Though more than 250 years have passed since the last one, it’s impossible to miss the fact that the world is experiencing a 21st Century gin craze. In fact, the spirit formerly synonymous with ruin and debauchery has become more popular than ever. Towards the end of last year, UK gin sales were reported to have surpassed £1 billion, over a twelve-month period, for the first time ever. And according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), gin exports have...

This dog is a real-life Hairy Barker - and goes on motorbike rides dressed in full leather gear and goggles. The motorcycle-loving hound called Milly is a regular sight speeding around the country lanes in jacket and helmet. Milly, a Bichon Frise, dons the gear and hops into her specialised travel bag on her owner's bike when they go on adventures. Retired plumber Paul Crossan, 39, first met "timid" Milly while he was looking for a canine companion for his...

Police say they are treating claims that a group of black revellers were turned away from a nightclub as a hate crime. Mahalia Hamid paid £300 to pre-book a VIP table to celebrate her 24th birthday with nine friends at award-winning club called Volt. But when the group of six women and four men arrived at the city centre club on January 28 they were barred from entering because they "didn't fit criteria". Mum-of-one Mahalia said they were forced to...

A housebuilding tycoon has donated more than £200 MILLION to charity in what is thought to be one of the largest public donations made in the UK. Steve Morgan set up The Morgan Foundation in 2001 to help community groups, in particular those which help children and families in desperate need. He made the donation in the form of 42 million shares from his company, Redrow PLC, representing more than 11 per cent of the shareholding. Shares in the company...

A hospital porter sacked after being accused of stealing a £4 fried egg and bacon sandwich and a cup of tea when he forgot his wallet could spark a strike. Aldren Tomlinson was fired from his job of 15 years at King George Hospital in east London, because he asked to pay for his lunch later after forgetting his money. But two hours later the 45-year-old was told he would be suspended for stealing the cup of tea and a...

By Tom Moore The Bank of England have today confirmed the new £10 note will commemorate the EU referendum result by immediately plummeting in value to £8.60. The note, made entirely of foie gras, will enter circulation in September and is set to save the government around £4 billion. A spokesperson for the Central Bank said: “Look we needed to do something. It was either that or raise interest rates and, let’s face it, that’s not going to happen is...

Millions of British children are copying the drinking habits of their parents, new research has revealed. Over six in ten UK adults admit their children copy their drinking habits for both healthy and unhealthy drinks. The results show that if they have a soft drink, the child asks for that too, with eight per cent of youngsters having a fizzy drink every day. If parents drink more healthily, children are also likely to follow, increasing their consumption of water, low/no...

Newborn Bobby Davies had the first of two open heart surgeries when he was just three months old after he was born with deadly heart defect, tricuspid atresia. The tot, now seven months, successfully went under the knife in a Glenn Shunt operation just 12 weeks after he was born to increase the amount of oxygenated blood going round his tiny body. Dad Richard, 28, got a tattoo of his son's scar on his chest so his brave little soldier...

Billionaire Sir James Dyson who campaigned for Brexit on the grounds that it would "make us richer" has just announced he is creating hundreds of jobs - in Asia. The entrepreneur condemned Remain campaign claims before the referendum that British exports would fall in the aftermath of a vote to quit the union as “absolute cobblers”, saying Britain would actually be £18.5 billion better off every year if voters back Brexit. But following Dyson's decision to move 500 jobs to Malaysia in 2002,...