Environment

Costa Coffee has been lambasted for strangling independent chains after it opened its eleventh branch in Cheltenham despite 70 per cent of residents saying they don't want it. The High Street giant is about to open a new outlet immediately next door to rivals SOHO Coffee Co at a prime site in the so-called "coffee capital". It will mean a total of 19 big-name coffee shops in the centre of the spa town - in addition to a wide range of independent...

Figures released today by the mental health charity Mind show that one in ten people discharged from mental health hospital after being admitted in crisis are not getting follow-up within a week of leaving – which is at least 11,000 people every year. Mind sent Freedom of Information (FoI) requests to all 56 mental health trusts in England (54 trusts responded) asking for information about how quickly people are followed up after being discharged from hospital. Follow up – usually...

This shocking photo shows the devastation caused by rubbish thrown in the sea - a dead dolphin washed up in Britain surrounded by the waste which may have killed it, The sad picture shows a dead bottlenose dolphin next to a pile of plastics, rope, bottles, flower pots, deodorant cans and wiring. Local man Rob Stevenson and children, Emily, 19, and Alex, 20, found the dolphin along side the rubbish in Trevone Bay in Cornwall. It is estimated there are...

Coffee lovers could be left tired and grumpy as heatwaves caused by global warming threaten to decimate coffee crops. Even the predicted short bursts of hot temperatures expected this century could lead to heat stress wilting the plants and stopping them producing flowers and fruit. That means there will be no beans and no daily grind, Oregon State University researchers warned. Their study looked at the impact of global warming on Coffea arabica plants which accounts for around two thirds...

The UK has left the EU and is also leaving it’s poorest families starving. Theresa May has promised that Britain will flourish in this brave new world, but before that happens (which many feel is unlikely) she needs to ensure the population can eat three meals a day. A new survey by the FSA (Food Standards Agency) found that eight per cent of those questioned are facing low food security, so around four million adults in Britain are not able...

Given that up to 60 per cent of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled, it is concerning to find that millions of Brits admit they never recycle the most basic of waste materials - the plastic bottle. According to new research some 2.9 million adults never bother to recycle their plastic bottles and simply throw them in the rubbish instead, citing reasons such as it "being too difficult" and "time consuming". And each day, a staggering 16 million...

Just 15cm of snow has caused traffic chaos across the North of Britain - which has seen a HGV sliding SIDEWAYS down the road. A blue VW Touran was snapped being forced to drive around a HGV vehicle which had slid across the snowy rural road at a 90 degree angle and blocked the road. Another motorist was forced to dig out the road himself with a bright red shovel so he could drive through the perilous terrain near Hawes...

Foundation calls for urgent review ahead of the launch of 'Beyond the Bars: The Welfare of Captive Animals in 2017', Westminster, 22nd March On the eve of a high-profile event at Westminster, international wildlife charity, the Born Free Foundation, has today sounded the alarm over the viability of current regulations for monitoring and inspecting the UK's more than 250 zoos. This comes on the back of a series of disturbing incidents in UK zoos which have included animals being killed, attacked or...

Let's all rejoice it is International Day of Happiness. Nothing like being told you to be happy, to make you, well, very annoyed. The World Happniess Report has been published to coincide with this momentous day. Why make is a Monday? Who is ever happy on a Monday. Theresa May, today, announced she will be trigger Article 50 on 29th, which will make Brexiteers very happy in UK but the rest of us pretty depressed to be fair. Well the...