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A prolific shoplifter who was subject to North Yorkshire's first criminal behaviour order for retail theft has been jailed after being caught stealing again.

Christopher Bullivant, 41, was sentenced to eight months in prison for breaching the order by entering convenience stores in York earlier this month and taking items.

He has a string of previous offences for shoplifting, which led to North Yorkshire Police applying for the order.

Shoplifting offences reported by police in England and Wales rose by 23% to more than 492,000 in the year to September 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This is the highest figure since current recording practices began in 2003.

Bullivant, of no fixed address, admitted breaching a criminal behaviour order at York Magistrates' Court.

'Highly prolific shoplifter'

PC Jonathan Lewis of North Yorkshire Police said: "Bullivant is a highly prolific shoplifter.

"The fact he was the first in North Yorkshire to receive a criminal behaviour order for retail theft speaks volumes about how persistent his offending has been.

"A large part of our work around retail crime is about protecting retail staff and shoppers from the verbal and physical abuse which often accompanies theft.

"Criminal behaviour orders are helping us do that by ensuring offenders are dealt with decisively and we can prevent situations that put shop staff and the public at risk.

"We plan to use more of them as part of our ongoing strategy to tackle retail crime.

"As this result shows, the police and the courts do not tolerate orders being breached and they give us a quick and decisive way to deal with any criminals who don't follow them."

People in Hull are being asked to record wild animals, plants, birds, insects and fungi.

The City Nature Challenge (CNC) runs from Saturday until Monday, with people asked to share their observations using the iNaturalist mobile app.

Bug hunts will be held on Saturday between 11:00 and 15:00 BST at the Alderman Kneeshaw Park and on Friday and Monday from 13:00 at the East Park Animal Education Centre.

A spokesperson for The Deep, which is backing the challenge, said: "Any observations made will support local conservation efforts to look after, and connect with, native wildlife in green spaces, back gardens, nature reserves, parks and more."

CNC is a worldwide nature challenge to record urban wildlife.

Locally, the challenge is being run by the North and East Yorkshire Ecological Data Centre, with support from a number of organisations and volunteers.

The spokesperson added: "The challenge encourages people to discover the biodiversity on their doorstep, make useful biological records, and engage in friendly competition with cities around the world.

"Don't worry, you don't need to be an expert to get involved. Anyone can take part."

In 2023, 7,047 observations were made across Hull, putting it in seventh place on the UK leader board.

Further information about the challenge can be found here.

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

Only those of a certain vintage can remember travelling between Stranraer and Dumfries by train.

The 73-mile (120km) line shut on 14 June 1965 – one of numerous victims of Beeching cuts to routes deemed no longer economically viable.

Despite the passage of time, there are still sporadic calls to consider reopening it as part of efforts to improve connectivity in south west Scotland.

Its story is being celebrated with a talk in Dumfries on Saturday to mark six decades since the last passengers used the line, which was also called the Port Road.

The reopening of the Borders Railway between Tweedbank and Edinburgh has fuelled a lot of hopes of similar projects in other parts of the country.

Constant calls for improvement to road links between Dumfries and Stranraer have also added to nostalgia for train journeys between the towns.

Rail enthusiast Alan McLellan, from Dalbeattie, who is giving the talk on its story, said it was a shame the line had been shut.

"It's sad because looking at it now, you've got the heavy traffic on the A75, and there's nothing going east to west," he said.

Mr McLellan said the line had, at least initially, been a success after it opened in the 1860s.

"I understand at the time it was profitable – it started in Dumfries and there were about 26 stations, and it went all the way to Stranraer," he added.

"Stranraer at the time was a port and there must have been around 10 trips per day.

"It was used heavily during the war because you had the big munitions factory in Dalbeattie, so you had two stops there."

However, usage dwindled down the years and it was targeted by Dr Richard Beeching in a review of the rail network.

That ultimately led to hundreds of stations and 650 miles of railway line being closed in Scotland.

Many years later, Mr McLellan believes there is the potential to open up some stretches as walking or cycling routes.

"In a place like Newton Stewart, you can see where people have started clearing it and making a track so it can be done," he said.

"It could be a nice walk, if you had enough volunteers you could open the majority of it up for walking."

He said reinstating the railway would be a harder job because many stretches had "completely gone" and there was no chance of building.

However, he said walking and cycling would be an option – including from New Galloway across to Gatehouse of Fleet.

Now he is holding a talk at the River of Life Centre, near Dumfries station, to highlight the route's history and potential.

"I walked the line to raise money for Prostate Scotland and I filmed as I went," he said.

"I've got the original footage of the last train going from Dumfries to Stranraer, so people can see the train going, then me walking."

He will also dress as a station guard to welcome people.

Perhaps, in the process, he will turn the clock back more than half a century to when people could catch a train right across Dumfries and Galloway.

A map highlighting Surrey backdrops to popular films and TV programmes has been updated to include recently released blockbusters.

The map, produced by Waverley Borough Council, highlights locations including Bourne Wood, Hankley Common, and Dunsfold Aerodrome that have welcomed stars and production crews.

Recent releases such as 2025 Netflix film Back in Action, which stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, and 2023 Ridley Scott historical epic Napoleon feature on the updated leaflet.

It is already online and will soon be available from Guildford Tourist Information Centre and Waverley libraries.

Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon, filmed at Bourne Wood, as well as Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield's romantic drama We Live in Time, filmed in and around Godalming, are also newly added to the map.

They join Bond films Casino Royale and Skyfall, superhero epics including Avengers: Age of Ultron and Wonder Woman, and series five of The Crown on the map.

Gladiator and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince are also included.

The Farnham campus of the University for the Creative Arts features on the map as it was used as a backdrop to scenes in Netflix series Heartstopper.

Waverley Abbey, Frensham Ponds, and Winterfold Forest also feature.

Borough councillor Steve Williams said: "I hope residents and visitors alike will enjoy exploring these locations and make the most of getting out in our wonderful green spaces, which have so much to offer aside from being great film sets."

A family has been left homeless after a fire started by a candle in a bedroom.

The blaze took hold of the terraced house in Longmead Avenue in Great Baddow, Chelmsford, at about 13:20 BST on Saturday.

Firefighters said the candle was unattended and set fire to material surrounding it.

An Essex fire service spokesperson said the family was alerted by a smoke alarm and escaped unharmed.

Station manager Scott Fretton said crews worked quickly to stop the fire spreading next door.

"This incident highlights the dangers of leaving candles unattended; it only takes a moment for a naked flame to start a fire that can spread very quickly."

A popular sculpture of a dog has been removed for repairs, to allow a replica to be cast.

Stalking Dog, by Greta Berlin, was installed outside Palmers Brewery as part of Bridport's sculpture trail but corrosion has made it unsafe.

Campaigners successfully raised more than £6,000 to get it recast in resin so it can remain in the Dorset town.

Bridport Town Council said the artwork was removed on Thursday morning and was being returned to the artist for "recuperation".

The dog was based on Greta Berlin's family pet, Queenie, and is one of several of her works displayed in Bridport.

Cleo Evans – curator of the art trail – and author Ros Huxley set up the crowdfunder, with the support of the sculptor and local businesses.

Town clerk Will Austin said: "Having established herself as one of the most loved sights in Bridport, Queenie's materials have aged to a point where she is no longer able to be displayed in a public outdoor location.

"We have agreed with the artist, Greta Berlin, that she should be returned to her for her future care and recuperation.

"In return Greta has kindly agreed that a resin-cast replica can be made and displayed so that Queenie isn't lost to the community."

Once the artist's repairs are complete, a specialist mould maker will cast a fresh version of the artwork, with the process expected to take several months.

Mr Austin said: "We are grateful to Cleo and Ros for their work in raising the funds to take this forward, and delighted at the community support shown in reaching the funding target."

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Fish similar to those made famous by the movie Finding Nemo are shrinking to cope with marine heatwaves, a study has found.

The research recorded clownfish living on coral reefs slimmed down drastically when ocean temperatures rocketed in 2023.

Scientists say the discovery was a big surprise and could help explain the rapidly declining size of other fish in the world's oceans.

A growing body of evidence suggests animals are shape shifting to cope with climate change, including birds, lizards and insects.

"Nemos can shrink, and they do it to survive these heat stress events," said Dr Theresa Rueger, senior lecturer in Tropical Marine Sciences at Newcastle University.

The researchers studied pairs of clownfish living in reefs off Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea, a hot spot of marine biodiversity

The wild clownfish are almost identical to the ones depicted in the movie Finding Nemo, in which a timid clownfish living off the Great Barrier Reef goes in search of his son.

The scientific study took place in the summer of 2023, when temperatures shot up in the oceans, leading to large swathes of coral turning white.

The scientists took multiple measurements of individual clownfish coping with the heat.

They found the tiny fish didn't just lose weight but got shorter by several millimetres. And it wasn't a one-off – 75% of fish shrunk at least once during the heatwave.

Dr Rueger explained: "It's not just them going on a diet and losing lots of weight, but they're actively changing their size and making themselves into a smaller individual that needs less food and is more efficient with oxygen."

The fish may be absorbing fat and bone, as has been seen in other animals, such as marine iguanas, although this needs to be confirmed through laboratory studies.

Dr Rueger joked that a little bit of movie rewriting might be necessary, with a new chapter ahead for Nemo.

"The movie told a really good story, but the next chapter of the story surely is, how does Nemo deal with ongoing environmental change?" she told BBC News.

The Red Arrows are set to carry out a flypast as part of a special event to mark the diamond anniversary of East Midlands Airport.

The world famous aerobatic team will be visible above the East Midlands Aeropark on the afternoon of Sunday 20 July.

A Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will also fly over the site on the same day, while a Dakota aircraft will conduct a flypast on Monday 21 July.

The flypasts are part of a three-day event from 19 to 21 July to mark the 60th anniversary of the airport being opened by Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh on 21 July 1965.

Visitors will also have the chance to see aircraft landing, taxiing and taking off from East Midlands Airport's runway.

The event will include games, food stalls, community stalls, a bouncy castle and children's entertainment, which will run from 10:00 to 18:00 BST each day.

East Midlands Airport's Managing Director Steve Griffiths said: "We're really grateful to the RAF for agreeing to treat the crowds to flypasts of some heritage aircraft, perhaps particularly poignant as we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War this year, as well as the ever-popular Red Arrows."

Train passengers were left "distressed" and "confused" when the driver of a packed train encouraged them to get off at a station for some fresh air – only to leave without them.

Trevor Greenfield, 74, and his wife, Eileen, 68, were among the group of eight passengers stranded at Swindon, having boarded the train from London Paddington to Carmarthen.

"People were distressed, confused and flabbergasted," said Mr Greenfield, from Barry in Vale of Glamorgan. "It's worrying and disappointing that the driver made no announcement that the train was leaving."

Great Western Railways apologised for the inconvenience caused.