Man who drowned trying to save two people from sea named by family

A man who died trying to save two people stuck in the sea off the East Yorkshire coast has been named by his family, who called him a “selfless hero”.

Mark Ratcliffe, 67, was pulled from the sea near Withernsea on Friday after being found unconscious in the water. He was later confirmed to have died.

In a tribute, his family said Mr Ratcliffe was “a true selfless hero with a heart of gold, who was so cruelly taken trying to save others”.

“So many lives are now shattered that you’re gone. You were loved by so many people, and we will all miss you forever,” they added.

“A loving husband, father, son, brother and the best grandad anybody could ever wish for. Sleep tight, we love you, we miss you.”

The body of a 45-year-old woman was also recovered, Humberside Police said, while searches continue for the one remaining missing person.

The alarm was raised just after 3pm on Friday, sparking a major search, led by HM Coastguard, with assistance from the RNLI, Humberside Police, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Humberside Fire and Rescue.

Darren Stevens, who lives in the area, told the BBC he had witnessed lots of emergency vehicles and crews near the beach.

He also said it had snowed earlier and that the conditions were “bitter” and “freezing”.

“It’s not a good place to be in the sea,” he added.

Wilson strikes against former club as Fulham lead Liverpool

Liverpool visit Fulham in the Premier League in search of more goals and excitement than they served up in the dull 0-0 draw at home to Leeds on New Year’s Day.

Arne Slot’s side missed the opportunity to solidify their place in the Premier League’s top four as Hugo Ekitike missed a glaring chance and a resilient Leeds side held on to a point at Anfield.

And now Liverpool will be without Ekitike after their top scorer this season was ruled out of the trip to Craven Cottage due to a slight hamstring injury – as a result of an increased workload over the festive period.

“That’s led to him picking up a slight hamstring injury, and for a player of his age, not completely used to the Premier League, that’s been a bit too much,” Slot told Sky Sports.

Fulham required a late equaliser from Tom Cairney to secure a 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace last time out. Like Liverpool, they had won their previous three games before Thursday’s draw.

Follow the latest updates from Fulham v Liverpool, below:

Greek flight chaos as air-traffic control failure closes all airspace

Hundreds of flights to, from and within Greece have been cancelled or delayed due to a failure of the air-traffic control system.

The leading Greek airline, Aegean, has cancelled dozens of flights, mainly to and from Athens. It told passengers a “technical issue affecting the radio frequency systems of the Hellenic Aviation Service Provider, which has been ongoing since the early morning hours continues to cause a significant reduction in capacity within Greek airspace”.

Some flights to Athens have been diverted to Rome and Dubrovnik, while passengers heading for Thessaloniki on SAS are in Budapest and Transavia from Amsterdam diverted to the Albanian capital, Tirana. A flight from Vilnius to Heraklion in Crete is currently in Larnaca, Cyprus.

One British passenger, John Berry, told The Independent: “Hopefully we will still get home tonight. Just waiting for the flight LS1709 from Manchester to take off to collect us, as this is the last flight out of Athens for Jet2 until February.”

The outbound Jet2 flight is now en route and is expected to arrive around 7pm, four hours behind schedule.

EasyJet told passengers from Manchester whose flight to Athens was cancelled: “This is due to an ATH airport related airspace closure.

“The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.”

British Airways cancelled one of its morning departures from Heathrow to Athens. In the opposite direction, Aegean grounded its evening Athens-Heathrow flight, and the corresponding overnight inbound leg to the Greek capital.

Ryanair has cancelled flights from Athens to Malta, Rome and Bologna.

Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels until they get there.

Athens airport later posted: “The Hellenic Aviation Service Provider started gradual release of some flights in accordance with air-traffic control capacity availability. Efforts for full restoration of the technical issues are continued.”

Jesy Nelson says twins may never walk after heartbreaking diagnosis

Doctors have told Jesy Nelson that her twin babies will probably “never be able to walk”.

The former Little Mix singer, 34, gave birth to twin daughters Ocean Jade Nelson-Foster and Story Monroe-Nelson-Foster in May following complications with her pregnancy. Announcing the birth, she shared photos of the twins together with their father, British rapper Zion Foster.

In an emotional video posted on Sunday (4 January), Nelson told fans that her babies have since been diagnosed with a muscular disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) after her mother had noticed their legs “weren’t moving as much as they should be”.

“The girls have now been diagnosed with a severe muscle disease called SMA type one. For those of you who don’t know what SMA type one is, it is the most severe muscular disease that a baby can get,” said the singer.

Explaining the disease, she said: “It does affect every muscle in the body, down to legs, arms, breathing, swallowing.

“And essentially, what it does is, over time, it kills the muscle to the body, and if it’s not treated in time, your baby’s life expectancy will not make it past the age of two.”

Recalling her daughters’ assessment at Great Ormond Street hospital in London, Nelson said: “We were told that they will probably never be able to walk and never regain their neck strength, so they will be disabled.

“The best thing we can do right now is to get treatment and then just hope for the best. Thankfully the girls have had their treatment, which I’m so grateful for because if they don’t have it, they will die.”

Speaking about how their lives have changed since receiving the diagnosis, Nelson recalled “endless hospital visits” and having to learn how to put her babies on “breathing machines”.

“The reason I wanted to make this video was because the last three months have honestly been the most heartbreaking time of my life. I literally feel like my whole life has done a 360,” she added.

“I almost feel like I’m grieving the life I thought I was going to have with my children and I know I have to be grateful because at the end of the day, they’re still here and that’s the main thing.”

Nelson said she truly believes her daughters would “defy the odds” and “go on to do things that have never been done”.

On why she decided make the diagnosis public, Nelson said she wanted to raise awareness so that other parents could identify the condition as early as possible to make treatment more effective.

As stated by the NHS, symptoms include floppiness in the arms and legs, as well as movement problems.

“The main thing I want to get across is that the majority of this can be prevented if it is detected from birth and all it takes is a heel prick,” she said, referring to the newborn blood spot test.

As stated by the NHS, SMA is a rare genetic condition that can cause muscle weakness, including problems with breathing or swallowing, weak arms and legs, tremors, and bone and joint problems.

Train worker sacked after passengers served sausage rolls taken from a bin

A train worker has been sacked after first class passengers were served sausage rolls taken from a bin.

Peter Duffy, who was an employee for London North Eastern Railway (LNER), was accused of preparing sausage rolls “retrieved from a bin” for first-class passengers, which a colleague then served.

The incident was reported by another train crew member, who overheard laughter from the kitchen before service and later noted the bin was empty, despite being told earlier that no sausage rolls were available as they had been thrown away.

Mr Duffy claimed he had “gone too far for the customer”.

On May 7 2023, Mr Duffy and a fellow train crew member were working onboard an LNER service departing York, when two passengers in first class requested sausage rolls.

The colleague who reported concerns said: “Myself and a host from standard class had been in the kitchen to get ourselves food when the host who was cooking told us the sausage rolls had just gone in the bin.”

Later, the member of staff reported hearing “lots of laughing” from inside the kitchen where Mr Duffy and his colleague were based, before reminding them a passenger was sat nearby.

They added: “A couple of minutes later one of the hosts from first class took the sausage rolls to Coach K.

“After I had finished my food I took my rubbish to the bin in the kitchen and this is when noticed the bins were empty and there were no sausage rolls in the bin.”

The member of staff claimed Mr Duffy had retrieved the food from a bin before plating and reheating them.

His colleague from the kitchen was then said to have served the food to the customers sitting in first class.

Mr Duffy was told that CCTV footage had been retrieved and appeared to show that items of food that were disposed of in a bin had been retrieved by him in the presence of his colleague.

The footage suggested the food was then plated and re-heated by Mr Duffy and subsequently served to customers by his colleague.

Both were suspended by the train company pending an investigation into the alleged breach of food hygiene standards.

At an investigatory meeting on May 17 2023, Mr Duffy said he was “a person who goes over and beyond for the customer”.

“I clearly took them out as there were none left for people in first class but they were wrapped in foil,” he said.

“We had totally ran out, I have just gone too far for the customer in my mind.”

He said he suffered from anxiety and depression, was on medication and had been stressed with work but added: “That was me trying to do the best for the customer which I am well known for.”

A union representative present at the investigation said Mr Duffy “had suffered from a recognised condition that day, known as transient global amnesia”.

Transient global amnesia is a sudden, temporary interruption of short-term memory.

Mr Duffy’s colleague denied seeing him take the sausage rolls out of the bin and said they were laughing because she had passed wind but the tribunal found her evidence was unreliable as was likely to be self-serving.

Mr Duffy was found to have committed gross misconduct and was dismissed in July 2023.

He claimed unfair dismissal and discrimination at a tribunal in Newcastle in August 2025 but both complaints were dismissed.

In reasons published on Wednesday to support the judgment, the tribunal judge said LNER had acted reasonably in deciding to dismiss Mr Duffy and the actions which prompted his dismissal were not something that arose in consequence of his disability.

‘Tis the season to connect: How to maximise your mobile

Our mobile phones are a vital part of our everyday lives, providing us with connection, entertainment and information. We rely on the device in our pocket to help us work, socialise, learn and so much more – so we want to make sure we’re getting the most we can from it.

Tesco Mobile’s new Pay as you go Essentials tariff can help you do just that, offering increased flexibility and benefits. It keeps things simple and lets you add 30-day bundles of data, minutes and texts that best suit your needs.

The tariff will replace Rocket Pack, Triple Credit and Lite tariffs for all existing Tesco Mobile Pay as you go customers.

Customers who prefer traditional Pay as you go can continue to use top-up balance for calls, texts and data at the standard rate: 25p per minute, 10p per text, 10p per MB.*

So whether you’re an existing Tesco Mobile customer or thinking of making the switch, here’s seven reasons why Pay as you go Essentials is the perfect option…

We all use our phones differently. For some, it’s all about streaming favourite shows and music, so having enough data is vital. Others just want to be able to text and call friends and family whenever they want. Tesco Mobile make it easy to find the right Pay as you go Essentials bundle for your needs. New customers can choose the best bundle for their needs, with bundles auto-renewing every 30 days using available top-up balance.

Circumstances can change and you might find yourself needing more data or minutes some months than others. Depending on how much you use your phone, a bundle is often more cost-effective than using your top-up balance and being charged standard rates for calls, texts and data usage. Pay as you go Essentials is a flexible top-up tariff designed to give users full control over their spend, letting them add bundles of data, minutes and texts to suit specific needs. You can change your bundle as often as you like or cancel at any time. If you decide to opt-out of a bundle you can continue to use your top-up balance for calls, text and data at the standard out-of-bundle rate (25p per minute, 10p per text, 10p per MB).

Pay as you go Essentials offers a range of five great-value bundle options that all include data, minutes and texts. Pay as you go Essentials bundles start from just £5 for 30 days (minimum £10 top-up at activation), while every bundle from £10 and up includes unlimited calls and texts (subject to Fair Usage Policy) – making it easy and affordable to stay connected. If you’re an existing Tesco Mobile Pay as you go customer you’ll get a free 30 day Essentials bundle based on your previous use so you can see if its the right one for you.

The new Tesco Mobile app is packed with useful features to help you make the most of your Pay as you go phone. It’s a quick and simple way to manage or change your bundles, check usage, top-up your balance change auto-renew settings and more. You can easily see your remaining data, minutes and texts, so you know whether you need to add a new or different bundle. Need a hand with something? Chat with the customer care team via live in-app messaging. This is a new app for Pay as you go customers, and customers will no longer be able to use their old Tesco Mobile Pay as you go apps.

Phone calls cutting out, videos buffering, texts that don’t send… an unreliable phone signal can be hugely frustrating. Tesco Mobile shares O2’s network, which means 99 per cent UK coverage, and a better connection in hard-to-reach rural areas – so you won’t be searching for a signal. Tesco Mobile’s 4G and 5G networks are constantly being improved, and with Pay as you go Essentials, customers can use 4G Calling (also known as VoLTE) means you’ll use your 4G connection to make and receive calls, enjoying clearer calls. You can find this option in your network settings.

With Tesco Mobile, you get a Clubcard point for every £1 you spend. Just link your Clubcard to your phone (text the word CLUBCARD to 28578 free from your Tesco Mobile phone) and watch the points add up. You can then convert your points to vouchers to save on your weekly grocery shop or exchange the vouchers for Reward Partner codes to save money on meals out, entertainment, day trips, travel and more. For a limited time, Tesco Mobile customers can get 500 Clubcard points every time they add a £15 Pay as you go Essentials bundle when they link their Clubcard within the first 28 days of adding the bundle. Clubcard points will be automatically issued within 30 days.

For more information on Tesco Mobile’s Pay as you go Essentials, including all available bundles, visit Tesco Mobile

*Offer ends 01/02/2026. See Terms And Conditions for full terms.

Inside the quest for the origin of Stonehenge’s Altar Stone

“It was one of those kind of serendipitous occasions – a Eureka moment,” says Professor Richard Bevins.

Picking over a set of 15 sample stones from Stonehenge passed on to him by a former colleague, the geologist was asked to make a quick observation on the source of rock believed to have been brought from west Wales some 5,000 years ago.

“I said I can tell you what they are in terms of rock type, but this rock type – I’ve never seen in west Wales, never seen it at all,” Prof Bevins recalls. “So I wrote it up [his report], but before it was published, I had a Eureka moment and thought ‘there’s an outcrop that I have got material from but that I’ve never looked at before’.

“It led to the excavation of a Neolithic quarry [Craig Rhos-y-Felin] and the discovery of the exact location where the stone samples came. A perfect match. It was a special moment.”

That major discovery in 2011 was the first time a definite source for any of the stones at the world-famous monument had been found, reinvigorating the long-running debate on how the stones were transported all the way from Pembrokeshire to Wiltshire.

Now, today, 14 years on, Prof Bevins believes he could be on the verge of his next ground-breaking find; the source of the monument’s Altar Stone.

Having declared last year that the six-tonne megalith was not one of the bluestones hauled from Pembrokeshire, he and his team ventured to the archipelago of Orkney after determining it came from sandstone deposits in the Orcadian Basin, an area encompassing the isles of Orkney and Shetland and a coastal strip on the northeast Scottish mainland.

Detailed study of the stones in Orkney, however, came up with no match, and now Prof Bevins is staring at a mapped area 125 miles by 93 miles, determined to discover the exact location where the stone was quarried, before being transported more than 500 miles to the West Country.

“It’d be fantastic to find the exact source,” Prof Bevins says. “It’s been a rollercoaster to get this far, having found it doesn’t come from Wales but now from northeast Scotland. It’d certainly be the icing on the cake for all the work we’ve put in.”

Finding the source would open excavation works for archaeologists at the source site, who would then be able to trace the people behind the construction of Stonehenge and find out everything, from their society to their tools to what they ate and drank.

It would also, Prof Bevins says, add more substance to the theories behind how the huge stones were moved the hundreds of miles, with current thoughts, due to the hilly landscape in Scotland, that they were moved by sea.

The discovery of the location could also strengthen a theory that the building of Stonehenge was an act of unification across the UK against a foreign threat, with materials coming from all corners of the British Isles.

But, for now, Prof Bevins says he needs to work with his small team to pinpoint locations within the huge region.

“If we just went up there and went randomly walking across the whole area, we’ll probably retire and be a long time underground before anything were found, so we’ll be picking out some target areas within that region,” says Prof Bevins.

But it takes time, and operating in the field is expensive and time-consuming.

And after funding finished on ruling out Orkney last year, Prof Bevins and his team need to build a new case for money to pay for the next part of their project. Part of their case will be the public’s thirst for information on one of the UK’s most famous monuments, which had a record 1.4 million visitors in 2024.

“People like to know about other people, they like to know about their history, they like to know why Stonehenge was built, what do the pyramids mean? It’s that fascination with people and cultures,” says Prof Bevins.

“When we publish a paper [on Stonehenge], you can almost clock it going around the world across time zones. News, television channels, online. It really is quite astonishing. We’re hoping to achieve the same results again soon.”

Holidaymakers stranded as planes turned around mid-flight after Venezuela strikes

Three Tui aircraft bound for Barbados turned around in mid-Atlantic and returned to their UK starting points after air safety warnings in the wake of the US military action in Venezuela.

Boeing 787 aircraft from Birmingham, Gatwick and Manchester turned back on Saturday afternoon after spending around four hours in the air. Studying data from Flightradar24, it appears an instruction was given to turn back at 1.45pm GMT. All three aircraft made a 180-degree turn minutes later.

The aircraft that was closest to its destination was BY830 from Birmingham, which was over halfway when the plane turned back. Passengers spent over eight hours in the air.

BY10 from Gatwick and BY162 from Manchester had taken off later. Both were in the vicinity of the Azores when they turned back.

The decision was taken after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an emergency “Notam” (Notice to Air Missions) instructing aircraft to avoid parts of the Caribbean. US transportation secretary Sean Duffy posted on X: “Early this morning in support of the Department of War, the FAA restricted the airspace in the Caribbean and Venezuela to ensure the SAFETY of the flying public.

“When appropriate, these airspace restrictions will be lifted. Please work with your airlines directly if your flight has been impacted.

“God bless President Trump and the United States military.”

The Notam applied from 6am GMT, well before any of the Tui flights was airborne. It expired at 7pm GMT the same day.

A spokesperson for Tui told The Independent: “The flights have returned to the UK due to active Notams concerning Caribbean airspace. Today‘s flight are taking place as scheduled since the Notam expired this morning.”

The decision left almost 1,000 Tui holidaymakers stranded in Barbados waiting to return after Christmas and New Year holidays.

Under air passengers’ rights rules, travellers whose flights are cancelled are entitled to be flown to their destination as soon as possible on any airline, and to be provided with meals and hotels as necessary.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “We are aware of restrictions affecting Venezuelan airspace following recent geopolitical developments in the region. Currently, there is no impact to our operations. The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our top priority, and we are closely monitoring the situation alongside relevant authorities.”

The Dutch airline KLM has grounded Caribbean flights serving Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Barbados, Georgetown, Port of Spain and Sint Maarten “due to the security situation in Venezuela”.