Author: Darren Smith

Three teenagers, including a 14-year-old boy, have been arrested on suspicion of murder after a 21-year-old man was found with critical injuries in a Chelmsford park and later pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency services were called to Central Park in Chelmsford at around 7pm on Friday following reports of an assault. Officers arrived within minutes to find the victim with critical injuries, but despite the efforts of paramedics, he was pronounced dead at the scene. Three suspects, aged 14, 17 and 18, were arrested shortly afterwards and remain in custody for questioning. An Essex Police spokesman said: “A murder…

The M5 has been closed in both directions near Taunton, Somerset, following a police-led incident, with emergency services reporting people in the road and lengthy delays building rapidly on the motorway near the busy regional airport. The closure affects the stretch between Junction 25 and Junction 24, with traffic cameras appearing to show figures in the road alongside police vehicles attending the scene. National Highways said: “The M5 near Taunton is blocked in both directions between J25 and J24 due to a police led incident. Avon and Somerset Police are on scene. Further updates to follow.” Diversion routes have been…

The sister of a missing Brazilian woman has issued an emotional appeal for the public not to give up searching, as the case marks 100 days since she vanished in an Essex seaside town. Vitoria Figueiredo Barreto, 30, disappeared after visiting a friend at Essex University on 3 March and was reported missing later that day. Her sister Marina has urged people to continue checking properties, outbuildings and hiding spaces for any trace of her. “I’m coming first of all to thank everyone who continues to make an effort to bring her back home,” Marina said. “We don’t know exactly…

A tourist has been rushed to hospital after a ninth-floor balcony collapsed and crashed into a swimming pool at a four-star hotel in La Manga, southeast Spain, knocking him unconscious with falling debris. The incident occurred at the Izan Cavanna Hotel on Friday evening. Emergency services received multiple 999 calls just after 7.30pm reporting that a balcony structure had detached from the ninth floor and fallen into the hotel’s swimming pool, injuring one person. A government spokesman said: “Several 999 calls just after 7.30pm yesterday reported the collapse of a balcony at the facilities of a hotel complex located in…

At least five Indian Air Force personnel have been killed after a military transport plane crashed while attempting to land at an airbase in Assam, in the northeast of the country, with a major rescue operation launched at the scene. The Antonov An-32 crashed at the air force base in Jorhat on Saturday morning. The Indian Air Force confirmed in a post on X that the aircraft “met with an accident during a routine sortie.” The co-pilot survived and is undergoing emergency treatment, officials told news agency ANI. Images and video from the scene showed catastrophic damage, with the aircraft…

A 17-year-old girl has died and a 19-year-old man is fighting for his life in hospital after the car they were travelling in left the road and struck a tree in Kent. Kent Police confirmed the collision occurred on Headcorn Road, near Staplehurst, on Thursday. A third teenager, a 17-year-old boy, has also been taken to hospital with serious injuries following the crash.

A fan attempting to invade the pitch during the USA’s World Cup opener against Paraguay was tackled by security before he ever made it onto the field, in scenes that drew mockery from fellow spectators and led one outlet to brand him “quite possibly the worst streaker in the history of sports.” The incident unfolded towards the end of the match at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where a near-full crowd of around 70,000 had watched the United States cruise to a 4-1 victory over Paraguay, with goals including an own goal, a double from Folarin Balogun and a fine…

People caught in possession of drugs who are diverted into treatment and education programmes rather than prosecuted are a third less likely to reoffend, according to a major new study examining outcomes across 13 English police forces over four years. The research, described as the first of its kind, examined more than 62,000 criminal incidents involving people contacted by police between October 2021 and September 2022, tracking outcomes over the following four years. It found that those whose cases were handled through police-led diversion schemes — which steer individuals away from the criminal justice system and into treatment and education…

Brazil’s quest to end a 24-year wait for a sixth World Cup title begins this evening against Morocco in New Jersey, with Carlo Ancelotti facing serious questions over a squad that arrives in North America carrying significant defensive weaknesses and little recent momentum. The Selecao remain the most successful nation in World Cup history with five titles, the last of which came in 2002 when Cafu lifted the trophy in Yokohama following a 2-0 win over Germany. Since then, Brazil have endured a run of quarter-final and earlier exits — eliminated by France in 2006, by the Netherlands in 2010,…

England’s training equipment, including match boots and official tournament balls, has been stolen ahead of the team’s arrival at their World Cup training base in Kansas City, with two people taken into custody as police investigate. The theft occurred on Friday as team staff transported the equipment from England’s pre-tournament base in Florida to the Swope Soccer Village in Missouri, where the players are due to arrive on Saturday. The vehicles carrying the kit were broken into while the players travelled separately. Local police confirmed the incident in a statement: “We are investigating a possible theft of equipment from a…