A 29-year-old man has died almost a week after he was shot by armed police in a quiet Surrey village.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said the man died on Thursday after being shot in the village of Knaphill, near Woking, in the early hours of Sunday.

Surrey Police officers had been called to the area following reports of an altercation between two men, one of whom was “armed with a weapon in the street”.

Mel Palmer, the IOPC regional director, said: “This is a tragic incident, during which a man sadly lost his life. We have met with the man’s family to explain our role. Our thoughts are with them and everyone affected by this incident.

“Fatal police shootings are rare. Given that a person has died, it’s important that an independent investigation is carried out to establish the circumstances surrounding this incident, including police actions and decision-making and the use of lethal force.”

This is a breaking news story and is being updated

Train drivers are to strike every weekend for the next three months over managers getting paid £2,000 bonuses to run services during industrial action.

Members of the train drivers’ union announced the fresh campaign of strikes at LNER days after securing a 14 per cent pay rise from the Government.

The strikes will occur every Saturday and Sunday from Aug 31 to Nov 10 – a total of 22 days.

Aslef claims that “a breakdown in industrial relations, bullying by management and persistent breaking of agreements” is behind the renewed strike campaign.

James Cleverly, the Tory leadership candidate, said: “The Labour Government has been played by its union paymasters. This latest wave of strikes will be devastating for families who rely on train travel to see their loved ones. Offering a no-strings pay deal to militant strikers whilst stripping millions of pensions of their winter fuel payment is nothing short of a national embarrassment.”

Mick Whelan, Aslef’s general secretary, said the dispute was separate from the pay rises that were agreed by the Government on Wednesday. On Friday morning, he accused LNER’s bosses of “boorish behaviour and bullying tactics”.

He called the managers “scabs” – a term of abuse for someone who works when the union wants them to go on strike – because some had stepped in to drive trains during previous Aslef walkouts.

The Aslef boss claimed managers had been handed a £2,000 bonus apiece for keeping services running while militant union workers sat at home on strike. He said: “Paying managers a bonus last month of £2,000 per person, again sanctioned by the DfT, as a thank you for breaking agreements, was the final straw for many of our members.

“The continued failure of the company to resolve long-standing industrial relations issues has forced us into this position. We would much rather not be here.

“But the company has brutally, and repeatedly, broken diagramming and roster agreements, failed to adhere to the agreed bargaining machinery, and totally acted in bad faith. When we make an agreement, we stick to it. This company doesn’t.”

LNER runs trains between London and Edinburgh on the East Coast Main Line, serving cities including Sunderland, Newcastle and York.

It comes two days after the Government agreed to give train drivers a 14.25 per cent pay rise, backdated for the past three years.

LNER has been in state ownership since 2018 after the former franchisee Virgin Trains handed it back to the Government.

The rail industry is subsidised by £12 billion a year, of which £4.4 billion goes to passenger train companies.

LNER received £85 million in subsidies during the year 2022-23, topping up the £723 million it made from ticket sales and other items such as onboard catering.

On Wednesday, Louise Haigh, the Transport Secretary, said: “When I took this job, I said I wanted to move fast and fix things – starting by bringing an end to rail strikes.”

As she handed Aslef a no-strings-attached pay rise, abandoning attempts made by the Tories to link the increases to reforms of costly and wasteful “Spanish practices”, she said: “The Conservatives were happy to see the taxpayer pay the price as strikes dragged on and on, and passengers suffered. This Labour Government is doing the right thing and putting passengers first.”

Under the pay increase, drivers’ salaries will average £69,000 a year for a four-day, 35-hour working week.

Nigel Roebuck, Aslef’s lead negotiator with LNER, said: “This dispute started nigh-on two years ago with our members complaining about consistently being badgered for “favours” by managers outside of rostering agreements and being contacted remotely which is also against our agreements.”

The Telegraph highlighted this week how these Spanish practices, enshrined in formal agreements made with rail unions, hold back vital productivity reforms.

An LNER spokesman said: “We are surprised and disappointed to hear this news following recent constructive conversations. We will continue to work with Aslef to find a way to end this long running dispute which only damages the rail industry.

“Our priority focus will be on minimising disruption to customers during the forthcoming Aslef strikes, which sadly will continue to cause disruption and delays.”

Ms Haigh’s spokesman declined to respond to a request for comment.

The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.

A trainee worker is thought to have been locked in a lion enclosure at Belfast Zoo.

The worker entered the enclosure with a more experienced member of staff last week to tend to a pride of Barbary lions that was roaming freely, the Belfast Telegraph reported.

The more senior staff member is said to have then left the paddock and locked the gate, leaving the colleague trapped inside, a source told the newspaper.

The colleague is believed to be an adult participating in a Northern Irish training scheme for unemployed people aged between 50 and 64.

“They are very lucky they weren’t killed or severely mauled and left with horrendous injuries… It’s just another thing that raises serious questions for Belfast Zoo,” the source said. 

Belfast city council, which owns the zoo, said an investigation has been launched following the incident. However, the council was not able to confirm the details.

A zoo spokesman said: “We take the safety of all our staff, visitors and animals very seriously and an investigation is under way into the circumstances of this incident. We cannot comment further while this is ongoing.”

The incident was also reported to the Health and Safety Executive NI, according to The Times.

The zoo is home to three Barbary lions, which were once native to North Africa and were used in the Colosseum during Roman times to battle with gladiators.

They are now extinct in the wild – with the last recorded Barbary lion shot in Morocco in 1942 – and are only found in zoos.

At Belfast Zoo, a male lion named Qays lives with two females named Fidda and Theibba.

The species measures one metre in height at the shoulder and up to three and a half metres in length, and its average weight can be up to 230 kilograms.

Earlier this year, a report by the Aspinall Foundation, a UK-based animal conservation charity, said that Belfast Zoo had 31 breaches of animal welfare standards, MailOnline reported.

In 2016, it was alleged that some animals at the zoo were kept in unacceptable conditions.

The allegations were made by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, which wrote to Belfast city council with its concerns.

At the time, a spokesman for the council said the zoo was undergoing an “improvement process”.

A male model who found fame as the Diet Coke “hunk” claims he suffered a brain injury when he ran into a colleague during a beach advert shoot.

Andrew Cooper, 43, is suing Orlebar Brown, a Chanel-owned luxury beachwear brand, for £4.1 million after he was hurt while filming the advert in Italy in 2020. 

Mr Cooper claims he collided with another model and was left concussed on the sands of Puglia after being instructed to run down a dune on to the beach.

He says the accident caused him a brain injury that has seriously hampered his career as a model, social media influencer and actor.

Having found fame as the star of the Diet Coke “hunk” advert in 2013, Mr Cooper went on to work with top brands including Dunhill and Armani. He also walked runways for Versace, Dolce&Gabbana and Ralph Lauren.

But he says he has since had to turn down some high-paying work owing to the effects of the accident. At the High Court in London, he is now suing Orlebar Brown Ltd for compensation. 

The high-end brand, which is known for tailored, photo-print swimming shorts that retail for up to £395 a pair, denies liability and blames the agency behind the shoot, the Tom Hingston Studio Ltd. 

But the studio also denies any blame, with its barrister John Williams telling the High Court last week that “accidents happen without negligence.”

Orlebar Brown trunks have also been worn by former prime minister David Cameron, who was pictured wearing them in 2016 on holiday in Corsica with his wife.

According to Mr Cooper’s claim, he was filming with several other models on Puglia beach in September 2020. He and another model were instructed to run down a dune onto the beach, but collided, causing him life-changing injuries, he says.

Mr Cooper claims he was left with post-concussion syndrome and a mild traumatic brain injury, with consequent mental symptoms including anxiety, panic attacks and depression. He also claims to have suffered damage in his ear and now has a balance disorder which causes migraines and headaches.

Much of Mr Cooper’s claim is for lost past and future income, having previously earned as much as £280,000-a-year, the court heard. His lawyers say he has had to turn down lucrative contracts when the work involved flashing lights, learning lines or action sequences.

“The claimant is somebody who was a highly sought after male model working for Orlebar Brown and had other business interests and some interesting sidelines like being a social media influencer,” said his barrister John-Paul Swoboda.

Mr Swoboda added: “Another part of the claim is that he was commencing an acting career. He was an entrepreneurial man and there were many strings to his bow.

“The quantum of the claim is complex, but it is high value in the sense that the preliminary schedule states £4.1m.”

Mr Swoboda said the model, who lives in Berkshire, is suing Orlebar Brown for breach of the terms of their contract.

“We say the contract imposes strict duties on the defendant to the claimant – for example, to take all steps necessary to ensure that the model is protected,” he told judge, Master Simon Brown, in a preliminary hearing.

That meant the “highest standards of health and safety”, more than just doing what is “reasonable” to keep models safe, he said.

For Orlebar Brown, barrister Arun Katyar said the company would contest the breach of contract allegation and that it has “some disquiet” about the size of Mr Cooper’s claim.

However, the company also points the finger at the Tom Hingston Studio, claiming the shoot was carried out negligently.

But for the studio, Mr Williams denied any negligence, pointing out that the lead-up to, and aftermath of, the accident was caught on camera.

Taking issue with any suggestion that the models had been asked to undertake a “stunt of the kind James Bond would undertake”, he described the video footage.

He said the clip showed Mr Cooper and another model running down the dune, having been instructed to separate at a “grassy knoll”. 

“They were told to separate at the grassy knoll – one goes to the right, one to the left – and to continue descending down the dune to the beach and to jog, or introduce a little bit of action,” he said. “They do that eight times without incident.”

However, the clash came off camera when the two models collided, he said. When the camera pans to them, Mr Cooper is on the sand, conscious and smiling, before they get up and walk off.

“That’s it,” he said. “That’s what this case is about. There’s virtually no dispute on the facts. There is nothing to see in terms of negligence. The instruction was to run down to the beach separately. Accidents happen without negligence and that will be our case.”

The case reached court for a preliminary hearing dealing with how the case will proceed, with the judge, Master Brown, ordering that issues of liability be decided first at a four-day trial next year.

In an outside court statement, father-of-two Mr Cooper said he felt “completely let down” because of what happened to him.

“This incident.. has caused my whole life to be turned upside down, impacting on how I can function both professionally and personally, as a husband and father, and among my wider family and friendships,”  he said.

“My experience and the challenges I have faced show that head injuries, post-concussion symptoms and the long-lasting impact they can have on mental health need to be taken seriously by the fashion and film industry.”

A decision on whether Orlebar Brown or the Tom Hingston Studio were at fault will be made at a four-day trial set to take place in the first half of next year. If Mr Cooper is successful, a decision on the quantum of damages to be paid would be made at another trial, if not agreed.