A LUCKY woman who saw her “forgotten valley” street scoop £1million on the People’s Postcode Lottery said she didn’t think they would win anything.
Rebecca Banks was one of 11 winners on a street in Nantymeol, Ogmore Vale, to bag an eye-watering £83,333 each.
Rebecca broke down in tears after the win and said the windfall was hard to believe for “the forgotten valley” village.
She said: “We are the forgotten valley as we don’t have many amenities for anyone.
“The buzz on the street and around the whole place is just unreal.
“We’ve got a couple of small shops, the pub has only been open a couple of months, there’s no supermarkets and the nearest is a 20-minute drive away.
“We don’t have any petrol stations, nothing at all. So, for this to happen is just incredible.”
Rebecca, who works for a credit union, said: “We can just enjoy life and have fun.
“We’re going to Thailand next April, so we might make a few upgrades.
“And it’s my 40th birthday in December, so now we could go on a nice weekend away.”
Alan and Muriel Owen also won a life-changing sum in the lotto.
Muriel said: “I couldn’t believe it, I thought it was a scam at first, and then I said to [Alan] somebody was playing a sick joke on us.”
Fortunately, the phone call confirmed their win was real, and now the couple look forward to splashing their newfound wealth.
Alan and Muriel wasted no time and had already booked a trip to Turkey to celebrate.
The lucky pair added that it was “amazing” to share the win with the other residents, describing them as “lovely valleys people”.
Most of the winners in Nantymeol came together to celebrate at the local village pub, with owner Helen Smith describing the news as “fantastic”.
She said: “It was a lovely atmosphere here, we put on free prosecco for everybody to help them celebrate.”
“It’s nice to see lovely people winning money.”
It comes after a great gran who won £166,666 says her husband will have to write a “begging letter” if he wants to see a single penny of it.
Gill English landed the cash on People’s Postcode Lottery in Rugby, Warwickshire – and is now planning a slap-up carvery dinner for her big family.
The retired carer also said she is prepared to buy her hubby a new pair of shoes – but only once she sees his “begging letter”.
GARDENERS are being urged to do an essential job before October starts to prevent slug infestations.
So if you want your garden to impress your guests and don’t fancy pesky creepy crawlies slithering all over your beautiful plants, then you’ll need to take notes.
Gardening enthusiasts have revealed that if you want your garden to be slug-free this Winter, you’ll need to get your hands on some instant coffee – yes, you heard that correctly.
The pros at gardening blog Tea and Coffee explained: “Coffee grounds contain a chemical called alkaloid, which is poisonous to slugs.
“When slugs ingest coffee grounds, they suffer from severe dehydration and eventually die.
“For these reasons, slugs will steer clear of areas where coffee grounds have been scattered.
“Coffee grounds can be a useful tool in deterring these pests.”
As a result, gardeners have been warned to pour coffee granules on their garden before October starts.
Now that Autumn is here and the weather is getting wetter and more miserable, it’s essential to try to attack slug and snail numbers before they get completely out of control.
These invading molluscs will stop at nothing to ravage your garden, feasting on strawberries, raspberries, tomato plants, potato foliage and all kinds of flowers in their relentless pursuit of food.
Slug and snail populations soared this summer, spurred on by the damp and dreary weather, but conditions are set to deteriorate further next month.
And as the weather becomes increasingly wetter, these pests will find the perfect environment to proliferate throughout your garden.
Even worse, slugs will mate and lay eggs throughout the Autumn, ensuring an even larger population of slugs and snails next year.
But that’s where the instant coffee comes in – inexpensive coffee grounds not only give you a much-needed caffeine fix in the morning, but they can also provide a big boost to everything growing in your garden.
With September starting, so does autumn, and The Sun's Gardening Editor Veronica Lorraine has a few tasks to keep you busy as the summer sun winds down.
1. Starting thinking about Spring bulbs
Its early bulb time! As well as the more traditional daffodils, crocuses, alliums and bluebells, try snake-head fratillaries for something slightly different.
2. Remember the bees
Make sure you’re still looking after the bees with autumn flowering pollinators – like sedums, honeysuckle and asters.
3. Dig and enjoy your potatoes
Maincrop potatoes are ready to dig up – make sure you get them all so they don’t get slug damage.
4. Change your lawn mowing schedule
Raise the height of your lawn mower and start to reduce the amount of mowing you do. GIve it an autumn feed, especially if you didn’t get round to it in Summer and start to rake to remove thatch.
5. Plant out new perennials while the soil is still warm.
6. Take salvia cuttings
It’s as easy as cutting a shoot tip above a node and chucking it in a glass of water to see if it sprouts roots. Especially with tender Salvias which wont survive the winter.
7. Keep camelias well watered to make sure that buds form next year.
8. Keep on deadheading and watering your hanging baskets
They should keep going until the first frosts.
9. Get pumpkins Halloween ready
Remove any leaves shading pumpkins to make sure they’ll be ready for halloween – and make sure you keep watering them, they’re very thirsty.
10. Check on your pond
Net your pond to stop it filling with fallen leaves when the trees start to drop.
In fact, some studies have found that caffeine actually enhances plant growth, making this not only an affordable way to banish slugs, but also a great way to add colour and depth to your outside space too.
Caffeine is toxic to slugs and snails, hence why many gardening experts advocate its use as a form of pest control.
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It’s worth noting that coffee, which has been found to decrease slug and snail populations by between 50 and 90 percent, is a particularly agonising death for slugs, even more so than salt.
As a result, it’s advised to avoid applying coffee grounds directly onto slugs or snails.
Instead, simply scatter the coffee grounds into the soil and around raised beds or pots during dry, clear weather.
Then, when it does rain, slugs won’t cross the coffee, thereby safeguarding your beloved flowers and crops.
If you’ve run out of instant coffee, or don’t fancy using your nice stuff in your garden, then you’ll be able to nab some for as little as £1 from Tesco, making this simple trick great for those on a budget.
A DRUNK barmaid killed her footballer boyfriend in a horror crash as he hung out of the car window.
Lucy Pegler, 22, selfishly got behind the wheel of her Fiat 500 after guzzling a concoction of beer, spirits, and wine in Derbyshire, on January 7 last year.
She drove along King Street, in Bakewell, before losing control on a bend and smashing into a shop.
Her partner Kyle Shimwell, 21, was a passenger in the front seat, and two other friends were sat in the back.
Kyle, who was not wearing a seat belt, was rushed to the Northern General Hospital, in Sheffield, with serious injuries fighting for his life.
The young man was sadly pronounced dead nine days later.
Derbyshire Police confirmed Pegler tested more than twice the legal limit and was arrested at the scene.
The defendant appeared at Derby Crown Court on September 26 for sentencing after accepting a charge of causing death through careless driving and while unfit through drink.
She was initially charged with the harsher offence of causing the death of Mr Shimwell through dangerous driving, which she denied.
Prosecutor, Stefan Fox, said the defendant met up with Kyle at around 10.25pm in the Joiners Arms in Bakewell on January 6 after working a shift at the Red Lion pub, in Birchover.
The court heard she sunk “two pints and four mouthfuls of Kyle’s rum and ginger ale” in less than an hour at the boozer.
The couple then went to the Queen’s Arms, where Pegler had another pint, a glass of red wine and five mouthfuls of Kyle’s drink.
She later offered to drive them home, along with Kyle’s cousin and a female friend.
Mr Fox told the court: “She swung around a roundabout, the female in the car said she thought it was more her ‘showing off’, rather than the alcohol.
“Kyle opened the passenger side window and started hanging out of it and waving.
“She tried to negotiate a bend, but mounted a kerb and collided with a shop front called Brides of Bakewell.”
In two pubs, you made a determined effort to get drunk, consuming pints from the bar and taking gulps from the glasses of others and all the time you intended to drive home
Judge Jonathan Straw
Pegler got out the car and coldly pushed Kyle back into his seat before asking his cousin “what should I do, should I drive off? I’m over the limit, I’ve had too much to drive”, the court heard.
Defence barrister, Dan Scothern, said in mitigation: “Two families have lost their children due to Miss Pegler’s terrible decision that night.
“She had her whole life ahead of her and because of her terrible actions all of that has been taken away from her.”
The vile drunk driver, of East Bank, Winster, was caged for four-and-a-half years.
Detective Constable Diane McDermott, who led the investigation, said: “This was an appalling piece of driving by Pegler who was heavily under the influence of alcohol at the time and showed no regard for the safety of her passengers.
“Her actions on that night ultimately led to the death of Mr Shimwell, who at just 21 years of age, had his whole life ahead of him.
“This tragic incident shows the very real consequences of drink driving and general carelessness while behind the wheel.
“Our thoughts remain with Mr Shimwell’s family and I hope that this case will serve as a warning to other drivers about what can happen if you take risks on the roads.”
She has also been banned from driving for nine-an-a-half-years.
Passing the sentence, Judge Jonathan Straw said: “In two pubs, you made a determined effort to get drunk, consuming pints from the bar and taking gulps from the glasses of others and all the time you intended to drive home.
“You knew you were over the limit, you knew you were incapable of driving.
“You left the road at relatively low speed, but you left the road because you were so drunk and you could not steer around the corner in front of you. All of this could have been avoided.
“You could have walked home, you could have got a taxi home, there were a whole host of other things you could have done that did not involve getting in a car when you were as drunk as you were.”
In a victim personal statement read out at court, Kyle’s father said: “I cannot put into words the hurt and pain losing Kyle has inflicted on our lives.
“No parent should have to bury a child in any circumstances. But the fact that this needless waste of life was caused by a conscious decision made by someone else makes this even more unbearable.
“I now struggle to look into the future and towards the good things that might happen. Now I just wait for the bad things to turn up.
“Losing a child at any time, let alone in such tragic circumstances changes you mentally and physically.
“People keep on saying it will get better over time. I’m struggling to believe that. I think the wound will heal in time but the scar that is left behind will be there forever.
“Kyle lost his life because of Lucy Pegler’s decision to drink drive even though the journey home would have been a ten-minute walk.
“We as a family hope she receives the full punishment she deserves not only to make her pay for what she has done but hopefully send a message out to others of how that decision can take lives and destroy others.”
After her sentencing, a member of Kyle’s family shared on social media: “Nothing will ever bring back Kyle or fix the hurt that has been done to us all. Today has been a hard day. Her and her family were so cold today in court, glaring over at us no remorse what so ever.
“The time she got was not enough but no time would ever be. I hope she rots in there as short time it may be.”
Kyle played football for Bakewell Town FC.
A spokesperson for his club said: “Bakewell Town FC is devastated to learn of the passing of one of our town, Kyle Shimwell, at the young age of 21.
“BTFC will do all it can to support Kyle’s family and plans are being put in place to ensure his memory lives on and that we make him proud. Our thoughts are with Kyle’s family and friends at this difficult time.”
He started out at Bakewell Town in the under-sixes.
AILIN PEREZ twerked in her opponent’s face after a stunning submission victory at UFC Paris.
The bantamweight fighter defeated Darya Zheleznyakova via arm-triangle choke in the first round.
It came just one day after she was visibly shaking and appeared close to tears at the weigh-ins.
Perez celebrated her fourth straight win in style inside the octagon with her trademark twerk.
The Argentinian shook her bum in Zheleznyakova’s face, even turning as her opponent walked away.
She has become known for celebrating each UFC victory with the dance and did the same in the French capital.
Perez is now 4-1 in the UFC, with an 11-2 record as a professional mixed martial artist.
After the bout, she took to social media to address her post-fight antics.
She wrote: “I Khabib’d the Russian and then twerked on her,” alongside a string of pictures from the bout.
Perez had recovered from what appeared to be a difficult weight cut leading up to the fight.
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Fans were left concerned on social media after she was seen trembling and on the verge of tears on Friday.
She even had to be helped away from the scales after missing weight by 0.5lbs.
Due to Perez weighing in over the bantamweight limit, her fight against Zheleznyakova was changed to a catchweight bout at 136.5lbs
It did not stop the 29-year-old from securing her first UFC finish, though, to extend her winning streak.
Perez is currently ranked 15th in the UFC’s women’s bantamweight division.
STRICTLY Saturday’s are back in full swing bringing dazzling performances to our screens but there’s no denying that some routines fall flat.
Over the years a few unlucky celebs have found themselves at the bottom of the scoreboard, earning some of the lowest score’s in Strictly Come Dancing history.
Let’s take a look back at some of the worst scoring performances where even glitter couldn’t save the dance.
Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Wilson took to the dance floor with dance partner Hazel Newberry in the shows second series.
Unfortunately for Quentin his Cha Cha Cha did not go down well scoring a measly eight points.
Back in 2004 the judging panel was made up of Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.
Craig and Arlene both gave Quentin and Hazel just one point each as Craig branded him “Britain’s Worst Dancer”.
Len and Bruno were more generous as they offered up three points each for the pair.
Quentin now holds the title for the lowest score ever on Strictly worst ever and coincidentally we never saw professional Hazel on the show again.
Another Cha Cha Cha routine that received a dismal score was BBC Journalist John Sergeant’s.
Strictly fans may remember John’s iconic Paso Doble which saw him drag partner Kristina Rihanoff, across the floor becoming his best scoring dance.
His lowest score came with the Latin number as John strutted his stuff the judges seemed less than impressed which included Craig Revel Horwood whipping out the dreaded one paddle.
The journalist ending up receiving just 12 points out of a possible 40.
Two weeks after the routine in a shock twist John quit the show altogether proclaiming that he’d had enough of being the show’s novelty contestant.
Strictly’s iconic movie week see’s viewers hooked as they watch their favourite celebs dance to the themes of some of the blockbusters and 2019 was no exception.
BBC presenter Anneka Rice’s Kill Bill inspired performance earned her one of the lowest scores in Strictly history.
Her and Strictly professional Kevin Clifton received a savage 11 points.
In another brutal blow, Judge Bruno Tonioli said: “This is what happened: you got the brief wrong. It was supposed to be Kill Bill and you did Slaughter The Charleston.”
Anneka didn’t make it any further in the competition and was eliminated that same week.
Strictly legend Susannah Constantine became an instant audience favourite with her outrageous dances.
But, it was the fashion journalist’s samba that made headlines when dance partner Anton Du Beke come out from under her huge hoop skirt.
The novelty performance was berated by the judges who wanted to see the mother-of-three in a more serious routine.
Judge Craig Revel Horwood called it “one of the worst” he’d ever seen giving her a ruthless score of one.
Overall she scored 12 points earning her one of the lowest scores in Strictly history.
Daytime presenter Fiona Phillip’s Waltz failed to make the cut when she received a shocking 11 points.
She appeared on the third series of the show in 2005 and was voted out in week four after several routines of low scores.
After her short stint on the show she made no secret of the fact she didn’t enjoy her time on Strictly.
This reportedly came largely due to her disagreements with dance partner Brendan Cole and struggles with learning routines – She later admitted in 2021 that she should have never done the show.
“Brendan is a rough old taskmaster and really wanted to be number one or nothing. I just wasn’t very good.”
THE “Axis of Evil” is trying to isolate Taiwan so China can invade – and the island hopes the UK will come to its defence, its ambassador says.
Taiwan’s Representative Vincent Yao said he wants the UK to take a stronger stance on protecting the island if its much larger neighbour attacks.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Yao said his country is building up its defences and hoped Britain and other Western nations would back it in an invasion.
He said: “I think people in Taiwan would remain cautiously optimistic about any hope from outside.
“Only when we demonstrate the determination for self-defence can we get the support from other countries and partners.”
Taiwan is building up its self-defence, with tech innovation, extending conscription, and stockpiling weapons.
China claims the democratically run island state, just 100 miles off its coast, is its sovereign territory,
It sends Taiwan violent threats, including to “spill blood from the heads of Taiwanese forces”, and conducts grey zone warfare.
Yao’s comments come after US President Joe Biden said America would protect Taiwan if China struck.
The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with the US on a free and open Taiwan Strait – but it is a less clear if or how Britain would support Taiwan if China invades.
Sir Keir Starmer is currently reviewing the UK’s relationship with China and Yao told The Sun he is keenly watching an outcome.
Yao said: “They [Britain] are not going to return to the EU.
“Supposedly, they want to continue to have more engagement, more involvement in the Indo-Pacific.”
Britain’s stance against China has been toughening, dubbing the country a “systemic competitor” in 2021 and a “threat” in 2022 and saying it needs to do more to protect the island.
Yao said Taiwan stands firmly with Western democracies as autocratic “Axis of Evil” countries like China and Russia seek to expand.
He said: “We believe that Taiwan is positioned in the centre of the so-called global democratic chain. We certainly consider ourselves as part of the global democratic alliance.”
Russia and China, he said, are now pushing each other’s narratives and claims as they work together to challenge the West.
One warning Yao had for Britain was that we should be worried about more Chinese spying after the parliamentary researcher was arrested last year.
He said: “If not physical spies, but these conspiracy activities happening all the time.”
Just days ago, Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo said China was now conducting so many military drills around the island, and it might be tricky to tell when an actual invasion is starting.
China’s navy is getting closer each day and several thousand air force flights travel through Taiwan’s airspace a year.
The Representative said China’s ambition was clear – it’s trying to “wear out” Taiwan.
He said: “They try to discredit Taiwan government’s capability to defend itself, and to try to coerce people in Taiwan, and continue to push forth a narrative of peace versus war, prosperity versus decline narratives in Taiwan and among Taiwanese people.”
Taiwan is now preparing for an invasion for China with a “whole of society” defence system.
This year conscription was extended from four months to one year and the country is reviving its reserves.
Yao said he believed that other countries in the region, like Japan and the Philippines, faced the same risk of invasion as Taiwan as they had small islands China could seize.
He said: “I’m confident to say that the people in Taiwan, the government in Taiwan, have the determination to defend ourselves.
“And we are now trying to build up this resilience.”
But Taiwan isn’t rolling over and is turning to drones for defence after seeing how important they have been in Ukraine.
The country is building underwater sea drones to defend against China – which has the largest Navy in the world.
Yao said Britain and Taiwan – both islands – could work together on building those undersea drones.
He said: “There are areas that the technology development between our two countries are complementary. I certainly hope that we can work together.
“We are very strong in manufacturing all the key components, all the key components needed to build a drone made in Taiwan.”
He hopes the new government considers the high-tech products Taiwan makes as part of its defence review.
Crucially, Yao pitches that would remove part of Britain’s defence supply chain away from China – which currently builds the vast majority of drones in the world.
Yao said a Chinese invasion of the island would be disastrous for the global economy because Taiwan has made itself a crucial part of it.
He said: “China actually will suffer the most. The whole world will probably suffer. We’re talking about trillions of economic loss.”
That’s because one of the key items Taiwan makes is semiconductors – or computer chips.
Those go in every piece of computer technology and require extremely expensive and specialised ‘foundries’ to produce.
But Taiwan has specialised in making them and produces over 50 per cent of the global total and 90 per cent of the advanced chips.
Production of advanced chips are crucial to future tech products like AI and quantum computing.
If Taiwan were to be invaded, blockaded, or shipping routes in the Taiwan Strait were blocked, it would create a nightmare shock to the global economy.
Yao said: “The loss will be larger than the impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis.
“And it will be larger than the impact of the war in Ukraine.”
If Taiwan is to truly have security from a Chinese invasion it will need pals to defend it and Yao has now publicly invited PM Starmer to his country.
If Starmer were to travel to Taiwan he would be the highest ranking Western politician to make the journey since Nancy Pelosi.
A visit would infuriate China – who launched live-fire military exercises after the Speaker of the House visited in 2022.
Yao has not met directly with Starmer since the election – but there was engagement with him while Labour was in opposition.
The PM visited Taiwan in 2016 and 2018.
Yao said: “I certainly want to invite him again. The invitation is open, open invitation, standing invitation. Whenever he feels comfortable, he’s most welcome to visit Taiwan.”
Yao is Taiwan’s man in London – but he is not an ambassador as the UK does not officially recognise the island as its own country.
That’s because of the One China policy – that countries with the code can only recognise Communist China or Taiwan as the official China.
Both China and Taiwan see themselves as the legitimate and only government of China.
The vast majority of the world’s countries only recognise the People’s Republic of China as the ‘real’ China with 12 countries only recognising Taiwan while 183 recognising China.
That means Taiwan is shut out of many international bodies by China, like the UN and the organisations it runs.
Yao said China is trying to “force” the world into believing that Taiwan is its own domestic issue.
He said: “So that’s why they pushed this agenda… to force other countries to accept China’s position of the one country two systems, and China’s position of the one China principle.
“But we are now working with like-minded countries to push back this narrative.”
