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"I understand there is an element of risk in hockey, but surely a brain injury must trigger some help?"

Claerwen Render, 42, loved sports but her life changed when she was hit on the forehead by a hockey ball five years ago.

The mother-of-three has suffered daily migraines and fatigue since and has seen her income halve after giving up her role as a member of a secondary school's senior leadership team.

But after being refused an insurance payout through her sport's governing body, she has been left questioning if affiliation payments are worth it.

Hoci Cymru said it had developed their approach to head injuries but that more needed to happen to explain the limitations of insurance cover.

A former chalk pit depot in Surrey has been sold off and could become a housing development.

Seven homes could be built on the site in Chalk Pit Lane, in Great Bookham, after it was sold by Surrey County Council on Tuesday.

The site has long been vacant but was most recently used in autumn 2024 as a temporary store for the council's highway winter fleet vehicles.

No planning applications have yet been submitted and any development would first require planning permission, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Councillor Clare Curran said she thought people would support the site being released for redevelopment.

"It will be good to see it come to positive use," she added.

Funds from selling the 0.82 acre site will be put back into the council's pot to support its programme for building and infrastructure.

It also means the council no longer needs to spend money on maintaining the site.

Seven specially-adapted minibuses used by people with disabilities and schoolchildren have been destroyed in a fire.

Police and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service crews were called to Silk Mills Park and Ride in Taunton just after 19:50 BST on Saturday.

Nobody was hurt in the incident but the minibuses, which belong to Somerset Council, were destroyed at the compound in Bishops Hull.

Avon and Somerset Police said it is investigating the incident, which it said will have a "significant impact" on vulnerable members of the community.

The first game in this year's traditional no-rules mass football series has taken place in Cumbria.

The 2025 Uppies and Downies series started on Good Friday in Workington, with players from the upper part of the town competing with rivals from the lower end for local pride and to win a specially made ball.

Match ball sponsor Billie Saffill's seven-year-old son Brodhie "threw off" the ball to mark the start of the three-match series.

Friday's opener was won by the Uppies. The remaining clashes will take place on Tuesday and on 26 April.

Ms Saffill said this year's ball was dedicated to Graeme Dixon, known as Willox, who died following a cardiac arrest during last year's series.

Uppie Richard Hodgson said he remembered Mr Dixon for always being in the scrum.

Patrick Carr, a Downie, added: "He was an absolute diamond of a person."

Friday's game saw the Uppies clinch victory, with Shane Roe managing to get the ball after the scrum stalled at the cricket club.

The Uppies won last year's series 2-1.

Records of the game go as far back as the mid-1600s.

Originally it was a challenge between the dockers, now the Downies, and the miners, now the Uppies.

To win, the Uppies have to try to get the ball to Workington Hall, while the Downies need to take it to a ship's capstan at Workington harbour.

Uppies and Downies is one of a few surviving mass football games still played in the UK.

Others include the Shrovetide Football game in Ashborne, Derbyshire, and the Ba' Game played in Kirkwall, Orkney.

Uppies and Downies in Workington remains the only medieval football game to neither have official organisers nor rules.

Participants turn up for each match at 18:30 at The Cloffocks.

Players do not wear uniforms or identifying colours, making it difficult to know which team they belong to.

There is a gentleman's agreement that cars must not be used to take the ball away from the scrum.

The game is played all across town and the game only ends when the ball is hailed – thrown into the air three times – by the winner.

A ball is made especially for each game, with an inscription of the date and the name of the ball maker.

For more than 40 years, it has been made by Mark Rawlinson.

Three families sponsor each of the three balls in the series.

As a thank you, they choose who throws off the ball from the little bridge between the Black Path and Allerdale House, where the game traditionally begins.

The winner keeps the ball as a trophy and becomes a town hero for the night.

A sloth has had pioneering dental surgery to cure toothache.

Rico is believed to be the first sloth to undergo such an operation, which was carried out by a team at Chester Zoo working alongside dental experts from Newcastle University.

The two-toed sloth went under the knife after keepers noticed swellings on the sides of its face, with investigations showing two root abscesses.

Dentist Fiona Beddis said the university's team had never carried out the procedure on a sloth so it "really was a step into the unknown, so we are all delighted with the successful outcome".

Ms Beddis said treating Rico had been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it was "a great privilege to treat such a rare and beautiful animal".

Rico, who is 25 years old, had a three-hour operation at Chester Zoo's animal care centre, with the infected tissue surrounding two of the sloth's teeth removed.

Unlike a typical root canal, the dental experts went in through the bottom of Rico's tooth.

A good news initiative set up in memory of murdered TV journalist Jill Dando is aiming to "go global".

Journalist, presenter and newsreader Jill Dando was murdered outside her London home 26 years ago, but her legacy continues to live on among younger generations of budding journalists.

Jill Dando News is a positive news stories platform, founded in Jill's home town of Weston-super-Mare, that now wants to have a global presence after spreading to Malawi.

Shane Dean, 52, founder of Jill Dando News said: "Everybody's got a huge determination to take this global."

• Timeline of Jill Dando's murder
• Jill Dando: The golden girl of TV

Jill Dando was one of the highest profile members of on-screen BBC staff and was named the corporation's Personality of the Year in 1997.

Her murder remains one of the country's most high-profile unsolved murder cases, with more than 2,000 people having been named as potential suspects.

She is remembered for being the "nations sweetheart" by many.

In 2017 two student journalists and Mr Dean, a former journalist, came up with the idea to start Jill Dando News to honour her memory.

It grew from a good news initiatives at Priory Community School in Weston-super-Mare and Worle Community School – where Jill had been a pupil.

Jill Dando News Centres are now in place across 11 schools in Somerset but have now also expanded to include a school in Malawi.

Mr Dean, 52, from Weston-super-Mare said: "Everybody's got a huge determination to take this global.

"The children want to take this global. We're in Malawi now and I've been talking to schools in America.

"It is a watch-this-space situation."

Mr Dean added that Jill's love of positive stories is inspiring the students, improving their self-confidence as well as working to tackle the "epidemic" of poor mental health among young people.

"Instead of young people sat doom scrolling all day long, if we get the help of the government and business leaders I think we could have a day in a few years where the children are sat there scrolling good news stories, or even better, that they're writing them.

"Jill's legacy has been one of positive journalism," he said.

He added that her "courage and determination" to reach the heights of journalism gives hope to all students that they can achieve anything.

"She has inspired students with her unbelievable story while at the same time remaining humble.

"She never changed from being Jill."

A 30-year-old man from Exeter accused of sending malicious communications to local schools has been transferred to a secure hospital from a jail, where he was being held on remand during legal proceedings.

Alfie Pilkington, of Redlands Close, Exeter, had been remanded into custody after being charged with two counts of sending malicious communications on social media on two days in April.

Exeter Crown Court heard the allegations concerned threats to go to a local nursery and other educational establishments near his home to kill children.

A judge has ordered a mental health assessment of the defendant, who did not appear before the court. The case has been adjourned until July.

Pilkington has been transferred from HMP Bristol to the Langdon secure hospital in Dawlish.

More than 780 full time positions at an NHS trust are set to be axed as part of cost-saving measures.

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust said it would have to reduce its workforce in mostly non-clinical roles to "protect frontline services".

The trust's CEO David French said the decision to close positions had been made as the organisation tries to "live within our financial means".

The shake-up has been driven by the government, which has called on the NHS to reduce waiting lists, improve care and operate in a more financially viable way.

Mr French said: "Our core purpose is to provide outstanding care for our patients, and that, along with supporting our staff, is guiding every decision that we're making."

He said the trust had received a financial settlement with the government that was "lower than we'd hoped for and anticipated", and had to save £110m as a result.

"As a publicly funded organization with a responsibility to the taxpayer, it is our job to do the best we can within that money," he said.

A lack of financial reserves, along with a financial settlement that was less than the trust currently spends, had caused "action of this scale", Mr French said.

In total, 620 permanent staff members and 165 temporary employees will see their positions close under the plans.

University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust currently employs about 13,000 people – with many based at its flagship hospital, Southampton General.

Mr French told the BBC the trust had to "do everything we can to protect frontline services and use all of the assets that we've got as productively and as efficiently as possible".

He said the "majority" of roles closing would be "non-patient facing" positions, adding that the trust had looked "particularly hard" for any possible savings.

Positions being lost are thought to be within HR, finance and communications.

The trust was "working hard to minimise the impact" of the job cuts for "staff and patients", Mr French said.

"Our expectation and the government's expectation is that the waiting list will continue to reduce," he added.

The announcement follows the news last month that neighbouring NHS trusts in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight had earmarked up to 800 jobs to be cut as part of cost-saving measures.

"This isn't just Southampton, many trusts across the country and are in exactly the same situation," Mr French said.

Further losses of up to 50% are also expected at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board (ICB) and other ICBs in the region.

In March, the government announced plans to abolish NHS England, the body responsible for commissioning and improving health services across the UK.

The shake-up is driven by the Department of Health and Social Care, which has said it is part of a wider plan to protect frontline services and help improve patient care.

A spokesperson for the government department previously said: "We are reforming the NHS to cut bureaucracy and make savings so we can focus on empowering frontline staff to deliver better care for patients, while getting value for taxpayers' money.

"We are investing an extra £26bn in health and care, and have already made progress on our mission to cut waiting lists – delivering an extra three million appointments in six months and cutting the waiting list by 219,000 since July."

A new scholarship aimed at developing the next generation of artificial intelligence "pioneers" will open to applicants in spring 2026.

The Sparck AI scholarships, named after pioneering British computer scientist Karen Sparck Jones, will give master's degree university students access to industry-leading firms as the Government looks to boost the UK's AI credentials.

The University of Bristol will be one of nine universities to offer the fully-funded Government scholarship, alongside faculties in Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh.

The university said they "relish the opportunity," with the grant covering both students tuition and living costs.

Building work has started on a new Lidl store in Brough which is due to open next year.

The new supermarket on Welton Road could create about 40 jobs, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

It will have a different appearance to most Lidl stores across the country, with red brickwork, in order for the building to better align with the aesthetic of its surroundings.

East Riding of Yorkshire Council received more than 140 objections about traffic concerns after the plans were initially approved in 2022. They were later amended.

Councillors Richard Meredith, Terry Gill and Pat Smith had called for the original application to be refused due to fears it would be too close to homes and create additional traffic.

According to LDRS, during a planning meeting in 2022, Gill said: "When I've asked people about this they say they'd love a Lidl because it would bring a bit more competition, but when I tell them where it will be they ask if I'm joking."

A further planning application was submitted to the council in 2024 proposing a number of changes including building the store slightly further south, on the same site, to create more space between the store and the properties to the north.

Liam Schofield, regional head of property at Lidl GB, said: "This state-of-the-art store will mean local shoppers no longer have to travel to Hull."

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