Ethan Davies

Three members of the same family—a man, a woman and a teenage girl—died after getting into difficulty while swimming near Shoreham Fort in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex. A younger girl was rescued and taken to hospital in critical condition. Coastguard teams, an RNLI lifeboat, police and ambulance crews searched the water and brought all four people ashore. Authorities said the family had been camping nearby and may have entered the harbour for a group swim; witnesses suggested a fishing net and the harbour’s steep seabed shelf could have contributed to the incident.

Five teenagers died in a head-on crash on Ireland's M9 after their BMW travelled in the wrong direction. A family of four in a Hyundai, reportedly travelling to Dublin Airport for a wedding in England, were seriously injured, including a seven-year-old boy. Gardaí initially suspected the BMW had been stolen but later confirmed it had been legitimately purchased. An investigation is examining the circumstances of the crash and Gardaí's earlier contact with the vehicle, while the tragedy has prompted calls for improved pursuit training and stronger enforcement against dangerous wrong-way and social-media-linked driving.

Rod Stewart has cancelled the remainder of his US tour dates after undergoing a coronary stent procedure. Following doctors' advice, the 81-year-old singer will take four weeks to recover and regain full fitness, saying he is already feeling better and apologising to fans. The cancellations follow postponed or scrapped shows in Cleveland, Cincinnati, Nevada and San Diego caused by earlier medical issues including sinus and respiratory infections. Stewart's team said he was doing well and had resumed normal daily activities.

Police are urgently searching for 11-year-old Angelica and 12-year-old Verity, who disappeared together from Rugby and were last seen in the Newbold area at about 4am on August 9. The girls have links to Rugby and Cornwall, and officers are asking anyone with information to call 999 and quote incident number 123 of August 8.

Parts of Scotland are forecast to experience heavy rain on Thursday, July 30, shortly after temperatures in the mid-30s Celsius trigger likely heatwave conditions in parts of southeast England. The Met Office predicts a north-south split, with rain mainly affecting northern Scotland as well as Fife and Dumfries and Galloway. Eleven Scottish areas are listed as facing rain: Highland, Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Fife, Falkirk, Clackmannanshire, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, and Dumfries and Galloway.

The Met Office forecasts rain across 12 Scottish council areas on Tuesday, July 28, with the heaviest rainfall expected around 3 a.m. in central Scotland, including South Lanarkshire. Rain will ease by mid-morning but scattered showers are likely to continue through the day. Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen are forecast to reach 20°C, 21°C and 22°C respectively, while much of the Midlands and southern England is expected to remain dry.