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Man Utd legend Ryan Giggs’ restaurant ‘suddenly CLOSES’ as devastated workers ‘told by text they’d been sacked’

Collage of Ryan Giggs, George's Dining Room & Bar, and a Manchester United footballer.

A RESTAURANT co-owned by Premier League legend Ryan Giggs has closed with “immediate effect”, it is claimed.

Staff of George’s Dining Room and Bar in Worsley, Manchester, were reportedly told by text they’d been sacked.

Ryan Giggs, assistant head coach of Salford City.
Rex
Ryan Giggs in the dugout for Salford City this month[/caption]
George's Dining Room & Bar in Worsley at night.
www.georgesworsley.co.uk
George’s Dining Room in Worsley, Manchester[/caption]
Ryan Giggs playing soccer for Manchester United.
Getty
Giggs playing for Manchester United in 1991[/caption]

The ex-Reds midfielder, 51, opened the venue on Barton Road in 2014 with two old school pals.

Signs on the door on Friday night said it was closed for the weekend “due to unforeseen circumstances”.

However, texts sent to staff by bosses said the restaurant has closed for good, reports the Manchester Evening News.

The messages reportedly stated they “regret to announce that with a heavy heart we have no alternative but to close George’s effective immediately”.

They added: “This is due to the obvious reduction in trade and business against the huge increases in costs of operating the business and the ongoing cost of living crisis.”

Staff are said to have also been told they will be paid any outstanding wages in “due course”, as well as notice payment, as well redundancy pay for “those to whom is applies”.

One staff member told the news outlet: “It came totally out of the blue, we were all supposed to be working today and then we got the text messages through, we are all stunned.”

When George’s opened over a decade ago, Giggs said it had been a lifelong dream of his to own a restaurant alongside childhood friends Kelvin Gregory and Bernie Taylor.

He had described it as a “really different offering for the area”, with a launch event attended by former Manchester United teammates Bryan Robson, Nicky Butt and Gary Neville.

In 2015, a new terrace was added to the restaurant.

Giggs has also since teamed up with Sky Sports pundit Neville on the GG Hospitality Group, which launched Hotel Football at Old Trafford and the Stock Exchange Hotel in the city centre.

The Sun has approached George’s and Giggs’ reps for comment.

RETURN TO DUGOUT

Elsewhere, Giggs has helped to transform Salford City FC after returning to the dugout for the League Two outfit.

He has taken a more hands-on role with the first team in recent months and has been spotted in the dugout alongside manager Karl Robinson during games.

The Wales and Manchester United legend is a co-owner of the Ammies alongside his former Red Devils teammates Gary NevillePhil NevillePaul ScholesNicky Butt and investor David Beckham.

While Giggs also began working as the club’s director of football last year.

However, the former Welsh national team manager now seems to be lending his experience of coaching to the staff at Moor Lane too as he takes up a matchday role on the touchline.

Manchester United youth team coach Eric Harrison with players receiving an award.
Getty
Giggs with Manchester United’s Class of 92 who went on to dominate the Premier League[/caption]

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Most valuable old toys you could have in your cupboard worth up to £2,050 including My Little Pony and Barbie dolls

Collage of vintage toys with prices.

DO you have old toys cluttering up cupboards in your home? If so you could be sitting on a small fortune.

Popular vintage toys sold on second-hand selling platform eBay for hundreds or even thousands of pounds last year, according to a study of eBay sold prices data by insurer Home Protect.

Close-up of a smartphone displaying the eBay logo.
Alamy
Some old toys are selling on eBay for hundreds or thousands of pounds[/caption]

And they don’t necessarily need to be very rare items – many of those fetching the highest prices are simply old versions no longer available to buy from retailers.

Some of the most popular toys going for hefty prices include vintage Barbie and Bratz dolls, My Little Pony figurines, old Lego sets, Playmobil and Sylvannian families sets and beloved beanie babies.

David Joyson, home insurance and consumer expert at Home Protect, said: “In an age where nostalgia is more profitable than ever, particularly with the resurgence of brands like Barbie, there has never been a better time to cash in on your childhood favourites. 

“This growing trend, especially fuelled by online auction platforms like eBay, reveals that some toys are more than just sentimental keepsakes – they’re valuable assets.

“From Lego Star Wars sets to rare My Little Pony figures, these toys have proven to be worth a small fortune. “

Here are some of the most valuable toys that sold on eBay last year.

Lego Star Wars Cloud City 10123: £2,050

Lego Star Wars Cloud City 10123
Lego Star Wars Cloud City 10123

The most expensive toy found to have sold on eBay in 2024 was the Lego Star Wars Cloud City set, which resold for £2,050.

The set from 2003 is considered to be relatively rare – particularly box sets in good conditions with all of the pieces, which has pushed up its price tag.

Next up was the Skull’s Eye Schooner Pirate Ship, with a set fetching £1,700.

Meanwhile the Lego Star Wars Ultimate Collectors Millenium Falcon sold for £1,120.

Bearing in mind most of these sets originally retailed for less than £100, sellers could make a huge profit on their old toys.

The Star Wars Cloud City set, for example, sold in 2003 for £99.99, meaning it resold for a 1,950% markup.

Table showing the most valuable LEGO sold in 2024, listing item, price, and condition.
The most profitable resold Lego sets on eBay in 2024, source: eBay, Home Protect

Barbie Meadow mares horse – Rare Original Unopened Box: £928

Barbie Meadow mares horse
Barbie Meadow mares horse

Barbie has also made a comeback since the smash hit film was released in 2023.

“Barbies also hold significant worth, with rare items seeing strong demand, particularly following Barbie’s recent resurgence in popularity due to the live-action film,” David said.

An old Barbie horse toy in an unopened box resold last year on eBay for a whopping £928

The companion to Barbie, released in 2001, comes with a saddle and bridle and a long mane that can be used to create fun and fancy hairstyles.

The particular edition that sold for the high price tag on eBay was in pristine condition and in its original, unopened box.

Toys in mint condition tend to fetch higher prices than items that look noticeably used or don’t have original packaging or tags.

David said: “The pre-owned item was sold in its original, unopened box in pristine condition.”

And a chic Silkstone Fashion Model Barbie doll resold for £300 last year.

Vintage Barbie doll in a box.
The chic Barbie was introduced in 2000 and resold for £300

The doll, introduced in the year 2000, is dressed like an artist and wears a black beret perched atop her blonde hair and a trendy black and white striped top.

And the doll comes with accompanying art supplies, including a palette and brushes.

G1 Orange Cotton Candy My Little Pony – Flat Foot Unmarked Hoof: £1,022.48

G1 orange cotton candy my little pony
G1 orange cotton candy my little pony

A particularly popular My Little Pony figurine fetched a whopping £1,022.48 on eBay last year.

The vintage G1 My Little Pony Orange Cotton Candy doll wtih a Flat Foot and Unmarked Hoof was sold for the hefty sum after receiving 25 bids, despite not even having its original box.

David said: “This shows that when it comes to rare and unique items, collectors are willing to pay top dollar, even without perfect packaging.”

That wasn’t the only toy in the My Little Pony collection to make a mint.

A pre-owned My Little Pony advent calendar, the G1 MLP Advent Calendar, resold for £94 even without its original box.

TY Beanie Babies, Billionaire 14, MWCT: £475

TY Beanie Babies, Billionaire 14
TY Beanie Babies, Billionaire 14 vintage sold for a whopping £475 last year

A mint condition TY Beanie Babies Billionaire 14 teddy sold on eBay for a whopping £475 in 2024.

The particularly rare version of the teddy, known as the “employee exclusive” version, was pre-owned but came with its original packaging.

Other top Beanie Babies selling last year included the Billionaire 13 and Billionaire 7 teddies, as well as a very rare Dusty Chicago Cubs bear from 2003, which sold for £75.

Table showing the most valuable Beanie Babies sold in 2024, listing item, price, and condition.
The rarest beanie babies fetched hundreds

Other old toys fetching high sums on eBay include Bratz dolls, Playmobil sets, Furby toys and Sylvanian Families sets.

A collector’s Bratz doll fetched £539 last year, while an Era 1 Furby toy sold for £199.

“If you come across an item you think may have a high value, get it professionally valued,” David said.

You can list up to 300 items on eBay for free every month and sellers no longer pay any kind of fee, so you’ll keep your whole profit.

Other options include going to a toy or collectable fair or to contact a collectable dealer.

Full list of most valuable toys sold on eBay in 2024

Most valuable Lego sets

  • Lego Star Wars Cloud City (10123) £2,050
  • Skull’s Eye Schooner Priate Ship (6286) £1,700
  • Lego Star Wars Ultimate Collectors Millennium Falcon (10179) £1,120
  • Lego Star Wars Death Star II (10143) £1,040
  • Lego Castle Crusader’s Cart (1680) £795

Most valuable My Little Pony sets

  • G1 Orange Cotton Candy Flat Foot Unmarked Hoof £1,022.28
  • Funskool G1 1980s Blossom Pink Purple INDIA Foot £185
  • 1987 G1 Baby Pony With First Tooth Bouncy Boxed £92
  • G1 MLP Advent Calendar £94
  • 1984 Baby Liquorice Pink G1 (Euro Exclusive) £87

Most valuable Barbies

  • Barbie Meadow mares horse – Rare Original Unopened Box . £928.00
  • Mattel 2008 Fashion Model Silkstone Barbie, The Artist #M4973 By Robert Best £300.00
  • Barbie Doll Fashion Model Collection The Interview NRFB 2007 Mattel K7964 Rare £200.00
  • Barbie Doll Fashion Model Collection NRFB Movie Mixer 2007 Mattel K7963 Rare £206.00
  • 1996 Barbie Christian Dior £175.00

Most valuable Action Men

  • Command Centre + Accessories £480
  • Grand Prix Racing Car 1970s £350
  • Transport Command Assault Copter & Pilot £304
  • 1971 Sailor Figure £320
  • Solider Equipment Medic Set £294

Most valuable Furbies

  • Furby ERA 1 Jester Special Edition Sold At TARGET Only: USA RARE works! AUCTION £199.99
  • Hasbro Funky Furby 2005 Strawberry Swirl Rare Sold As Not Working £112.00
  • FURBY TIGER ELECTRONICS HASBRO 59294. PINK & WHITE. YEAR 2005. TESTED – WORKING £95.00
  • Vintage 2005 Hasbro Emoto-Tronic Furby Coffee Brown Blonde Hair Blue Eyes Toy £87.00
  • Furby – Your Emototronic Friend 2005 model no 59502/59294 BNIB

Most valuable Beanie Babies

  • TY Beanie Babies, Billionaire 14, MWCT £475.00
  • Authenticated Ty Beanie Baby ‘BILLIONAIRE #13’ – LOW NUMBER £455.00
  • RARE Retired Ty Beanie Baby ‘BILLIONAIRE #7’ £399.99
  • TY Beanie Baby 1996 3rd Gen Hang 2nd Gen Tush T Rex £92.00
  • TY beanie babies bears very rare Dusty – Chicago Cubs 2003 set £75.00

Most valuable Bratz dolls

  • 2005 Bratz Felicia Campfire Collector’s Doll w/ 2 Outfits, Poster, etc £539.93
  • Bratz Passion for Fashion Sasha 2007 Passion 4 Fashion Yellow Dress!! £195.00
  • Bratz Treasures Jade £185.00
  • Vintage BRATZ RARE LIMITED EDITION Sweet Heart (2nd Edition) Dana Doll 2004 £165.00
  • Brand New In Box. Rare. Retro Bratz Doll Set Babyz Sitter Alicia and Lana. £164.00

Most valuable Playmobil sets

  • Playmobil Train Set 4000 + Railway Crossing 4364 Vintage 1980’s £200.00
  • Playmobil RC Goods Train Set 4010 G Gauge – Cargo Train – superb condition. £180.00
  • Playmobil Star Trek 70548 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701, With AR app, light effects £150.00
  • Giant XXL Playmobil Construction Figure Shop Display £145.00
  • Playmobil RC Steam Train 4017 Preowned Excellent Condition £145.00

Most valuable Sylvanian Families sets

  • Very Rare Boxed Flair Sylvanian Families Angelina Ballerina Cheddar Cottage £360.00
  • Sylvanian Families Dalmation Dog Twin Babies Family Figures £220.00
  • BNIB Sylvanian Families Highfields Farmhouse £200.00
  • Sylvanian families 2002 Flair HTF Rare Big Blue Brown Grand mansion + Box Vgc £199.99
  • Sylvanian families grand hotel + 200 (apx) miscellaneous objects and 39 figures £160.00

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I was given just one week to live after doctors found a tumour that had been silently lurking in my brain for a DECADE

A MUM was given just a week to live after doctors found a tumour that had been silently lurking in her brain for more than a decade.

Harriet Annabelle Ward occasionally felt dizzy and tired but put her minor symptoms down to stress.

Portrait of Harriet Annabelle Ward.
Jam Press
Harriet Annabelle Ward, who was diagnosed brain a decade-old brain tumour[/caption]
MRI scan of a brain tumor.
Jam Press
A brain show showing the meningioma, which had been lurking silently[/caption]

But for 10 years, a meningioma had slowly been growing in the left side of her head.

The 51-year-old had even been examined in hospital two years before her diagnosis, but doctors missed any signs of the tumour.

Generally, Harriet was relatively active and healthy, and it wasn’t until her health declined dramatically in 2021, when she clocked something serious might be wrong.

She started struggling to form complex sentences, felt exhausted all the time, was often dizzy, and had headaches and a bloodshot eye.

Harriet visited her GP surgery three times, with medics each time putting her symptoms down to stress.

But after huge bouts of memory loss and calling NHS 111, she was rushed to A&E, where an MRI scan uncovered the terrifying truth.

“They told me they had found a 2.8in (7cm) brain tumour across the left side of my head,” the singer, from Bristol, said.

“If untreated, they said I would have died in my sleep. My brain was completely gone.

“I was in shock, but I was very focused on what they were going to do and hoping it would all go well.

“I was at a point where the pressure of the brain tumour was so severe that I couldn’t think or talk properly.

“But I was very driven to still be here and survive.

“I was very friendly and active before this, so I just wanted to get well and go home.”

Harriet was diagnosed with a grade two meningioma – the most common type of brain tumour – which had “likely been growing inside her for 10 to 15 years”.

Meningiomas affect around one in 40,000 people in the UK every year.

The survival rate depends on several factors, but ranges from 25 to 95 per cent.

Harriet’s husband says he was told his wife had just one week to live.

The only way to save her life, doctors said, was emergency surgery to remove the growth.

Harriet’s children were aged five, 10 and 15 at the time, and the mum was terrified that she might not live to see them grow up.

I was dying to see my children. I felt they would be lost without me, so I knew I needed to get through this

Harriet Annabelle Ward

“The doctors weren’t sure I’d make it,” the mum-of-three said.

“I was calling all my friends and family, telling them how much I loved them, and my husband Christopher had sign all the death forms.

“Before doctors put me to sleep, I looked into the eyes of one of them and said, ‘I’d love to see my children again’.”

Luckily, her wish was granted, and she woke up from the “absolutely incredible” 14-hour procedure on December 1, 2021, to find out it had been a success.

She was left with a heavily swollen left side of her face from the bruising and trauma to the area.

Harriet said: “I never took photos until a few weeks post-op as I was black and blue.

“I looked swollen where they cut from ear to ear. I was in shock.”

Close-up of a woman's face showing post-operative swelling and bruising.
Jam Press
The mum’s swelling after her life-saving surgery[/caption]
Family portrait in front of a building.
Jam Press
Annabelle with her husband Christopher and children Amaryllis, Islah and Noah[/caption]
Woman in pink top and bucket hat sitting in a leather armchair.
Harriet says she’s made a miracle recovery to watch her kids grow up
Jam Press

Since the operation in November 2021, Harriet has been slowly recovering at home with her family.

She said of her ordeal: “I was dying to see my children, Amaryllis, Islah and Noah.

“They visited me in hospital and I was desperately wanting to be at home with them.

“I felt they would be lost without me, so I knew I needed to get through this.

“It’s been a hell of a journey, but every day it’s incredible to be here with my family.”

The near-miss inspired her to record an album, called Bristol Music World 2024, together with 22 other artists, to help raise money for Southmead Hospital, where she was treated.

Harriet added: “My music keeps me happy, healthy and is very healing.”

The most common symptoms of a brain tumour

More than 12,000 Brits are diagnosed with a primary brain tumour every year — of which around half are cancerous — with 5,300 losing their lives.

The disease is the most deadly cancer in children and adults aged under 40, according to the Brain Tumour Charity.

Brain tumours reduce life expectancies by an average of 27 years, with just 12 per cent of adults surviving five years after diagnosis.

There are two main types, with non-cancerous benign tumours growing more slowly and being less likely to return after treatment.

Cancerous malignant brain tumours can either start in the brain or spread there from elsewhere in the body and are more likely to return.

Brain tumours can cause headachesseizuresnausea, vomiting and memory problems, according to the NHS.

They can also lead to changes in personality weakness or paralysis on one side of the problem and problems with speech or vision.

The nine most common symptoms are:

  1. Headaches
  2. Seizures
  3. Feeling sick
  4. Being sick
  5. Memory problems
  6. Change in personality
  7. Weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
  8. Vision problems
  9. Speech problems

If you are suffering any of these symptoms, particularly a headache that feels different from the ones you normally get, you should visit your GP.

Source: NHS

Portrait of a woman wearing a beige beret.
Jam Press
‘It’s been a hell of a journey,’ Harriet said[/caption]
Close-up of a woman's face showing post-operative swelling.
Jam Press
The mum’s swelling following her 14-hour operation[/caption]
Radiation mask for radiotherapy treatment.
Part of Harriet’s brain tumour treatment
Jam Press
Post-operative scar on a woman's head.
Jam Press
Before doctors put her to sleep, Harriet said to them: ‘I’d love to see my children again’[/caption]
Woman ringing a hospital treatment bell.
Jam Press
The singer ringing the end-of-treatment bell[/caption]
A mother and her two daughters smiling for a photo.
Jam Press
Harriet, from Bristol, with daughters Amaryllis and Islah[/caption]
A couple poses for a selfie in front of a Hogwarts sign.
Jam Press
The near-miss inspired her to record an album to raise money for Southmead Hospital[/caption]

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I fled cushy UK life to fight ISIS thugs in Syria – I’m haunted by smell of death & babies being used as human shields

IT WAS the image of British ISIS fighter Jihadi John wielding a knife and executing terrified hostages as they kneeled before him that changed Macer Gifford’s life forever.

Watching the horror unleashed by the Islamic State unfold across Syria made the 27-year-old London banker quit his job, leave his girlfriend and travel 3,000 miles to join the fight against the terrorists. 

A man in camouflage pants sits in a damaged room with a machine gun leaning against the wall.
Getty - Contributor
Macer Gifford, originally from Cambridgeshire, pictured in Raqqa[/caption]
A British volunteer fighter with a rifle in a damaged building in Raqqa, Syria.
Getty - Contributor
Macer walks through an abandoned house as he locates a spot to fire his sniper rifle toward ISIS positions in Raqqa[/caption]
Macer Gifford, a British man who fought with the Kurds against ISIS in Syria, poses for a photo.
Macer fought with the Kurds against ISIS in Syria
Masked militant holding a knife.
AFP
Macer went to Syria after seeing this infamous picture of Jihadi John on television[/caption]

He would spend the next three years chasing ISIS out of villages across the wartorn nation, culminating with six weeks of sheer hell fighting in the streets of Raqqa. 

It was here that Macer watched the jihadists use babies as human shields, massacre civilians waving white flags and blow up his comrades in car bombings.

The ex-banker still remembers the “smell of death” hovering over the destroyed city of Raqqa and the constant sound of bullets filling the air followed by the piercing cries of grief.

Raqqa’s scarred streets were a far cry from where Macer had grown up in rural Cambridgeshire with his two brothers or central London where he later worked as a currency trader. 

The former public schoolboy would spend his days speaking to high-profile clients and selling currency before going home to his flat in the leafy borough of Battersea. 

Macer, not his real name, would live for the weekend and go on as many holidays as his annual leave would allow with his girlfriend.

But it was spending those 40 minutes every morning reading newspapers to advise clients about the foreign markets that brought Macer face to face with what he describes as “pure evil”.

Macer told The Sun: “Every single day, we were being bombarded with images from ISIS for the first time. 

“These brainless, evil people in the Middle East could reach into everyone’s homes in Britain and America, on their TV screens and in newspapers – right up to the President of the United States.”

He couldn’t unsee the images of hostages being burned alive in cages, others being flung to their deaths from buildings, or the videos of ISIS fighters joking about raping girls and trading them for guns.

And he still remembers the sheer horror he felt when he watched a sneering Jihadi John, the Islamic State’s most notorious executioner, behead his victims.

“I remember seeing the brave faces of the hostages with Jihadi John standing behind them as they read their last statements before they were killed and I felt for their families,” Macer said. 

It was 2014 and Macer knew he had to do something to help – and that called for drastic action. 

He’d been toying with the idea of entering politics and becoming a Tory councillor, but with the daily onslaught of horrors unfolding in Syria, Macer decided to pick up a gun instead. 

In the weeks that followed, Macer quit his comfortable banking job in the City, pulled out from buying a house and broke up with his girlfriend.

Macer lied to his parents – his one regret – and told them he was going to Turkey to do some humanitarian work. 

But in reality, he was travelling 3,000 miles to fight ISIS jihadists alongside the Kurds in Syria – all without any military experience. 

“I was basically throwing myself into the deep end,” Macer admits, saying that his only experience of army life was being in the cadets at school. 

Rather than ringing in 2015 with his family in Cambridgeshire, he was toasting the New Year in the mountains of Syria with rebel fighters. 

The first few months in Syria were “pretty boring”, Macer says, with his days spent being trained up by fellow foreign fighters from Britain and America. 

And then it all changed. 

While his banker friends were enjoying a “brilliant” life in London, Macer and thousands of other Kurds were fighting in the alleyways of towns and cities across Syria. 

But it was when they reached the ISIS capital Raqqa in 2017 where the fighting became relentless, with hundreds of Macer’s comrades dying on a weekly basis for six months. 

Macer Gifford, a British man who fought with the Kurds against ISIS in Syria.
Rather than ringing in 2015 with his family in Cambridgeshire, Macer was toasting the New Year in the mountains of Syria with rebel fighters
A former banker with two Syrian soldiers.
Facebook /Macer Gifford
Macer Gifford, pictured with Kurdish fighters, left his life behind in the UK to oust ISIS[/caption]
Syrian Kurdish militia firing guns in Raqqa.
Alamy
Fighters of the People’s Protection Units, a mainly-Kurdish militia in Syria, fire towards ISIS militants[/caption]
Syrian Democratic Forces sniper aiming rifle through wall.
Reuters
A sniper of the Syrian Democratic Forces aims his weapon in Raqqa[/caption]
Drone footage of damaged buildings in Raqqa, Syria.
AP:Associated Press
Damaged buildings in Raqqa two days after Syrian Democratic Forces ousted ISIS[/caption]

Raqqa was ISIS’s epicentre – and where Macer had watched with horror as Jihadi John and other ISIS terrorists executed prisoners years earlier. 

But now, he was there to fight against the terrorist thugs. 

He said: “Raqqa was horrendous. It was a city that became almost completely destroyed by the end of the operation to liberate it. 

“The city was held by a lot of fanatical ISIS supporters that were determined to keep it at whatever cost – and they were willing to die for it.” 

Brutal street battles followed between ISIS fighters and the 20,000 Kurdish fighters who were supported by the US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab forces. 

“It was street to street fighting, alleyway to alleyway, stairwell to stairwell – and the city around us was slowly being destroyed,” Macer said. 

“Every day there were cars filled with bombs that would race towards our positions and it would give us just a couple of minutes to destroy them. 

“The amount of close calls we had where a car bomb would be coming down the street and an American F-16 fighter jet would come in and blow it up with a missile.”

But there were other times they weren’t so lucky. 

Macer said: “It wasn’t unusual to see 20 or 30 guys killed or injured from these massive explosions. 

“The Islamic State had already pre-built these suicide vehicles and they’d knocked down the walls of houses and used them as makeshift garages. 

“And from the air, all the Americans could see was a house so they had no evidence of anything inside so they wouldn’t bomb it. 

“It was only when we drew close to them and were 500 metres away that a suicide bomber would get inside the vehicle, turn it on, and then pull it out of the house and race towards us.”

Macer will never forget the horrors he witnessed and the scenes of utter despair.

Prisons where chains on the walls showed where hundreds had been tortured and killed, bodies of civilians and his friends amongst the rubble. 

He remembers a mission where his team were tasked with finding Yazidi women who had been forced into being sex slaves for ISIS fighters. 

“We were hoping that there were still women there at this brothel,” Macer says. 

But they were too late. ISIS had moved the women just hours before. 

Macer said: “All we found were dirty mattresses and chains on the floor. 

“The women had been writing on the war and it was just a moment of complete despair for us all because we had so hoped to get to them and set them free.”

To this day, there are still thousands of Yazidi girls missing and presumed dead – or still being held prisoner by  ISIS terrorists’ in the deserts of Syria and Iraq where the Islamic State fled. 

The civilians living in Raqqa also became target practice for ISIS snipers. 

“The civilians would come out of buildings waving white flights and calling for the Kurds to rescue them,” Macer recalls. 

“But that went against everything that ISIS stood for. They saw these people as traitors, so they began to shoot at them and they began to target them in suicide bombings.

Islamic State militants marching in formation.
AP:Associated Press
ISIS fighters receiving military training in the eastern Syrian province of Deir el-Zour[/caption]
Kurdish YPG fighters running in Raqqa, Syria.
Reuters
Kurdish fighters from the People’s Protection Units (YPG) run across a street in Raqqa[/caption]
A crying woman holds a baby close.
EPA
ISIS militants ruled Raqqa for years, leaving a trail of carnage[/caption]
A man carries an injured girl who is hooked up to an IV.  Two soldiers stand behind them.
Getty - Contributor
A member of th Syrian Democratic Forces holds an girl injured by a mine in Raqqa city[/caption]
Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa, Syria, after the liberation of the city.
AP:Associated Press
Members of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Raqqa after ‘total liberation’[/caption]

“ISIS were wasting quite crucial infrastructure and weapons to kill the civilian.

“And the reason they were willing to do that was because it set an example to the rest of the people in the city that they wouldn’t tolerate any form of surrender or cooperation with the opposition.

“After a few months, the smell of death hovered over the city. The threat of Islamic State ambushes, of IEDs, was constant.

“We lost a lot of good people on missions where we would be pushing through the streets and we’d be ambushed.

“Other times, I saw young people who were fighting alongside us peering out of windows when they heard noises outside and being shot by snipers.”

His voice quiet, Macer added: “We lost a lot of friends in the city. I’m the only survivor in the team of foreigners that came to fight in Raqqa.”

Macer’s last mission in Syria was the battle for a hospital in central Raqqa, which had become the stronghold for the Islamic State in the city. 

His team were ambushed on a road nearby and Macer watched his commander and another soldier shot dead by ISIS fighters. 

He was hit by shrapnel from from a ricocheted bullet and fell to the ground.

“I crawled off the road and turned to engage the ISIS fighters that were shooting off us and I rushed off the road. I hadn’t even notice I’d been hit really, my mind went into a blur,” Macer says.

“I could hear the snap of the bullets as they cracked around my head.”

And what followed was what Macer can only describe as “24 hours of hell”. 

“We came under this sustained attack with no food and no water for 24 hours,” he said.

It was only the intervention of the Americans as they bombed the area and destroyed the ISIS positions that saved their lives, Macer says.

A soldier standing on sandbags with a flag in the background.
Facebook /Macer Gifford
Macer refused to leave Syria until ISIS had been defeated[/caption]
A Syrian Democratic Forces fighter stands amidst the rubble of destroyed buildings in Raqqa, Syria.
Reuters
A fighter from Syrian Democratic Forces stands next to debris of damaged buildings in Raqqa in 2017[/caption]
Syrian Democratic Forces fighters on an armored vehicle in Raqqa, Syria.
Reuters
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces pictured after Raqqa was liberated from ISIS[/caption]
Arab and Kurdish fighters in a truck.
AP:Associated Press
Arab and Kurdish fighters with the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in 2017[/caption]

From there, Macer and his team fought ISIS fighters at the hospital in bloody battles.

The former banker would fire at snipers hiding near windows with his sniper rifles and blast RPGs through the openings. 

“And then one day, the radio started blaring after the third day and they said stop firing at the hospital,” Macer said. 

The sound of cracking bullets and explosions stopped instantly.

But when Macer looked out at the hospital from his bombed out building, he was horrified by what he was seeing. 

“We turned and there was an Islamic State fighter holding a baby out of the window,” Macer says, shaking his head at the memory. 

“The message was clear: We’ve got children and civilians in here, stop shooting at us.” 

And then the fighting stopped. 

After six months of brutal fighting against ISIS in Raqqa, the city was finally liberated in October 2017 and Macer watched the terrorists limp out of the city, broken and destroyed. 

“One day, the Islamic State surrendered and we were asked not to shoot at them when they eventually left the city,” he says.

“It was a moment of relief, because for the first time I realised that the battle for Raqqa was over. 

“And there was a feeling of satisfaction because I saw the Islamic State fighters limping to these buses that they’d provided for them and they drove into the desert where they’d eventually be hunted down and killed anyway.”  

He said: “Finally, people were out in the streets, women were taking of their burqas that they’d been forced to wear and you could openly play music and be yourself for the first time.”

For Macer, watching ISIS surrender in Raqqa was the end of the war for him. 

“For three years I’d been fighting ISIS and given up my life, and it was, as far as I was concerned, completely over for me,” Macer says. 

“I’d begun to lose my fear – and the moment you lose your fear, you no longer duck when you hear things and you no longer hide and instead you want to go out and keep fighting.

“But I realised I was going down the wrong path, so I was very grateful that the war came to an end for me when Islamic State fled Raqqa.” 

By the end of the fight against ISIS, 12,000 Kurds would die fighting and around 100,000 terrorists were killed. 

“And when ISIS were finally defeated, there were more than 100,000 prisoners – even to this day – sitting in camps, the most famous from Britain being Shamima Begum,” Macer says.

He decided to finally go home to his family – but that wasn’t the last time Macer would pick up a uniform. 

Syrian Democratic Forces fighters giving the "V" sign on a balcony.
Reuters
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces gesture the “V” sign at the frontline in Raqqa in October 16, 2017[/caption]
A group of Ukrainian soldiers posing for a selfie near Kherson.
Chris Eades
Macer pictured in Ukraine with other fighters[/caption]
Ukrainian soldiers near Kherson.
Chris Eades
Macer spent months with Ukraine’s 131st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion[/caption]

Macer went on to fight against Vladimir Putin’s forces with foreign volunteer forces in Ukraine in 2022, helping to liberate the city of Kherson. 

He spent months with Ukraine’s 131st Separate Reconnaissance Battalion, gathering intel, finding minefields and clearing treelines to make way for Kyiv’s forces. 

After months fighting, he came home again to be close to his dad, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s. But within weeks of arriving back in the UK, Macer’s father passed away. 

Macer is now looking towards the future and after seeing the Syrian rebels run Assad and his brutal forces out of the country is planning on going back to a country he still holds close to his heart. 

He’d seen the defeat of ISIS in Raqqa in 2017 as a moment of change for Syria – but it was squandered with the country engulfed in a brutal civil war that would leave millions dead. 

Now, after seven years, there’s another transformative moment in Syria’s history with the HTS rebels defeating dictator Assad who fled to Putin’s Russia

But Macer fears that the HTS rebels might not be able to reform Syria. 

“My fear for Syria is that the civil war will continue, that the rebels in Damascus, the Turkish rebels in the North and the Kurds that lead the SDF will start fighting amongst themselves to try and create one winner at the end of this.” 

And Macer says that could risk the emergence of ISIS in Syria, with the terrorists taking advantage of any more chaos.

But Macer still has hope that Syria can rebuild after Assad’s regime collapsed – and the answer lies with the West supporting locals on the ground who want a better future for the country.

Map of Syria showing control areas of different groups after Assad's fall.

EXCLUSIVE: ISIS plotting wave of terror from camps, warns general who defeated cult

By Henry Holloway, Deputy Foreign Editor

ISIS could unleash a new wave of terror by springing fighters from camps like the one holding Shamima Begum, a top general who helped defeat the death cult has revealed.

General Mazloum Abdi, who leads the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – a Kurdish-led US-backed militia, sounded the alarm over the resurgent terror group.

Speaking to The Sun in an interview with documentarian and ex-soldier Alan Duncan, Abdi said there are currently 10,000 male fighters in prisons ready to bring devastation back to the Middle East.

General Abdi revealed SDF believe that ISIS forces – which were bravely driven back by his troops – are currently organising a prisonbreak of fighters still held in Syria.

He also warned the threat of ISIS continues in the West.

General Abdi said: “The threat of jihadist groups – not just ISIS – will exist until the fundamentals they were founded on are destroyed.

“We must continue our struggle.”

He also called on the West to do more to bring these fighters to justice – and to support trials and convictions for the atrocities they committed in the Middle East.

General Abdi told The Sun: “The threat of ISIS in detention centres and camps is increasing and there is an increase in the movement of ISIS in general.

“There is a need to intensify efforts to continue to fight against ISIS if we don’t want to see a resurgence.”

READ MORE HERE

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Secret to how Kate Middleton keeps her 20-inch glossy mane split ends-free, according to a hairdresser

THE Princess of Wales rarely has a hair out of place when she steps out for an engagement, and it’s all thanks to a simple hack that anyone can try.

On Monday, Kate paid her respects during the commemorations marking Holocaust Memorial Day alongside her husband, Prince William.

The Princess of Wales visiting a textile manufacturer.
PA
The Princess of Wales visiting a textile manufacturer in January[/caption]
The Princess of Wales visiting a textile manufacturer.
PA
She looked elegant as her long 20-inch locks blew in the wind[/caption]

She looked effortlessly chic, wearing a tailored long blazer coat, trousers, and a five-strand pearl necklace.

However, it was her immaculate hair that added the finishing touch to her elegant look.

Michael Gray, a multi-award-winning hairstylist, has revealed the secret tricks behind the bouncy blow-dry look that Kate is known for.

He explained that many people still forget the importance of having regular haircuts every eight weeks, even when growing their hair.

This, he says, ensures that hair stays “lovely, long, and healthy.”

Speaking to Hello! Magazine, he said: “[It’s important to] take off the very ends to maintain your hair’s health.

“During certain moments in women’s lives, hair changes, even when they reach their 40s.”

Michael emphasised that regular trims will not stop you from growing your hair and that it’s still possible to maintain “long, luscious hair like Princess Kate.”

He also recommends using stimulating hair products, which he believes are part of Kate’s hair care routine.

Michael suggests using the Nioxin hair range to achieve healthy locks.

He highlights the Scalp and Hair Thickening System 1 Shampoo for Natural Hair with Light Thinning (300ml), which is currently priced at £18.80 on LookFantastic.

This shampoo lathers onto the scalp to remove impurities and excess oil, creating the optimal scalp environment to promote thicker, stronger, and more resilient-looking hair.

Additionally, he recommends the Living Proof Scalp Care Density Serum, available from Cult Beauty for £54.

Finally, Michael suggests incorporating hair growth and strengthening supplements into your routine, such as Perfectil.

Catherine, Princess of Wales, smiling in a blue dress.
It is clear that Kate has always looked after her hair
The Mega Agency

Professional hairstylist Tom Pike has also noted that Kate has recently “upgraded” her hairstyle to the ‘Hollywood wave.’

Speaking to Hello! magazine, he explained: “To achieve this, you would use either a smoothing cream or a good blow-dry spray.

“Blow-dry your hair smooth, then, using a large barrel wand, twist the hair around the tool, taking slightly thicker sections as you work. Once this is done, gently brush it out.”

Kate Middleton's 'Youthful' Eyebrow Trick

AMY Bates, make-up artist and founder of thebeautyrebellion.co.uk shares how Kate Middleton's beauty tricks...

Many people experience eyebrow thinning as they get older – but Kate’s have done the opposite.

The Princess opts for a fuller look, which gives her a more youthful appearance.

Amy Bates, hair stylist, make-up artist and founder of thebeautyrebellion.co.uk, says: “If you have lines and wrinkles under the eye, the right brows can draw attention away from that area and make it less noticeable.

“In her younger years, Kate’s brows were thin and heavily plucked but now they are growing back thicker.

“I imagine a specialist has helped her using a technique such as HD Brows, where the natural brows are tinted and shaped.”

And she also appears to have ditched harsher eyeliner too.

Amy says: “Kate is still wearing eyeliner but it is much softer and not too dark. She now prefers smoky brown and bronze hues, which are more flattering.

“Thick lines can make people look older and Kate understands this.”

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