Analysis finds urban areas in England where no one lives within 15-minute walk of nature

Government says it is working to solve ‘postcode lottery’ of access to green or blue spaces

There are urban areas of England where no one lives within a 15-minute walk of nature, government data shows, as ministers scramble to meet their access to nature targets.

While the data shows 80% of people live within walking distance of green or blue spaces such as a river, park or woodland, it also reveals a disparity between rural and poorer urban areas.

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Boost to British Steel as Turkey places high-speed rail order

‘Eight-figure agreement’ made to supply new line between Ankara and İzmir – but questions over plant’s future remain

British Steel has secured an order worth tens of millions of pounds to supply rail for a high-speed electric railway in Turkey, amid continuing uncertainty over the long-term future of the government-controlled steelworks in Scunthorpe.

The site will supply 36,000 tonnes of rail to ERG International Group, the company announced, in what it called an “eight-figure agreement”.

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Energy firms complete UK’s first ‘hydrogen blending’ trial to power grid

A 2% blend of low-carbon gas injected into gas grid to fuel Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire is a UK first

Energy companies have injected green hydrogen into Britain’s gas grid and used the low-carbon gas to generate electricity, in a landmark development for the UK’s climate ambitions.

For the first time in the UK, a 2% blend of green hydrogen was injected into the gas grid and blended with traditional gas to fuel the Brigg power station in North Lincolnshire which generated electricity for the power system.

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Almost a third of Prax Lindsey oil refinery workers to lose jobs

Insolvency Service says 125 roles to go at Lincolnshire plant, which went into administration in summer

Almost a third of workers at the Prax Lindsey oil refinery in north Lincolnshire, which collapsed into administration this summer, will lose their jobs at the end of October.

The Insolvency Service said the decision to make 125 roles redundant, with 255 people remaining at the site, “was not taken lightly” and follows a thorough review of “all aspects of the business, following its insolvency”.

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Lindsey oil refinery owner Prax falls into administration as ministers urged to intervene

Fears over fuel supplies and jobs as Lincolnshire facility handles nearly a tenth of total UK capacity

One of the UK’s largest oil refineries – and the only big one owned by a British company – has collapsed into administration, prompting calls for the government to intervene urgently to protect fuel supplies and jobs.

State Oil, which owns the Prax Lindsey refinery in north Lincolnshire, called in administrators on Monday, Sky News reported first, prompting concern from the trade union Unite.

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British Steel to deploy emergency measures to save Scunthorpe furnaces

Firm in race against time to get key materials as business secretary says no guarantee it will get what it needs

British Steel is to deploy emergency measures in a race against time to save the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, as the business secretary refused to guarantee the plant could get what it needed in time.

The company is understood to be looking at offers of help from more than a dozen businesses to obtain materials such as iron ore and coking coal, potentially allowing it to avoid the temporary shutdown of one of the two furnaces.

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Polish woman, 80, can stay in UK after Home Office U-turn

Elzbieta Olszewska had previously been told she faced deportation after mistakenly filling in form online

A Polish woman who had her application to remain in the UK rejected because she mistakenly filled in a form online instead of on paper has been granted permission to stay in Britain after a change of mind by the Home Office.

Elzbieta Olszewska, 80, had been living alone in her flat in Warsaw before arriving in the UK last September. Her only child, Michal Olszewski, 52, an aeronautical engineer and dual British-Polish citizen, who lives in Lincoln with his wife, had been travelling regularly to the Polish capital to support his mother.

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Labour mayoral candidate on race to stop Reform – and ‘Doge Lincolnshire’

Jason Stockwood, ex-chair of Grimsby Town FC, has plan for keeping rival Andrea Jenkyns from implementing US-style cuts

Labour can beat Reform UK by focusing relentlessly on the cost of living, the party’s mayoral candidate for Greater Lincolnshire, who is taking on the Conservative defector Andrea Jenkyns, has said.

Jason Stockwood, the former chair of Grimsby Town football club, is standing for Labour in the most high-profile mayoral race of the local elections.

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Pilot of domestic abuse experts helping in 999 call rooms begins in England

Jess Phillips says ‘Raneem’s law’ scheme will support ‘force-wide cultural change’ as initial phase is rolled out

Domestic abuse specialists embedded in control rooms receiving 999 emergency calls will help “create force-wide cultural change”, said Jess Phillips as the first phase of “Raneem’s law” was rolled out across England.

The new law is named in memory of Raneem Oudeh, who was killed alongside her mother, Khaola Saleem, in Solihull by Oudeh’s ex-husband, whom she had reported to the police at least seven times, as well as making four 999 calls on the night she was murdered.

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Reform deputy leader Richard Tice splitting time between Skegness and Dubai after partner leaves UK

MP says he is totally committed to his constituency after Isabel Oakeshott moved to the Emirates

One weekend, it will be the straightforward delights of Skegness seafront; the next, the flashy private beach clubs of Dubai.

Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK and its MP for Boston and Skegness, is splitting his time not just between his Lincolnshire ­constituency and the House of Commons, but is also spending time 3,500 miles away in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). “We are spreading our international reach,” he said.

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British Steel to keep Scunthorpe blast furnaces operating past Christmas

Confirmation follows progress at talks over government support for switch to less polluting technology

The owners of British Steel are to keep the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe site running past Christmas amid talks over government support for a switch to less polluting technology.

The government is thought to be considering aid for British Steel at the same level or even higher than the £500m pledged to Tata Steel, which closed its two blast furnaces in Port Talbot in September. However, no decisions on the shape of a package have been made.

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Bamburgh judged UK’s best seaside destination by Which? readers for fourth year

Northumbrian village was named as nation’s favourite, just ahead of Portmeirion and St Andrews

Bamburgh, the Northumbrian village known for its sprawling sand dunes and imposing castle, has retained its title as the UK’s best seaside destination for the fourth consecutive year.

A survey of 4,700 people by the consumer group Which? placed the Northumberland coastal village as the nation’s favourite, ahead of Portmeirion in Gwynedd and St Andrews in Fife.

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Explorer ‘who named Australia’ to be reburied in Lincolnshire village where he was born

Hundreds to attend Donington service for Matthew Flinders, whose remains were found during digging for HS2

When the remains of the famous explorer Capt Matthew Flinders – credited with naming Australia – were discovered during the digging for HS2, Jane Pearson knew he had to be brought back home to Donington.

This little village in Lincolnshire, where Flinders was born in 1774, has been preparing for his arrival for months, and is gearing up to welcome a host of Australian dignitaries travelling over for his reburial in July.

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Grimsby man jailed for sexually assaulting dead bodies in mortuary

Damon Tingay punched the body of one man twice and performed sex acts on two male bodies, court heard

A Grimsby man who went on a rampage in a hospital mortuary, violently and sexually attacking bodies, was told by a judge there was a “very, very dark side” tohim as he was sentenced to six years in prison.

Damon Tingay, 30, broke into Diana, Princess of Wales hospital in Grimsby in the early hours of 17 March and was caught on CCTV opening a number of fridges and interfering with the bodies.

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William and Kate lead tribute to RAF pilot killed in memorial event crash

Airman died at the scene after second world war-era plane came down near RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire

The Prince and Princess of Wales have led tributes to an RAF pilot who was killed in a Spitfire crash while taking part in a Battle of Britain memorial event.

The airman, who has not yet been named by police, died at the scene from his injuries after the second world war-era plane came down near RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire at about 1.20pm on Saturday.

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Pilot dies in Spitfire crash in field near RAF Coningsby base in Lincolnshire

Plane was part of RAF Battle of Britain memorial flight, which maintains historic aircraft in airworthy condition

A pilot has died after a Spitfire crashed in a field near an RAF base in Lincolnshire, a Royal Air Force spokesperson has confirmed.

“It is with great sadness that we must confirm the death of an RAF pilot in a tragic accident near RAF Coningsby today,” a Ministry of Defence spokesperson said.

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Man jailed for life for murdering wife and dismembering body in Lincoln

Nicholas Metson, who paid a friend £50 to help dump Holly Bramley’s remains, to serve at least 19 years

A man who cut his wife’s body into more than 200 pieces and then paid a friend £50 to help him dump her remains in a river has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19 years.

Nicholas Metson stabbed Holly Bramley, 26, at least four times in March 2023 before dismembering her body and storing her remains for a week in the kitchen larder at the flat they shared in Stamp End, Lincoln.

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Two-year-old boy died of starvation curled up next to dead father

Lincolnshire council launches review after death of Bronson Battersby, who was subject to children’s services checks

A two-year-old boy was left alone to die of starvation curled up next to the body of his father, who had suffered a fatal heart attack, his family has revealed.

Bronson Battersby was found dead on 9 January, alongside his 60-year-old father, Kenneth, at their home in Skegness, Lincolnshire – 14 days after they were last seen.

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Asylum seekers can be housed at former RAF bases, high court rules

Council says it will apply to appeal court after judge rules in favour of government plans citing high risk of migrants being made homeless

Council bosses are planning to appeal against a high court ruling that gives the government the green light to use two military sites to accommodate thousands of asylum seekers.

Lawyers representing West Lindsey district council in Lincolnshire argued that plans to use the disused RAF Scampton, where the “dambusters” were based during the second world war, were unlawful. Lawyers for Braintree district council where Wethersfield airfield is based, made similar arguments. A local Braintree resident, Gabriel Clarke-Holland, was also involved in the legal challenge.

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