year since 1980, BBC analysis of provisional Met Office data suggests.more

An estimated extra 140,000 construction workers would be needed for each of the next five years to help retrofit all social and private homes under the government's Warm Homes Plan, the BBC has learned. In its manifesto, Labour committed to insulating and upgrading five million homes, external over the next five years to cut bills for families and slash fuel poverty.more

Average private rents in Great Britain have fallen for the first time in five years as lower mortgage rates helped take some of the heat out of the rental sector, data shows. Years of above-inflation increases in rents have put the squeeze on many households but the estate agent Hamptons said the average rent on a newly let property fell by 0.2% year on year in July.more

A London Assembly Member has called on Sadiq Khan to reveal exactly what issue was identified on the new Piccadilly line trains which has seen the rollout delayed by about a year. The new trains have finally been tested in tunnels deep beneath London ahead of their rollout for public use, a milestone that's been hailed by the Mayor as "exciting".more

The British government announced today that it is extending its policy of deporting convicted foreign nationals to their home countries to include 15 countries, including India, Bulgaria and Australia, bringing the total number to 23. In 2024, the largest number of deported criminals came from Albania, Poland and Romania.more

Thousands of people took part in a march in central London yesterday, demanding that the British government increase pressure on Hamas to release Israeli hostages. The demonstrators also criticised the UK's decision to conditionally recognise Palestinian sovereignty next month.more

With temperatures climbing over 30C (86F) in the coming days, the fourth heatwave of the summer is forecast. Yellow heat health alerts, issued by the UK Health Security Agency, external have been issued for most of England, except the north-east and north-west region, from Monday to Wednesday.more

Fake Viagra is the UK’s most seized counterfeit drug according to data obtained through Freedom of Information (FOI) requests. 7.5 million doses of counterfeit Viagra (sildenafil) have been seized in the UK since April 2023, according to data secured by Oxford Online Pharmacy.more