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Plans for a new tram route through north-east London have stalled due to a lack of funding at the local town hall.

Havering Council had said it would investigate the possibility a north-south tram through the borough, as most of the area's Tube and rail connections only provide for east-west connections with central London or Essex.

In August 2023, the council's leader, Ray Morgon, said the Havering Residents Association-run authority would commission a new feasibility study to "scope out" whether a tram or other transport upgrade could become a reality.

Almost two years on, the authority said no further research into the concept was carried out "because we do not have the finances to do so".

'Not been idle'

A council spokeswoman said: "We have as yet not commissioned the further phases of the study, which would include an assessment of options and developing a strategic outline business case.

"However, we are expecting some positive developments in the borough which will enable us to fund further work on this through obtaining Section 106 monies and other funding."

The mention of "Section 106 monies" is a reference to funding secured by the council under so-called Section 106 agreements, where developers agree to provide a sum of cash to improve local services as a condition of being granted planning permission for a new housing or infrastructure scheme.

While a precise route for the tram has not been detailed, the council previously suggested it could run from Harold Wood through Romford and Upminster and on to the proposed railway station at Beam Park in Rainham – the location of a new housing development encompassing thousands of homes.

Havering's spokeswoman added: "We have not been idle around this and have been lobbying for greater investment in our infrastructure."

In February 2024, just months after Morgon had confirmed the council's plan to press ahead with exploring the concept, Havering was said to be on the brink of bankruptcy.

The authority was only able to sign off on its budget for the coming year thanks to a £54m government loan after agreeing to cost-cutting measures, including a review of bin collections, dimming streetlights and funding of Christmas decorations.

London's Euston station will be closed for three days over the Easter weekend for engineering works, Network Rail has said.

No trains will run between Euston Station and Milton Keynes Central on Saturday, Sunday and Monday due to upgrades on the West Coast Main Line.

Euston station will be closed on these days, and a reduced timetable will operate on Friday.

Amanda Webster-Uz, Network Rail's head of Euston station operations, said there was a "significant amount of work happening" at the station and urged passengers to check their journeys in advance.

While the railway to Euston is closed, Network Rail said it would make "essential improvements" to the toilet facilities and install updated signage in the station.

The station will shut again over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend from 4 to 5 May, with fewer services running on 3 May.

Train services in south London will also be disrupted over the Easter weekend due to a major programme of railway upgrades.

A railway junction at Battersea will be rebuilt, a new signalling system in Lewisham will be installed and new track will be laid on the Bromley North branch line.

Southeastern trains to and from London Victoria will be diverted to London Cannon Street, London Charing Cross or London Blackfriars from 18 to 21 April. Brixton station will also be closed.

Network Rail urged passengers to plan ahead, external for the Easter period, with Thameslink, Southern and Southeastern trains all due to be affected.

Gordon Driver was 12 when VE day was announced and remembers "a lot" of parties with neighbours gathering together and "long wooden tables full of goodies".

Former vicar Mr Driver lives in a care home in Chippenham in Wiltshire, but when war broke out was living near Danson Park in south east London.

"On VE Day there was a tremendous spirit and everybody joined in the celebrations. There were flags and trophies of victory, and the whole atmosphere was magnetic," he added.

Mr Driver, now 92, said the war had been "quite frightening" to endure as a child, but that he felt lucky to stay with his parents throughout the conflict.

Mr Driver's father was a plumber at Stone House Hospital in Kent, a mental illness treatment facility, so could not enlist in the military as he needed to be available in case it was bombed or hit by explosives.

"The work he was doing was essential for the operation of the hospital, and they had to deal with people who were very scared and could not understand what was happening," said Mr Driver.

With his father around, he said there was "a better sense of security at home because the family was not split up".

'You're staying at home'

The Drivers had planned for their son to be an evacuee, and Gordon remembers being taken to the registration centre "dressed up and labelled as an evacuee with my mask which made you look like a frogman".

He found the centre "quite frightening" because he was entering the unknown and there was a lot of noise and activity.

"All of a sudden mum tugged me and said 'you're not going. I've just decided I'm going to keep you here at home'."

Mr Driver has clear memories of gathering with the family's neighbours in an air raid shelter dug by the local men.

"They put an electric light inside and it was made homely, with carpets and cushions and all the things you needed, like food, bread, milk and things to drink", he said.

He said hearing German bombers overhead ould be "quite frightening" and people would try to pacify him with sweets, he said.

"The flak that they were receiving from the British guns were exploding in the air all around, and there was a certain degree of danger."

'High explosives'

He said if he saw the V1 flying bombs that became known as doodle bugs you knew to "either run for your life as far and fast as you could, or go down an air raid shelter".

"The V Rockets were a different element altogether as you didn't see them coming but when a rocket went off relatively near you, you knew all about it. And if they landed in a street they would demolish practically all the street."

Mr Driver said his mum would sometimes send him off on his bicycle to check on the damage and when he spotted shrapnel he would collect it in secret as they were not allowed to keep "trophies".

"I was very proud of my collection, because they were all shapes, sizes and I kept it in a fire grate at home.

"But then after the war my father said 'I don't want to disappoint you, but I'm going to take them all away because I don't want any memory of what we have been through', which really upset me," he added.

He said some of his strongest memories through the war were of the strength of community.

"The friendliness was so kind and considerate. Everybody helped everybody else and you would share what you had," he said.

"And everyone seemed somehow much happier, generally speaking, than they are today, even though everything had a cloak of fear around it.

"Through a child's eyes some things you didn't quite understand, but I remember that sense of community and kindness."

• SIMPLE GUIDE: VE Day moments so far – and what's still to come
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• 360 VIDEO: Experience the flypast from inside a Red Arrows cockpit
• EXPLORE: More on VE Day

A South African children's choir has been performing across the west of England as it takes part in a cultural exchange tour.

Made up of 20 school children from the Madadeni Township in South Africa, the choir is visiting the UK as part of Project Zulu, an initiative by the University of the West of England (UWE).

Raising funds for their schools back home, they have showcased their traditional Zulu song in a number of West Country locations, including a Bristol Bears game and in Bath and Bristol city centres.

Project leader, Ben Knight, said their final performance would take place at the Bristol Beacon on 5 June.

Project Zulu arranges for choirs from South African townships to tour the UK every two years.

Mr Knight said UWE students studying professions such as teaching, engineering and occupational therapy were sent out to the township in South Africa annually to "spend a few weeks making valuable contributions to the educational life of schools in the township".

Then every two years a choir, made up of children from two partnership schools, are brought over to Bristol to spend three weeks performing and sharing their talent and culture.

"They've been busking, they've put on concerts," he said.

Mr Knight explained the tour aimed to raise money for the two schools involved.

"They are over here sharing their extraordinary talents and culture but also earning money to develop their educational opportunities back home," he said.

He said this year, one school planned to use the money to develop solar energy and the other hoped to buy IT equipment.

"Every penny that is made goes directly back to their schools," he said.

"A little bit of your money goes a really long way in South Africa," he added.

Mr Knight said "right at the heart of the project" was a "desire to bring people who live a long way apart, and lead very different lives, together".

In the sunlit conservatory at the Garnetts' house, afternoon tea is in full flow.

The four residents are recounting the good times – a trip to London for ABBA Voyage, Sunday lunches at the rugby club, and mishaps while decorating the Christmas tree.

But this is not your standard family of four.

Over the last 27 years, Kym and Roger Garnett have welcomed 38 people into their quiet Banbury home under Oxfordshire County Council's Shared Lives scheme.

It sees paid carers supporting adults with additional needs, like autism or learning disabilities, and helping them to gain independence in the setting of a family home.

Those people include Sarah Hopwood – currently munching a bakewell tart – and Phil Law – cracking a somewhat cheesy joke.

The pair of them have been calling the Garnetts' house home for at least a couple of years, and the experience has changed their lives.

"I was put where the council put me. I never had a home of my own," Phil says of the time before he joined Shared Lives.

"Everywhere I went it was hard – ugly and not nice. Even with my parents, when they were alive, I was beaten up, smashed, destroyed.

"But now I live with Roger and Kym, they have turned my life around. And I am grateful for them."

Sarah struggled with using public transport before she came to the Garnetts two years ago, which meant she was isolated and dependent on getting lifts.

Now she is not only able to get around on the bus but she has even landed herself a job.

"I have come on leaps and bounds since I have been here," she says.

"I am more independent and more confident now.

"Kym and Roger have been really supportive."

That support ranges from help with finances and appointments to everyday tasks like setting the washing machine.

And though the Garnetts earn money through the Shared Lives scheme, they are not motivated by the wage.

"For us it is a way of life," says Kym.

"I personally like to see them grow and be able to blend in with society.

"We had one client who used to be so shy, and we supported him from hiding away being isolated in a big farmhouse, to be able to actually sit and chat with our friends and our family when they come round."

"You make friends with them as well," adds Roger, "one of the original ones still has contact with us."

And yet the couple know that for all the people they have helped, there are always more who would benefit from a home like theirs.

Sally Ellis from Oxfordshire County Council said: "We are always looking for more Shared Lives carers so if anyone is thinking 'I could possibly do this', we would love to hear from them."

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Amateur racers will compete in an annual high-speed soapbox race this weekend.

The Humber Bridge Soapbox Derby will take place at the Humber Bridge car park in Hessle, Hull, on Saturday from 10:00 until 15:00 BST.

Run by Hull 4 Heroes, the event will see teams race in homemade karts, known as "bogeys", in a bid to be crowned Hull's soapbox champion.

Poppy Claybourn, events and fundraising lead at the organisation, said: "It's a great day out for the family while supporting a local veteran charity."

The annual event was first held in 2012 and returned in 2023 after a hiatus during the Covid pandemic.

All funds raised from this event will go to Hull 4 Heroes – a charity that helps veterans of the British Armed Forces return to civilian life.

Organisers said they were expecting 18 teams to enter the competition this year.

"There are some people that have never done one before and it would be their first time entering and we've got some avid soapboxers who go across the country attending these races, so it's a nice variety," Ms Claybourn added.

There will be food stalls, live music and activities for all ages at the event, which is supported by Humber Bridge and Hessle Town Council.

Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Soundslatest episode of Look North here.

A court in Tunisia has sentenced former Prime Minister Ali Laarayedh to 34 years in prison on a raft of terrorism charges.

He is the latest high-profile critic of the president to be jailed as campaigners slam "sham trials" in the country.

The 69-year-old is a prominent opponent of President Kais Saied and leader of Ennadha, a moderate Islamist party that holds the largest number of seats in parliament.

Along with seven other people, Laarayedh was charged with setting up a terrorist cell and helping young Tunisians travel abroad to join Islamist fighters in Iraq and Syria.

"I am not a criminal… I am a victim in this case," he wrote in a letter to the court's prosecutor last month, according to the AFP news agency.

He was sentenced on Friday.

Laarayedh has consistently denied any wrongdoing and said the case was politically motivated.

In recent weeks, at least 40 critics of Tunisia's president have been sent to prison – including diplomats, lawyers and journalists.

Rights groups say these trials have highlighted Saied's authoritarian control over the judiciary, after dissolving parliament in 2021 and ruling by decree.

Since he was first elected six years ago, the former law professor has rewritten the constitution to enhance his powers.

Laarayedh was arrested three years ago and campaigners had called for his release – including Human Rights Watch, who said the affair seemed like "one more example of President Saied's authorities trying to silence leaders of the Ennahda party and other opponents by tarring them as terrorists".

Ennahdha governed the North African nation for a short while after a popular uprising dubbed the Arab Spring.

The protest movement originated in Tunisia – where a vegetable-seller called Mohamed Bouazizi set fire to himself in despair of government corruption – and mass demonstrations soon spread across the wider region in 2011.

However many Tunisians say the democratic gains made have since been lost, pointing to the current president's authoritarian grip on power.

Yet President Saied has rejected criticism from inside and outside the country, saying he is fighting "traitors" and suffering "blatant foreign interference".

More BBC stories about Tunisia:

• Tunisia's president – saviour or usurper of power?
• Pink flamingos 'seized from smugglers' in Tunisia
• 'My black skin says I don't belong in Tunisia'
• The fisherman who found a dead baby in his net

A South West charity is thinking of ways it can make surfing accessible to more disabled people – after being inspired by a Devon boy who was desperate to hit the surf.

The Wave Project's work was inspired by 10-year-old George Palmer, now 17, who wanted to join other youngsters he saw out surfing at Croyde, in north Devon.

Ian Bennett, the adaptive lead at the charity, said: "We just really want the sea to be accessible to anybody. And if we can make that happen, then that's brilliant."

Ideas from its team of volunteers include putting visual markers on boards to help surfers position themselves, and adding more handles to boards.

Mr Bennett said The Wave Project, which runs surf therapy sessions for children and young people in Devon and Cornwall, did not offer adaptive surfing before it was contacted by George's mum Nicki to ask if staff could help him achieve his dream.

"I told her, 'actually, we don't do that, we are a mental health charity but I'm happy to give it a go'," he said.

A couple of days before they were due to go out, Mr Bennett asked about George's disabilities and discovered he had quadriplegic cerebral palsy, developmental delay, and epilepsy.

"I probably didn't sleep for the next two nights," he said.

Mr Bennett asked Surfing England for advice when he realised there was no-one offering adaptive surfing.

The same year he took on another client, who had been a surfer before becoming disabled later in life. Since then he said demand has grown.

He added that now more than 150 adaptive surfers enjoy the waves at Croyde each year.

The wave project also now has an army of volunteers and an selection of boards for adaptive surfers.

Facilities at Croyde beach have also been developed to include a dedicated accessible changing place by the beach.

Among the surfers is George, who has become a regular at Croyde beach, surfing at least once a month even in winter.

Mr Bennett was the 2024 winner of the BBC South West Unsung Hero award for his work to develop adaptive surfing.

The people behind a new music project say they hope it will help keep memories of loved ones alive after they have died.

Music to Die For was founded by Hazel Harrison and Phillipa Anders and aims to explore music's connection to memories and emotions.

They are asking people to share a piece of music that connects them with "someone you've lost and the story behind it".

Ms Anders said: "Just over four years ago I lost my husband very suddenly, and this project and meeting Hazel has created this incredible way of being able to use music in an incredibly powerful way."

Music to Die For is described as a space for people who have been bereaved "to honour their memory, keep their story alive and explore the role music plays in your connection to them".

There is a guide to help people submit their stories with four parts:

• About the music
• Making connections
• Finding meaning
• Moving forward

These are then shared on the website and via social media.

The project is being supported by a Creative Health Residency by Britten Pears Arts in Suffolk.

Dr Harrison said: "As a clinical psychologist I'm really interested in emotion and how we understand and explore our experiences and improve our wellbeing, and music for me is a really key ingredient for that.

"Music allows us to sit in a particular emotion that we're feeling.

"We feel this whole messy array of emotions, as humans, and sometimes we just need a piece of music to hold us in that space.

"That can be a joyful piece of music, sometimes that can be a deeply emotive or sad piece of music that enables us to connect with that loss and that sad feeling.

"Also it can help us map our journey – we know grief isn't a linear process, we will move through a range of different experiences that link to yearning and loss.

"But also to the bittersweet nature of remembering the joyful parts."

Ms Anders said: "I've always had a life and career in music, so every single minute of my day was filled with music in some way.

"After my husband Rob died, for a good number of months I just couldn't listen to music at all.

"I couldn't see it live, I couldn't listen to it at home, I just didn't want music.

"Then very gradually I started to reintroduce it.

"But what has happened now is the music I listen to is almost completely separate from what I was listening to before.

"My tastes have really developed and grown, I'm listening to stuff now I wouldn't have listened to before.

"I'm going to gigs that I wouldn't have gone to you before, it's opened up a new relationship with music that feels healthy.

"There is a saying 'grieve fully and live fully'.

"It's allowing me to stay connected to Rob, but at the same time It's about the forward path while still connecting to what I had."

The owner of a shire horse has thanked firefighters and others who helped save her beloved animal from a ditch.

Bilbo, 14, was spooked during a ride in Southery, west Norfolk, and unseated his owner Caryn Wilkinson.

After running across a field, he was found almost upside down at the bottom of a bank. Local fire crews eventually managed to drag him out with the help of farm machinery.

Ms Wilkinson said Bilbo had since made a full recovery and she intended to hop back on the saddle soon. She said she had "just the most heartfelt gratitude" for those who helped.

Bilbo, also known as Bill, weighs about 900kg (142 stones) and stands 1.86m (6.1ft) tall.

In the five years that owner Ms Wilkinson has owned him, it was the first time she had fallen off.

"He dumped me in the field and I thought he was running for home," she said.

After a search, some flattened reeds showed Bilbo had ended up in a nearby ditch.

"We followed the drain along and there he was – sort of half upside down and half on his side, about five-feet down in the water of the ditch."

The fire service, a vet and a neighbouring farmer were called to help.

Ms Wilkinson said: "The first fire tender got to us within 15 minutes.

"They were so calm, so professional. It helped keep me calm, which in turn helped Bilbo."

The horse was sedated, then straps were attached to his saddle.

Finally a teleporter – a small piece of farm machinery – was used to gently drag him out.

The vet then reversed the sedation – and within 20 minutes Bilbo was on his feet and ready to walk home.

Ms Wilkinson said she was unhurt following the incident on 1 June thanks to her riding hat and body protector.

She said she intended to ride Bilbo again soon and was planning a quiet session in her school before getting back out on the road.

Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service posted on social media about the challenge crews faced.

It said: "We love a happy ending! Crews from King's Lynn and Downham Market were called to help a large horse that had got stuck in a ditch in Southery.

"When they were called it had already been stuck for two hours and was distressed.

"The horse took some lifting but we were pleased to get it back on its feet and to hear that it has since made a full recovery."