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An installation of more than 20,000 ceramic poppies has been unveiled at the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC), in Lincoln.

Each poppy has been handcrafted, and some have been laid out in the shape of a Lancaster Bomber.

Nicky van der Drift, chief executive of the IBCC, said: "People are stunned. It has great impact. They're very moved. We've had people in tears."

Military personnel laid some of the final poppies at the installation on Friday.

There are 617 handcrafted poppies on the Memorial Spire, in honour of 617 Squadron (the Dambusters).

The display is part of VE80 Lincoln, a project marking VE Day.

It was created by Lithuanian artist Darius Sirmulevicius, who moved to Lincolnshire in 1998.

He said he was pleased with people's reactions to the display, and added: "I have put my heart and soul into this."

Ms van der Drift said she hoped it would show people the "power of remembrance".

She added: "Now more than ever, with everything that is going on in the world, we need to remember why we need to avoid war, and do everything within our reach to find peaceful solutions."

The installation will be on display until the end of August.

Each poppy will be sold to raise money for the IBCC, the British West India Regiments Heritage Trust and the Wooden Spoon Trust.

VE80 Lincoln is a collaboration between the IBCC, Francourt Events, Sage Blue and Lincoln Rugby Club.

Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds latest episode of Look North here.

Two people had to be cut free from a car which ended up on its side following a crash.

Jersey Fire Service said it received a call at about 15:00 BST on Sunday to reports of the incident involving a single vehicle in St Peter's Valley.

A service spokesperson said firefighters removed the windscreen from the car to remove a passenger before cutting through the vehicle's roof to free the driver.

The passenger and driver suffered minor injuries, the spokesperson added.

A woman who has regularly been refused taxi rides when travelling with a guide dog says the experience is "infuriating and embarrassing".

Hannah Burgess, 27, from Milton Keynes, recently posted a video online in which one driver can be heard refusing to take her dog Morris, although he later changed his mind.

The Equality Act 2010 states taxis must carry assistance dogs at no extra charge.

Ms Burgess said the car was booked with Skyline Taxis Milton Keynes, which has not responded to the BBC's requests for comment.

Ms Burgess, who was born with albinism, describes her vision as "blurry and distorted" and believes that, aged 13, she was the youngest person in the UK to get a guide dog.

She has been travelling with Morris, a golden retriever, for just over a year.

In a video posted online, the private hire driver can be heard saying: "I'm sorry, I can't pick the pet."

A passer-by intervenes to tell the driver to take the dog, and later he does accept the fare and apologises.

Ms Burgess said she put a note in online bookings that she had a guide dog but was frequently refused, with some drivers seeing Morris and driving straight past.

"It's exhausting, it's infuriating, it's embarrassing. It feels rubbish every time; it never gets easier," she said.

"It's just so upsetting, first of all that they think it's OK to do that, but also that I'm having to deal with it so frequently.

"I shouldn't have to argue or convince someone that I'm worth being treated the same as another customer just because I've got a guide dog."

The only exception to the law requiring drivers to take assistance dogs is if they have a council exemption certificate due to a medical condition.

Drivers found to have broken the law can face a fine or losing their taxi licence.

Buckinghamshire Council licensed the taxi in the online video.

Ms Burgess said she had not made a complaint to it but intended to.

Mark Winn, the authority's Conservative cabinet member for housing and regulatory services, said the council was "deeply concerned" to hear about any such incident and it took "such matters very seriously".

He said all drivers attended mandatory training about their legal obligations, which must be refreshed at least every three years.

He urged anyone experiencing any issues to report them to the council's taxi licensing service.

The charity Guide Dogs said a survey found 60% of owners had been refused a ride when trying to travel with their dog.

Clive Wood, its lead policy and campaigns manager, said a refusal could be "humiliating" and "really have an impact" on day-to-day life.

David Lawrie, director of the National Private Hire and Taxi Association, said the issue was "unfortunately common" and that "a lot of it is [drivers] just don't like dogs and that is not acceptable, it's illegal".

He called on the government and councils to do more to educate drivers on the rules.

A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: "Discrimination like this is completely unacceptable – councils should use their existing powers to ensure drivers and operators understand their legal duties."

A football stadium flood-light could be repurposed as a telecommunications tower after a provider submitted plans.

Hereford FC's Edgar Street ground, is switching to more sustainable LED flood-lights, for which smaller stands closer to the pitch will be erected after the football season ends in mid-May.

Three of the existing 27m-tall flood-lights, which are among the tallest structures in the mostly low-rise city, are due to be taken down.

The fourth, on the north-west corner of the ground, could now host mobile telecoms equipment.

Network operators EE and Hutchison 3G, which trades as Three, have applied for planning permission at the ground, which the football club leases from Herefordshire Council.

Mobile Broadband Network Limited (MBNL), jointly owned by operators EE and Three, has been given notice to stop using its current mobile equipment on two existing towers at the Blackfriars End, where a former stand has been demolished.

"This new equipment is urgently required to maintain coverage," said the applicants' agent, Guy de Rose, adding the existing equipment was dilapidated and no longer met "operational requirements".

Under the plans, antennae, dishes and "associated ancillary works" would be installed on a platform on the north-west tower.

Mr de Rose added the project had been designed to "minimize environmental and visual impact while delivering substantial public benefits".

Comments on the application are invited until 20 May.

Herefordshire Council has not said when it will take down the remaining towers.

Separately, the authority has confirmed its redevelopment of the Blackfriars End will not now include student accommodation, but has given no further indication of its plans for the site.

The UK's statutory parental leave system is "one of the worst in the developed world" and has "fundamental flaws", a group of cross-party MPs has said.

A report published today by the Women and Equalities Committee said paternity leave rules "entrench outdated gender stereotypes".

It added that "bold" action is needed, but warned any changes would require significant investment.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said the government is carrying out a review to see how it best can support working families.

Introduced in 2003, statutory paternity leave allows most new fathers and second parents in the UK to take up to two weeks off work.

It applies to all partners, regardless of gender, after the birth, surrogacy or adoption of a baby.

Those eligible receive £187.18 a week or 90% of their average earnings, whichever is lower.

This works out as less than 50% of the National Living Wage and fathers are ineligible for statutory paternity leave if they are self-employed or earn less than £123 a week.

Ipswich Town's Portman Road stadium is being transformed into a boxing arena ahead of a heavyweight fight.

The Suffolk ground is due to host about 20,000 spectators when hometown hero Fabio Wardley takes on undefeated Justis Huni on Saturday.

The British fighter is hoping for a better outcome on the pitch than his beloved Tractor Boys, who failed to register a Premier League home win in 2025.

Queensberry Promotions said the arena was "coming along nicely" as it shared some pictures ahead of the bout.

Wardley was originally supposed to be fighting Jarrell Miller, who pulled out after suffering an injury in May.

Pictures have shown the stadium's famous pitch covered in protective plastic boards, with tall metal structures in place where the boxing ring is taking shape.

Wardley, who is boxing for the WBA interim title, said it was a "dream come true" to battle at the ground, which holds up to 30,000 fans for football.

He has won 18 of his 19 professional fights, with Huni winning all 12 bouts he has fought.

Ring walks are expected to take place at 21:50 BST, with gates opening at 16:30.

It will be the first time since 1946 that Portman Road has hosted boxing, according to TWTD.

Olympic medallist Lewis Richardson, from Colchester, is on the 10-fight undercard, as is Ipswich boxer Jack Williams.

According to Ipswich Town FC's website, the first fight of the night was expected to start at 16:40 BST.

About 10 fights were set to take place at Portman Road on Saturday, with gates opening at 16:30.

Students at a Gloucestershire college have been litter picking to improve parks and protect hedgehogs.

The students from National Star College in Ullenwood – which provides further education for people with disabilities and acquired brain injuries – want other people to do the same in their local parks.

They have been working in Clyde Crescent Park, in Cheltenham, where they have recovered everything from gas cannisters to broken scooters.

Elaine Hodgin, sustainability Llead at National Star College, said: "We collected a staggering 12kg of litter in the first week alone."

At least 50 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes across the Gaza Strip on Thursday, health officials and first responders say.

Nine people died in the morning when a missile hit a police station in the market area of Jabalia town, in the north, a hospital said.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it struck a "command-and-control centre" for Hamas and its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Jabalia that was being used to plan attacks.

The Hamas-run Civil Defence agency said 23 more people were killed later when a family home in Jabalia's Ard Halawa area was bombed. The IDF said it struck "a key Hamas terrorist who posed a significant threat" to its troops, without identifying him.

It added that precise munitions were used and that steps had been taken to mitigate the risk to civilians, while also accusing Hamas of exploiting civilians as human shields.

The Civil Defence initially reported that 12 people were killed in the strike, but increased the death toll on Friday after its first responders recovered another 11 bodies overnight.

A much-loved crocodile is back on display at a town art gallery.

The stuffed gharial, a type of crocodile mainly found in India, returned to its display at Museum & Art Swindon after being absent for five years.

Fondly known as the Swindon Croc, the gharial has been in the council's possession since 1931 and has been displayed in a number of exhibitions throughout the years.

The gharial has had extensive restoration work done since it disappeared from view when the museum closed in 2020 and was welcomed back with an unveiling event earlier.

Gharials are one of the longest living members of the crocodile family but are now an endangered species. It is estimated there are fewer than 250 still alive.

The Swindon gharial was originally a hunting trophy and its first known owner was Maj Morton Hiles, who lived in India between 1916 and 1922.

He later lived in Warminster and gave the gharial to Warminster School before it was passed to the museum in 1931.

The new exhibition at Museum & Art Swindon explores the history of the gharial, the moral, ethical and legal considerations of protecting a critically-endangered species, where it can currently be found in the wild and what it means to the people of Swindon.

The new exhibition also highlights creatures in Wiltshire that are on the critical list such as the West European Hedgehog and the Lapwing bird.

The gharial was unveiled at the civic offices by Swindon Borough Council leader Jim Robbins, deputy mayor of Swindon Neil Hopkins and South Swindon MP Heidi Alexander.

Councillor Jim Robbins, said: "The gharial, or Swindon Croc as it's fondly known, is one of the most famous pieces in Swindon's collection and was the figurehead of the Save the Croc campaign when the Museum & Art Gallery closed at Apsley House in Old Town.

"The gharial is more than just a stuffed reptile in a museum and we want to make sure its long and complex history, which intertwines with Britain's past and the country's place in the world, is explored in the right way."

Barbecues and campfires have been banned in part of the Peak District in a bid to stop wildfires breaking out.

Fire crews in the High Peak, Derbyshire, have been called to a number of fires in the national park so far this year, including a major incident in Goyt Valley which shut roads and took days to bring under control.

High Peak Borough Council on Friday approved an order for public areas of the Peak District within its borders, giving powers to police and council officers "to reduce the risk of wildfires".

It has banned lighting fires, barbecues, fireworks and sky lanterns, and carrying items which officers think will be used to do so.

Anyone breaking the new order faces a fine of up to £100.

Councillor for community safety Godfrey Claff said "careless and thoughtless behaviour" in the Peak District carries a huge risk.

He added: "We're worried about the barbecues, we're worried about people who throw away a lighted cigarette or throw away a lighted match, anything which constitutes the danger of a wildfire occurring.

"We take it very seriously and this may sound overdramatic, but when you see what can happen from the examples in Australia, in Canada, in Los Angeles more recently, those fires occurred because of carelessness in the first instance.

"But once they get a hold, then they can cause death. They can cause extensive damage to property.

"And the climate is changing so radically that people believe that that sort of thing is not out of reach in this country."