Environment

  An extremely rare breed of seahorse has been found in British waters. The Short Snouted Seahorse - scientific name Hippocampus Hippocampus - was found by experts off the coast of Devon. Its native habitat is the south west waters but there has been a sharp decline in sightings and it is currently endangered. It is now normally found in the Mediterranean and grows to between 7cm and 13cm long. Mark Parry, community Seagrass initiative project manager at the National...

GMB members are angry enough to have given a mandate for the earliest possible strike date The first ever Sellafield Firefighters’ strike will go ahead this month after talks between GMB, the union for nuclear workers, and Sellafield Ltd broke down. Discussions lasted just 30 minutes – including two adjournments. GMB members are so angry they have given a mandate for the earliest possible strike date later this month. The Sellafield Strike Committee will decide tomorrow the date for the...

  A new colony of Asian Hornets has been found in the Channel Islands - fuelling fears for the UK's native bee population. The invasive insect has reappeared on Jersey less than a year after they were first spotted on nearby Alderney. A colony - believed to have contained 6,000 insects - was discovered last week in a shed in Fliquet on Jersey and quickly exterminated by beekeepers. But experts now face a race against time to control the spreading...

  Campaigners protesting against a planned incinerator have staged a rally at council offices - NAKED. Residents staged a nude protest outside Shire Hall in Gloucester in an attempt to reverse a decision on the controversial plan. The small group brandished placards outside the building on Tues in the latest episode in the long-running battle with the county council over the construction. As well as putting post it notes on the windows of the building, two protesters bared all for...

Wildlife campaigners fear that more dolphins will be found washed up dead on British beaches - because of BREXIT. Almost 200 dolphins and porpoises have been found dead on Cornish beaches already this year with the sharpest-ever rise recorded between January and April. Most of the protection for the mammals comes from the EU but once we leave campaigners say even more will die with no replacement legislation currently proposed. A petition urging Fisheries Minister George Eustice to put laws...

Ancient Roman buildings have survived thousands of years relatively intact because they made concrete from seawater, according to new research. And the study suggests the ancient recipe could help modern builders create structures to stand the test of time - while reducing global warming. The research shows that the iconic Colosseum, the Pantheon and Trajan's Markets survive today because ancient Romans made concrete out of seawater. An analysis of 2,000 year old cement made from volcanic ash and limestone suggests...

Under the Conservative led coalition the number of British people who fell into the poverty trap grew by almost three quarters of a million, according to figures from the ONS (Office for National Statistics) . In 2014 there were 3.9 million people who struggled to survive in the UK but it was 4.6 million a year later, a very worrying rise in such a short space of time. The citizens were caught the cycle of “persistent” poverty. Alongside these worrying...

A rare flower that stinks of ROTTING FLESH has bloomed at a prestigious university garden. The Titan Arum - also known as the corpse flower - at Cambridge University's Botanic Garden burst into life on Monday night. Hundreds of people gathered for the occurrence which was happening for the first time in 13 years. The flower emits a rancid stench to attract pollinators and is more pungent at night when it heats up to about 40C. Prof Beverley Glover, director...

A major incident was declared after a huge inferno erupted at an oil and gas factory, sending flames more than 100ft into the air. Around 60 firefighters and 12 engines were called to the blaze, which ignited eight tanks of red diesel and oil and sent massive plumes of smoke into the air just six miles from Gatwick Airport. The massive fire broke out just after 1:15am on Monday morning at the Rowfant Business Park in Crawley Downs, West Sussex....