Must Reads

A traditional ballroom and music hall with an 80-year history fears it will have to close its doors - after the world famous The Ritz Hotel has demanded it changes its name. The Ritz in the unassuming town in Brighouse, near Halifax, West Yorks., is a far cry from the refined elegance of its five-star namesake in London. While the London venue attracts wealthy aristocrats, the Brighouse version is a hub for Northern Soul and rock and roll fans as...

A farmer has been offered £2,400 for his cow by a cult after it was born with five legs and seven feet. Abhinav Abrol, 24, has been inundated with visitors hoping to see the two-day-old calf which is apparently fit and healthy - despite the extra limb. Worshipers think the cow - a sacred animal in the Hindu religion - is a "lucky charm" and one "cult" has offered him 200,000 rupees for the animal, local sources said. But Mr...

By Nigel Watson An essay by Sir Winston Churchill considering the possibility of life elsewhere in the Universe has recently been rediscovered at the Churchill Museum in Fulton, Missouri. In the 11-page essay titled ‘Are We Alone in the Universe?’, written in 1939, he muses: ‘I, for one, am not so immensely impressed by the success we are making of our civilisation here that I am prepared to think we are the only spot in this immense universe which contains...

This is the moment a screwdriver-wielding thug tried to rob a newsagents, but was thwarted by its elderly owners. The CCTV footage shows the man bursting into Pitville Convenience Store in Cheltenham, Glos, and demanding that shop owner Dolly Karim, 75, hand over the till. Incredibly, the brave gran-of-eight refuses, instead picking up a wooden stick stashed behind the counter and whacking him with it. The yob, in his 30s, makes a dash for the with the till in his...

This totally mesmerising footage shows the moment more than 10,000 starlings filled the sky in front of a handful of stunned onlookers. The huge flock of birds - known as a murmuration - were captured on film by photographer Neil Pledger at dusk last Saturday (18/2). The 48-year-old, who lives in Mansfield, Notts., witnessed the spectacular acrobatic display in Staveley, Derbys. The two minute clip shows the birds making a range of mesmerising shapes on the grey sky. Experts remain...

This is the moment one of Britain's leading horse trainers took her ponies to meet their relatives on the Shetland Islands - on a tiny boat. Emma Massingale, 34, accompanied Albert and Ernie back to their native roots as part of her latest equestrian challenge. During the month-long adventure the ponies travelled around the rugged islands with Emma, running free with local herds. And they also took a trip out on the water to mirror the historic way Shetlands were...

In a year when strikes look likely to become increasingly prominent, here's one that would near cripple the economy. If all migrant workers downed tools for a day Britain's economy would take a £328 million hit, the nation's GDP would fall four per cent and institutions such as the NHS "would be unable to function", according to a report by the New Economics Foundation. The report has been published to coincide with the "1 Day Without Us" campaign which has...

A man who was left in A&E with a perforated bowel says he could have died after being forced to wait for more than 14 hours. Eddie Thomas, 50, was in desperate need of urgent surgery when he first arrived at hospital after suffering from intense pain in his stomach and vomiting. He arrived at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital at 10.40pm, but was made to wait 14 hours, visiting two different hospitals, before he finally went under the knife...

Dogs Trust Harefield is appealing for a home for a dog that resembles the famous cartoon character, Goofy. Staff at the rehoming centre are concerned that Beaky has been overlooked due to his unusual appearance and goofy smile. Handed over to Dogs Trust over 500 days ago, the ex-racing Greyhound is eagerly on the marks and set to sprint off to a new home. Although his canine carers at the charity were instantly won over by his striking and quirky...