Taite Johnson

A family from Blackwood was involved in a serious bus crash on Turkey's Taurus mountain roads during a holiday near Alanya. The bus reportedly lost control after the road surface melted in extreme heat and flipped several times, trapping 12-year-old Greta Williams underneath. Fellow passengers lifted the bus and freed her before she was taken to hospital with fractures to her pelvis and sacrum. After eight days in a Turkish hospital and further treatment at The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, Greta returned home following medical repatriation. She faces an estimated eight to 12 weeks of recovery and may take up to six months to fully recuperate.

Disqualified driver Brian Butler, 58, rammed a Gwent Police car while fleeing officers in Newport after reaching speeds of up to 75mph in a 20mph zone. The collision caused £9,274 of damage and left the police vehicle unroadworthy. Butler abandoned his Nissan Juke and was later found hiding in a garden by police dog Rizzo. He pleaded guilty to driving while disqualified, dangerous driving, driving without insurance and criminal damage, receiving 16 months in prison and a further three-year, two-month driving ban.

Electricity bills are due to be exempt from the UK’s 5% VAT rate from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, with the government initially estimating annual savings of about £45 for a typical household. Martin Lewis warns that a forecast 5.1% rise in the energy price cap, equivalent to roughly £93 a year, could eliminate those savings for households on variable tariffs, although customers on fixed deals could see a 4.8% reduction. The measure applies only to electricity, and its funding will partly come from abandoning the proposed digital ID project.

A Ravenair flying instructor conducting a two‑hour test flight after an aircraft component replacement spelled out “I’m bored” in the sky, a path later spotted on a flight‑tracking website. The Piper Tomahawk departed Liverpool, looped over the Wirral, Cheshire and North Wales, and returned safely. Ravenair’s operations manager confirmed the maneuver was harmless and skillfully executed, drawing attention but resulting in no disciplinary action.