Hughes masterclass after hand surgery beats Manly
Southern River bushfire: Residents on alert as firefighters work to douse suspicious blaze
Broadway Boy health update after horror fall during Grand National that left jockey in hospital
GRAND NATIONAL horse Broadway Boy is “stiff and sore” after his horrendous fall – but is okay and heading home.
Jockey Tom Bellamy was rushed to hospital after 66-1 Broadway Boy, who was leading the world’s most famous race, came down at the 25th fence in yesterday’s race.


The former Cheltenham winner was back on his feet but taken into a horse ambulance.
Punters waited for a positive update on the runner’s health as he stayed at his Aintree stable overnight so he could be monitored by vets.
Trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies’ son Sam issued a positive update on his situation this morning.
He wrote in reply to people asking if the horse was safe.
Sam wrote: “He’s stiff and sore but all being well travelling home this morning.”
Sam’s brother Willy then took to social media to confirm Broadway Boy was ready to return home.
He added: “Thank you for all the lovely messages, more importantly thanks to all the vets at @AintreeRaces.
“Broadway Boy is getting loaded onto the horse ambulance and coming home.
“Such a special horse to all of us at Grangehill farm. Big thanks to Laura who has stayed with him all night.”
Celebre D’Allen was another horse put into an ambulance after yesterday’s pulsating race, won by 33-1 Nick Rockett.
Sun Racing’s Matt Chapman confirmed the outsider had suffered heatstroke but was on the path to making a recovery.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY..
The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video.Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheSunFootball and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
Regional UK airport reveals new premium lounge as part of £9million renovation and it’s open to all passengers
A REGIONAL airport in the UK has revealed its plans to open a new premium lounge as part of its £9million renovation.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport will open a new Aspire Executive Lounge before the peak summer season hits airports.


The new Aspire Executive Lounge will be three times larger than the airport’s current Aspire lounge.
It will also be able to fit twice as many passengers, with enough space for up to 200 guests.
The new lounge will be spread across two tiers.
One tier will have all the classic Aspire facilities, while the other tier will be adults-only.
Its adults-only tier will have private booths, a communal workspace, its own toilet facilities and premium snacks and drinks.
When it opens later this year, the lounge will be open to passengers from 4am to 9pm.
Passengers will be able to book to use the lounge online – although prices have yet to be revealed.
The airport’s current Aspire Lounge first opened in 2012, becoming the first of its kind outside London.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport’s commercial director, Lucy O’Shaughnessy, commented: “With a nod to the City’s iconic Liver Building, this fantastic new lounge will have a look and feel that will reflect the area and city region.
“The increased capacity and improved facilities will have a real premium feel, giving those passengers looking for somewhere special to relax before their departure, a great start to their journey from Liverpool.
“We are also creating a space that will be able to accommodate the growing numbers of passengers using Liverpool both now and into the future too.”
Other improvements are also being made to the departure lounge at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
A new American-themed all-day diner called Monty’s is slated to open at the airport later this year.
The new diner will have enough space for 190 diners and will serve a range of dishes like bagels, loaded waffles, burgers and hot dogs.
Largely aimed at families, the new restaurant will also serve desserts and milkshakes.
The new American diner is part of the £9million investment being pumped into the airport by SSP, its food and beverage partner.
A third coffee shop will also be built under the plans, with Starbucks and Upper Crust being upgraded.
The Kissing Gate Pub and Kitchen will also be extended and upgraded.
Elsewhere in the UK, several other airports are also undergoing huge revamps to help improve passenger experiences.
One of those places is Bristol Airport where a huge five-year overhaul is set to take place.
The main improvement will be increasing the terminal size, which will increase by 70 per cent.
It follows a record number of people travelling through the airport, welcoming 10million passengers in 12 months for the first time.
The Sun's Head of Travel on why the UK needs more airport expansion
THE Sun’s Head of Travel Lisa Minot weighs in…
THERE’S nothing I like to hear more than news of expansions and transformations of our airports.
Anything that will improve the experience is welcome.
Last year, 106million passengers flew from our airports. Heathrow saw 79.2million passengers pass through its terminals with Manchester the second busiest airport outside London handling 20million passengers.
More of us are flying than ever before.
The number of passengers flying to and from UK airports more than doubled between 1992 and 2019.
This is due in no small part to the explosion in travel that came with the rise of low-cost airlines like easyJet and Ryanair.
And our regional airports are becoming ever more important thanks to the astonishing growth of Jet2 from a small freight airline to the UK’s largest tour operator.
The infrastructure at many of our smaller airports is groaning under pressure from ever-increasing numbers.
With the government insisting all airports switch to new high-tech CT scanners, security halls have had to be transformed.
All improvements will benefit the travelling public, hopefully transforming what can be a stressful experience into something far more exciting.
London Stansted Airport confirmed a £1.1billion renovation, with a £600million new terminal.
And Manchester Airport is currently undergoing a £1.3billion renovation.

The 1% Club viewers stumped by tricky time question – but could you get it right in 30 seconds?
QUIZ fans were at a loss when trying to solve a tough question on the 1% Club.
Lee Mack’s ITV quiz is a weekly quiz show that sees 100 contestants compete for a £100,000 prize pot.


All they have to do is answer 15 logic-inspired questions that get progressively harder.
It kicks off with a question which 90 per cent of the population polled got right.
It then goes on to ask questions which smaller and smaller percentages of the country got right, culminating with a 1% question.
Get one wrong and they are eliminated — and their money is put into a pool that’s later split between the one per cent who get the ultimate question right.
There was a 20% question that had left plenty of people stumped during an episode that aired in 2023.
The question asked, “A digital clock uses a maximum of seven lines per digit, which can be used to create any time. How many lines are lit at 10:05am?”
The clip was shared to TikTok where people took a stab at answering the question in the comments section.
Answers ranged from 19 to 21, 27 and even seven, with other people admitting they can’t even solve the simpler puzzles at the start of the game.
“I can’t even get to the 70 percent question,” joked one person.
Some also questioned how to count the actual lines on a digital clock.
“Why am I one of the few people that thinks 1 is made with 3 lines? And I think I am correct,” asked one TikTok user.
Players on the ITV show only have 30 seconds to answer the question, and in this instance the correct answer was 19.
Quiz show host Lee explained why The 1% Club has become such a hit.
“Great contestants, loads of cash to win, and guaranteed ‘I can’t believe you couldn’t work that one out Dad!’ moments to cause family disputes — I love it,” he previously told The Sun.
He continued: “I like quizzes that are tough. I watch University Challenge knowing that if I’m lucky I’ll get a couple of questions right, and I’m more than happy with that because when you get it right, you feel great.
“That’s what I really like about The 1% Club. Producers shared some questions with me and if I’d been able to get them all right, I probably wouldn’t have done the show. But I quickly realised if someone gets these right, they’re a proper brainbox.”
My drinking problem almost killed me but I still couldn’t go sober – the 99% approach finally saved my life
LIKE many Brits, Paddy Ruddy didn’t know how to live without booze.
The 38-year-old believed it made him who he was – ‘Party Paddy’ – a successful businessman who was the life of the party.


But deep down, Paddy was hiding a dark secret – a battle he was losing against drinking.
Here, the dad-of-two young children shares his ‘rock bottom’ moment, that proved the catalyst he needed to go ’99 per cent sober’ – a method he believes could be more effective for many drinkers than going tee-total.
It’s the basis of his book, 99% Sober: Improve Your Health, Wealth and Happiness by Taking Control of Your Drinking.
IT was a Monday night and I was alone in the house, so I decided to have ‘a glass of red’ while wrapping the kids’ Christmas presents.
I remember wrapping the presents – then nothing… blackout.
When I woke up the next morning, fully clothed and head pounding, I tried to fill the blanks while in crisis management mode.
Wandering around the house, I expected to find a trail of destruction from my one-man party, only to find the Christmas presents wrapped under the tree, the tree lights off.
The kitchen was also pristine, other than a wine glass on the draining board.
I felt relieved – so what if I had drunk alcohol, the housework was done and I’d ticked a job off my festive to-do list?
Then I walked into the utility room and found three empty bottles of wine lined up… a heavy night, even for me.
Picking up my phone I felt a sinking feeling. I found eight outgoing calls to my wife, all after midnight.
She’s sent a stream of messages on WhatsApp that are all too familiar – disbelief, disappointment, concern, anger.
It’s not until I see the video I sent her, that I’m left in utter despair.
I honestly don’t recognise the person in the video. It is me, but I am totally out of it.
The muscles in my face have relaxed to the point it’s drooping, like I have suffered a stroke. My eyes are heavily glazed.
I’m slurring something along the lines of, ‘See, I’m not that bad, I’ve just had a few glasses of wine.’ But my voice doesn’t sound like my own.
For the twenty years prior to this day, in December 2021, I had convinced myself that I didn’t have a drinking problem.
I wasn’t drinking cider on a park bench or pouring vodka on my cornflakes, so I thought I had things under control.
I felt like without drink, I wouldn’t have been as successful in my career in finance.
I went from my fairly modest upbringing in Glasgow to champagne-fuelled lunches with clients and fancy hotels across Europe and felt like I was living the dream.
I felt like people wouldn’t like me as much or that my wife of seven years, with whom I had a toddler and a baby, wouldn’t want to stay with me.
Many serious events were dressed up as “hilarious” anecdotes to be told at parties or down the pub
Paddy
In truth, the Christmas wrapping present incident was not a major “rock bottom” – I’d had plenty of those before.
Three years prior, I had come close to walking out in the street.
I was waiting at the side of the road waiting to cross in the city centre.
But as the ‘green man’ sounded twice over, I stood there, contemplating what would happen if I just walked out in front of a bus.
When I thought of how my family would feel, I put the idea to the back of my mind and carried on.
It’s a shameful secret of mine that I never spoke of to anyone.
I had been overwhelmed with the sheer pressure of a newborn baby and my job but still managed to find time to drink between the sleepless nights.
I’d ended up in hospital multiple times after being injured during my black out drinking sessions, yet thought I was invincible.
I was sacked from my job for turning up drunk but got another job, and celebrated with a three-day bender.

But that morning, the penny was beginning to drop… my life had been narrowed by drinking.
It was a life where I made it to the end of the work week exhausted, reached for a drink (many), before starting the next week sluggish, limping through it and then repeating the cycle.
I had tried giving up countless times before, only to last a week, and drinking in moderation had also failed.
After a period of complete abstinence I’d eventually convince myself that I wasn’t an alcoholic and that I should try to moderate, which eventually led to another big blowout and ‘quitting’ again.
This cycle would just repeat over and over.
Until I found something that finally worked, the 99 per cent approach.
I’m not ‘poor abstinent Paddy with his non-drinking cross to bear’ – I made a choice not to drink, and if you are someone who struggles to drink ‘normally’, the 99 per cent approach might work for you.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN…
Like a lot of people in the UK, drinking has been a part of my life since my teens when I was getting blackout drunk with my mates at the weekend.
Many serious events were dressed up as “hilarious” anecdotes to be told at parties or down the pub.
When I grew up and went off to university, or started a new job, I knew how to make friends easily – just add booze.
I lacked confidence but knew that a few drinks would sort me out and help me feel like the ‘real me’.
For a decade or so, I felt like I had everything, and from the outside, I looked like I was doing well – but deep down, I knew my drinking was causing me harm.
The anxiety I felt when I wasn’t drinking was growing. I was constantly feeling like I would be caught out and exposed.
As my anxiety grew, I drank more to drown it out. I lived in a perpetual state of alert.
The lies I had to tell to cover for my drinking also got bigger, the hangovers harder to shake, and the gaps between drinking sessions getting shorter.

By my late twenties, I knew I needed to try and rein it in if I was to have any semblance of a normal life.
It came to a head that December night, when I accepted that as someone with a drinking problem, moderation was an impossible dream.
I started to see alcohol for what it was to me: It was an addictive substance that doesn’t do me any favours.
This seems very simple, and whilst it’s how I see it now, it’s not how I have viewed it for most of my life.
MY TURNING POINT
I was anxious, apprehensive, nervous, even scared about giving up.
What if I never had a ‘good time’ again? How do I even socialise?
I’m ‘Party Paddy’ – quick with a joke and first on the dance floor, the man you could rely on to get the party started AND keep it going.
I jumped on the Dry January bandwagon in 2022, which made it easier, but when it was over, I just kept right on going.
I was 100 per cent sober for six months.
Here are a few tips that really helped me:
- Reading as much literature on alcohol and people’s ‘going sober’ books as I could. This helped me feel like I wasn’t alone – just as you might feel reading this now.
- Keeping a journal.
- Going to the gym; after just a few weeks, I realised I wanted to keep feeling good and strong. A toned physique didn’t happen overnight because… (see below point)
- Eating more sugar; This is a rather known phenomenon that quitting alcohol triggers a craving for sugar, so I leaned into it for the time being.
- I bought nice things, because I’d spent years buying cheap stuff so I wouldn’t be upset when it inevitibly got lost or broken due to my drinking.
- I put staying sober before anything else, which meant avoiding situations you would have drunk entirely, for at least three months.


MY RELAPSE… AND LEARNING TO BE 99% SOBER
Whilst I’d worked out how to navigate work events, Christmases and family holidays without booze, my ‘relapse’ came when I had a stag do in Ireland, in July 2022.
I crumbled in the first pub, on the first night, watching some of my oldest friends having a great time.
I fully joined in the rest of the weekend, and I absolutely loved it.
I could have beat myself up, thought ‘f*ck it’ and carried on drinking once I got home, or restarted my ‘sober day count’ from that trip.
But I’d argue that it was part of the process and the beginning of what I can actually stick to, which is 99 per cent sober.
‘99% sober’, or ‘dry by default’, is a label for those of us who are fed up with drinking on autopilot, but aren’t ready to shut the door on it completely.
That one per cent wiggle room meant I no longer felt like I was depriving myself of anything.
It offers you the option to drink but only when it will enhance your experience or benefit you.
Now, that doesn’t mean you start telling yourself that booze will enhance the experience of loading the dishwasher on a Wednesday afternoon.
It might not even mean having a special drink on your birthday, a wedding or when the sun comes out and you’re sitting in a pub garden.
I’ve decided there are only three scenarios I would choose to drink: A stag do, Vegas and Ibiza.
For me, going 99 per cent sober took the power away from alcohol.

I’ve traded in a life filled with hangovers and anxiety to one filled with energy, happiness and fulfilment.
I never thought of myself as being depressed at the time, but now that I no longer drink, I can see that drinking was doing the opposite of making me happy.
It’s difficult to describe without sounding like a t*sser, but there is a lightness to how I feel now.
There is less anxiety, no more feelings of impending doom, I sleep like a baby and I’ve been promoted twice in two years.
I’m a better dad. I had the red line of ‘I never drink in front of the kids’. But it just meant I waited until they were in bed to get smashed.
But my wife bore the brunt the most. I was a passenger in our life while I pushed more and more responsibility onto her. Now, there is balance to our relationship.
You don’t need to wait for a dramatic rock bottom to try the 99 per cent approach. Don’t tie yourself in knots asking, ‘Am I an alcoholic?’ ‘Do I have a drinking problem?’ Flip it on its head.
Ask yourself, ‘Would my life be better with less alcohol?’ If the answer is yes, or even maybe, it’s worth a shot.
Where to get help if you think you have a problem
If you think you might have a problem with booze then you may need to seek help.
This might be the case if you often feel the need to have a drink or if you get into trouble because of your drinking.
If other people have warned you about your drink and it’s causing you problems then a good place to start is your GP.
There are other places you can go to get help:
- Drinkline: Call 0300 123 1110 (weekdays 9am to 8pm, weekends 11am to 4pm).
- AA – a free self help group that follows the 12 step programme
- Al-Anon Family Groups – a group for friends and family members impacted by drinking
- We Are With You – for individuals, families and communities struggling – call 0808 8010 750 – if you’re over 50 and worried about booze
- Adfam – local support groups and message boards
- National Association for Children of Alcoholics (Nacoa) – call 0800 358 3456
- SMART Recovery – to help people discover if they have a problem
Grand National 2025 LIVE RESULTS: Broadway Boy update plus reaction after Nick Rockett won Aintree showpiece – latest
NICK ROCKETT powered home to win a thrilling Grand National at Aintree!
While in the following Dubai Cup later in the evening, Frankie Dettori on Mixto was beaten ON THE LINE by Hit Show.
The Willie Mullins’ trained Nick Rockett won an emotional National, in tribute for the horse’s late co-owner Sadie Andrews.
Follow ALL of the latest from Aintree below…
BBC set for another weekend shake up as FA Cup games cause havoc for huge primetime shows
TELLY viewers have been left up in arms after discovering sporting action could cause havoc with their favourite programmes this month.
Viewers of Doctor Who in particular – who could miss out on the show’s Eurovision sci fi special due to the FA Cup Final – have now learned the footballing contest’s semi final stage could spark a schedule shake-up too.



This weekend, we reported how Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies said he didn’t know “if we’ll even be transmitted” on FA Cup Final day, on May 17.
With the nail-biting clash broadcast on terrestrial TV, the FA Cup semi cup final stage – which airs live from Wembley – will take place on April 26 and 27.
On April 26, it has been confirmed BBC One will air the clash between Crystal Palace and Aston Villa – and fans are already outraged at the schedule shake-up, with the kick off time penned in for 5:15pm.
They hailed the upcoming weeks for TV as being subject to “sporting disruption mode.”
One took to X to write: “The #FACup Semi-Final schedules have just been confirmed, with more potential disruption to #DoctorWho (in addition to the final on 17th May).
“BBC One will show Crystal Palace v Aston Villa on Saturday 26th April with 5:15pm kick-off.”
A fan was quick to moan: “Everything stops for corporate football doesn’t it!?”
Another then suggested: “Why can’t they just show football on bbc2?”
One then suggested: “Meaning that Doctor Who will have to shift to Sunday evening that week (on the 27th of April 2025) at 7:15pm which will be preceded by Antiques Roadshow provisionally – this will be the first of two outings on a Sunday to come for DW in sporting disruption mode. Countryfile, DW, AR ??”
Another ranted: “Why does football get priority all year round.”
Yet others were in favour of the FA Cup Semi Final being broadcast on terrestrial telly.
One mused: “Audience for the football would be double or triple that anyway.”
FA CUP FINAL TV DISRUPTION
On May 17, should the FA Cup final action at Wembley extend to extra time or penalties, it could prompt another headache for telly bosses.
This is because the Saturday marks the same day as the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel.
With the singing extravaganza a firm fixture in the schedule – and broadcast live – it would mean Doctor Who’s quirky sci fi episode penned for the same day would need to be shifted.
Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies recently expressed his concerns and said: “The FA Cup is going live on BBC One, and then you have Eurovision going live in the evening, we’re squeezed in the middle.
“We don’t know if we’ll even be transmitted that day.”
He added to OK! Magazine: “It will be on iPlayer but you’ll have to sit through a football match to know whether Doctor Who will be out that night.”
He continued: “They [the BBC] asked if we wanted to move it.
“But I said, ‘That’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever heard. Let’s find out!’”
However, Doctor Who’s overall future is looking rather bleak, with the 2025 Christmas special set to be scrapped for the first time in six years after a plunge in ratings.
The Beeb previously confirmed Ncuti would return as the titular Time Lord, but he is already believed to have filmed his regeneration exit scene — and crew fear the BBC will then axe the show altogether.



England’s ‘newest town’ is crowned BEST place to buy a home in UK with its own baseball arena – does yours make list?

ENGLAND’s newest town has been crowned the best place to buy a home in the UK — complete with its own baseball arena and bold plans for the future.
An incredible new development is being built in the town and it’s already being tipped as one of the smartest places to invest in 2025.



Named in The Times’ list of 20 property hotspots “on the up,” Brent Cross Town is quickly gaining attention for its slick design, eco credentials, and surprisingly strong sense of community, even before it’s finished.
The 180-acre site, wedged between Cricklewood and the North Circular, is being totally reimagined as a next-gen “15-minute neighbourhood.”
That means everything residents need schools, cafés, parks, sports centres, and shops is planned within walking distance.
There’s already a new Thameslink station, getting you to St Pancras in under 15 minutes, and by 2030, the area is set to be carbon neutral, powered by a state-of-the-art heat network.
Baseball isn’t just for the US anymore, England’s newest town is swinging big with the country’s first indoor arena.
Brent Cross Town is now home to the UK’s first indoor baseball and softball arena, already up and running.
New shops and venues are popping up fast.
There’s a coffee roaster, a sourdough bakery, a pizza joint, and an ice cream parlour already drawing crowds.
A 44-acre public park with everything from tennis courts to BMX tracks, plus a “neighbourhood square” for outdoor dining and community events.
Early buyers say the area feels like a hidden gem, but not for long.
Designer Stacy Chan, one of the first residents, told The Times: “There’s already a strong sense of community, and it’s so peaceful with all the green space. I’m thinking of getting a dog!”
Studios start at £420,000, while the average home in Brent Cross Town is priced around £732,000
That may sound steep, but compared to nearby Hampstead or West Hampstead, it’s still seen as good value.
And with huge infrastructure and lifestyle perks planned between now and 2050, buyers are betting early on what could become one of London’s most desirable addresses.
Full list of top 20 here:
- Brent Cross Town, London
- Macclesfield, Cheshire
- Eltham,London
- Liverpool: Fabric District
- Warrenpoint, Co Down
- Portsmouth, Hampshire
- Montrose, Angus
- Chester,Cheshire
- Baildon,West Yorkshire
- Bayswater, London
- Derby,Derbyshire
- Oswestry, Shopshire
- Holbeck Urban Village, Leeds
- Plymouth, Devon
- Bow, London
- Stoke-one-Trent, Straffordshire
- Saintfield, Co Down
- Govan, Glasgow
Other hotspots on the list include Macclesfield, loved for its mix of countryside charm and Manchester connections, and Swansea, where a revamped market and coastal lifestyle are drawing fresh interest.
Eltham in south-east London offers family-sized homes for less than £1m, while Liverpool’s Fabric District is booming with creativity and affordable flats.
Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland is tipped to soar thanks to a new cross-border bridge, and Portsmouth is riding a wave of seaside regeneration.
From Montrose in Scotland to Plymouth, Bow, Chester and Saundersfoot, the list is packed with places on the rise, offering buyers everything from beach views to big-city buzz.

