Green fingered protesters are fighting plans to build houses on London's oldest allotments, dating back to pre-Victorian days. Northfields Allotments, founded in 1832, faces a threat from plans to build a multi-storey social housing block and private apartments on the site. The site in Ealing, west London, consisting of 141 plots and with more than 70 people on the waiting list, would lose five per cent of its land if plans by Pathways Housing Charity are approved. During the 1970s...

The bathroom owned by John Furniss-Wright, 59, has no floor, a collapsed wall, water damage and a pink suite which has been out of fashion for decades. John is currently renovating the property and has turned to the quirky competition to fund the work. John said: "When we moved into our flat recently it had leaks everywhere. A disgruntled homeowner has put his bathroom forward to be crowned Britain's WORST. "Water had been flowing into the wall continuously for six...

Naturally, cyclists are very protective over their bikes and it’s for good reason too, since there are around 376,000 bicycles stolen every year in the UK. Moreover, it’s not always so easy to just replace a stolen bike, due to financial constraints, which inevitably leads to the inconvenience of having to go without a bike for a while. As such, in order to prevent bicycle theft, all cyclists should ensure that they have taken the necessary steps to secure their...

A squaddie who was bitten by a spider related to the deadly black widow was left with a gaping hole in his leg which was so deep it exposed his MUSCLES. Matt Clarke, 31, was bitten by a false black widow spider as he was lying in bed and despite not being life-threatening - the wound left him unable to walk. Army man Matt said he woke up from a deep sleep with a "tingly sensation" and he noticed the...

This sickening footage shows a chicken producer which supplies Asda, Lidl and Nando's allegedly breaching animal cruelty laws. Secret filming at Cambria Farm in Taunton, Somerset, claims to show a worker dumping a live chick in a wheelbarrow full of dead birds. The chick was left for an hour before the same worker returns and snaps its neck, according to vegan campaign group Animal Equality. Dead chickens in a container at Cambria Farm in Taunton, Somerset. This sickening footage shows...

Outside Nine Lives, the newest project from Sweet&Chilli, the bar’s only real tell-tale sign of existence is a tallied number nine logo. Adorned across a vintage leather jacket, on the bar's website, the logo looks as though plucked from a Dead Kennedys or Black Flag album cover. It's so punk, in fact, it’s surprising that BrewDog haven’t yet bullied the group into submission. On a backstreet close to London Bridge station, Nine Lives has a sense of Prohibition mystery, tucked underground...

Islington pie and mash shop M Manze is set to close later this year, after 106 years of trading. On announcing the closure last week, owner Tim Nicholls blamed increasing business rates as the reason for the iconic Chapel Market pie shop’s closure – something that has bereft the city of so many beloved pie shops over the past 20 years. M Manze is set to continue trading until Christmas, before the space is inevitably taken over by another coffee...

QuotedData’s economic round up – August 2017 – is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell any of the companies mentioned. Kindly sponsored by Martin Currie. August Economic and Political Roundup Roundup Perhaps, the big story of July was the weakness in...

QuotedData investment companies roundup – August 2017 – is our latest roundup of news; price, NAV and discount movements; flows in and out of the sector and report on full year dividends announced over the month of July 2017. Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford. August Investment Companies Roundup Monthly NAV/Price moves: A couple of themes stand out on the positive side – funds exposed to commodities (such as BlackRock World Mining and City Natural Resources) and funds exposed to emerging markets, especially...