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On 12 November 1933, a man named Hugh Gray may well have started the orginal viral trend when he snapped the first known photograph of a creature lurking in Loch Ness.

Or, naysayers would argue, an unidentifiable object floating in Scotland’s famous deep waters.

Either way, the image caused a ripple effect that’s still being felt to this day, with people across the world visiting Loch Ness in the hope of getting a photo of “The Loch Ness monster” themselves.

But it hasn’t just been casual visitors.

Teams of investigators, underwater photographers and search teams have tried to find conclusive evidence of the infamous “water beast”, also known as Nessie.

In fact, the biggest search of the loch in 50 years took place over two days in August, with around 100 volunteers looking for the mysterious creature each day. The beast remained hidden throughout.

Volunteers watch the surface of Loch Ness in the Highlands of Scotland on Aug. 27, 2023, for signs of the legendary monster Nessie. Two groups undertook the biggest search for Nessie in 50 years on Aug. 26 and Aug. 27, with around 100 volunteers taking part each day.
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Volunteers watch the surface of Loch Ness. Pic: AP

Nessie Hunter vessel is seen as people take part in the largest Loch Ness Monster hunt for 50 years in Scotland, Britain, August 27, 2023
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Nessie Hunter vessel used as part of largest monster hunt for 50 years in August. Pic: AP

So are there genuine believers in a giant aquatic monster in 2023, or is Loch Ness now a mere tourist destination for travellers who want to say they’ve been?

Where it all began

The first high-profile report of a Nessie sighting was published by The Inverness Courier in 1933, after a local hotel manageress claimed she spotted a “water beast” in the loch.

Aldie Mackay described the moment she saw a “fearsome-looking monster” as she and her husband were driving near the water.

Mrs Mackay’s statement put Nessie on the map, but reported sightings at Loch Ness go all the way back to 565AD, according to historian, Professor Henry H Bauer.

The Inverness Courier’s report, along with Hugh Gray’s photo taken later that year, sparked a global and long-lasting fascination with finding the elusive monster.

Where we are now

We are now at least 1,155 official sightings in – and counting.

There have been nine logged sightings this year, with the last one coming on 7 October from a man on a coach that was passing the loch.

And much like with most jobs and hobbies, monster hunting has moved into the 21st century, with an Inverness and Loch Ness tourist site allowing you to investigate from the comfort of your home, via 24/7 CCTV across the loch.

Numerous theories have been put forward over the years, including that the creature may be a prehistoric marine reptile, a swimming circus elephant (yes, really) or, most recently, a giant eel.

Remains of a Plesiosaur, which many believe inspired the legend of the Loch Ness monster
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Remains of a Plesiosaur, the dinosaur which many believe inspired the legend of the Loch Ness monster

‘Real or not, it’s a win-win’

Willie Cameron, known widely by locals as “Mr Loch Ness”, is the founder of Loch Ness Marketing, a company providing services to film and media crews on location at the loch.

He estimates that this year alone, around two million tourists from around the world have visited Loch Ness, “probably generating in excess of £55m to the economy”.

Willie Cameron, known as "Mister Loch Ness," shows photos of his sighting of an unknown animal creature in Loch Ness. In Scotland on Saturday began what is believed to be the largest search for the Loch Ness monster, called Nessie, in decades.
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Willie Cameron shows photos of his sighting of an unknown creature in Loch Ness. Pic: AP

“Interest globally has never, ever been higher” in the monster, he adds.

When asked if he thinks there’s a scenario where the search for Nessie stops, the 72-year-old says: “Even if artificial intelligence came out tomorrow with 100 reasons why there is nothing in Loch Ness, trust me, 50% of people would believe that there is something in Loch Ness.

“We’re in a win-win situation. If it’s there, it’s there, if it’s not, it’s not going to make one iota of a difference. People love a mystery.”

The entrepreneur, who says his father had a potential sighting in 1965, told Sky News he also saw something “most unusual” in the loch in August 2016.

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A holidaymaker claims she may have taken a photograph of the legendary Loch Ness Monster

He adds that he knows plenty of people who say they’ve seen the monster, but would never speak to the media or officially log their sightings “for fear of being ridiculed”.

One cannot be blamed for feeling sceptical; the single certainty when it comes to Nessie is that there has never been any conclusive evidence she exists.

In fact, the most famous depiction of the beast, first published in 1934, was revealed to be a hoax in the 1990s.

FILE - This undated file photo shows a shadowy shape that some people say is a the Loch Ness monster in Scotland, later debunked as a hoax. The Loch Ness Centre in Scotland is calling for ...budding monster hunters... and volunteers to join in what it dubs the largest search for the Loch Ness Monster since the 1970s. The visitor attraction said Thursday, Aug. 3, 2023, that modern technology such as drones that produces thermal images of the lake will ...search the waters in a way that has never been done before....  (AP Photo/File)
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The ‘Surgeon’s Photograph’ in 1934 of the apparent monster was later confirmed a hoax

It begs the question: if we can’t trust a photo from the 1930s, how are we supposed to have faith in the age of Photoshop and AI modification?

Nurse by day, monster-sighting registrar by night

That’s where sightings gatekeeper Paige Daley comes in.

Ms Daley recently took over the official Loch Ness monster sightings register from her father, Gary Campbell, who also started the Loch Ness Monster Fan Club in 1996 after he had a potential Nessie sighting himself.

The site logs all known sightings dating back to early medieval England.

“I’m a nurse by day,” Ms Daley tells Sky News, “and then I spend the rest of my time looking into the Loch Ness monster and mystery of Loch Ness, trying to work out what’s going on.

“We receive hundreds of sightings through the year of unexplained things in Loch Ness. But it does go through a verification process.

“We’ve got to weed out what could be an actual occurrence in Loch Ness, what could be a hoax, and what does actually come down to being something unexplained that could be the monster.”

Is This The Loch Ness Monster - Man Takes Picture Of Creature In Loch Ness. Steve Challice/Cover Images
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Steve Challice is another member of the public who claims to have spotted the monster while on holiday in 2020. Pic: Steve Challice/Cover Images/AP

Ms Daley says she carries out a list of tasks before formally logging a sighting:

  • Assessing the background and foreground of images to make sure it’s Loch Ness and not a random body of water
  • Ruling out things that could be naturally occurring in Loch Ness. She says people sometimes send photos of what can be dismissed as ducks or seals, wakes from boats, or even scuba divers making bubbles in the water
  • With some sightings, contacting academics who have degrees in marine biology, to get their take.

She may also log sightings where no photo was taken – but anyone contacting her should expect an interrogation about what they saw.

“I think there is a heavy weighting towards people feeling that it is a true touristy gimmick,” Ms Daley admits.

“However, I feel that every person who does go there deep inside them believes that they truly could capture a glimpse of the Loch Ness monster.

“We’ve had over a thousand sightings of this unexplained creature at Loch Ness, so it may be an easy copout for people to say it’s a tourist attraction instead of looking at the evidence suggesting that there is something unexplained in Loch Ness.

“It’s amazing to see that 90 years ago, the world got the first glimpse of the Loch Ness Monster and that 90 years later, we’re still getting submissions.”

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Enthusiasts descended on the Scottish lake in a large search for the mythical creature in August

The scientist who didn’t quite rule it out

Professor Neil Gemmell, a scientist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, led a major international monster hunt at Loch Ness in June 2018.

He took 250 water samples from various depths, hoping to identify the tiny fragments of DNA that skin, feathers, scales and urine leave behind and compared it with known species.

It was from this study’s findings that the giant eel theory was born.

“There is a very significant amount of eel DNA. Eels are very plentiful in Loch Ness,” Prof Gemmell said when sharing the findings.

“Our data doesn’t reveal their size, but the sheer quantity of the material says that we can’t discount the possibility that there may be giant eels in Loch Ness.”

He added: “For the people who still want to believe in monsters, there is still a lot of uncertainty in our work.”

The professor wanted to search the lake to showcase the science of eDNA to the world.

He floated the idea on social media in 2016, expecting little interest. But a Scottish newspaper picked it up and “all hell broke loose”, Prof Gemmell told Sky News.

“I was getting phone calls and requests for interviews,” he said.

“Suddenly I was the New Zealander who was going to go hunting this monster using DNA technologies… I hadn’t actually done a damn thing yet. I’d just opened my mouth and said we could do it.

“I’ve never had that level of interest in any of my other science. My kids, who were about five and eight at the time, and all their friends were really excited by it.

“So I sat there and thought to myself, ‘You know, they don’t get excited about my other work. Maybe, I could take a few people – and myself – on a bit of an adventure’.”

He says he still receives emails about the monster to this day. Some of them are children’s drawings of Nessie, which the professor says are “always fun”.

His personal favourite piece of mail, he adds, was a five-page letter, “beautifully embossed” by someone claiming to be from a Scottish university, detailing a wild conspiracy involving the Official Secrets Act, the British military and the revelation that the Loch Ness monster was in fact a camel in a wetsuit.

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We thought starfish didn’t have heads – we were wrong

His interactions with Loch Ness enthusiasts has led him to conclude that “there are people who genuinely, fervently believe” in the monster, “and there’s others who exploit it”.

The man who gave up his job, girlfriend and house for Nessie

There are those who believe, and those who believe.

Steve Feltham holds the Guinness World Record for “the longest continuous vigil for the Loch Ness Monster”, with 32 years under his belt – and counting.

“I very much arrived here with a mission statement to prove to the world that this mystery warrants investigation,” he tells Sky News.

“But now, I’m doing it primarily for the satisfaction of my lifelong fascination, and anything I discover along the way that then seeps into the public domain is a bonus. It’s no longer my mission to convince the world.”

Mr Feltham speaks to us from his once-mobile library van – which he has dubbed “the research van” – now permanently located on Dores Beach, Loch Ness.

Monster hunter Steve poses outside of his van. Pic: Steve Feltham
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Monster hunter Steve Feltham outside his van. Pic: Steve Feltham

It’s been his home since he left his job as a burglar alarm installer, broke up with his long-term partner and sold his house in Dorset to pursue full-time monster hunting in 1991 – a dream born from visiting the loch with his parents when he was seven.

The 60-year-old has now spent more than half of his life watching over the Scottish waters, living off profits from handmaking and selling Nessie models to tourists.

In that time, he’s only had one near-sighting; when he saw something go through the water “like a torpedo”, with water spraying off the back of the object.

That was more than 30 years ago.

Asked if he’s still confident of spotting the infamous water beast, he says: “Well believe I’m in the right place to find it. Definitely.”

Steve looks over the loch from outside his van. Pic: Steve Feltham
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Mr Feltham looks over the loch. Pic: Steve Feltham

Pic: Steve Feltham
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Pic: Steve Feltham

Mr Feltham suspects Nessie is most likely to be a Wels catfish – one of the world’s largest freshwater fish – though he admits “we don’t have enough information yet to give a definitive answer”.

There are no guarantees in the monster-hunting trade. If he spends the rest of his life on Dores Beach and never finds Nessie, would he still stand by his life decisions?

“Good God, yes,” he assures us. “I spent 10 years in the rat race and at the age of 28 decided that it wasn’t for me and that there were other things I would rather do with my life.

“Following my passion, my dream, and being fully involved in a wonderful mystery on all sorts of levels… it’s the place I’m meant to be.”

A monster hunter’s legacy

Asked about what he wants to be remembered for, Mr Feltham says: “I want other people to remember that they don’t have to live a mundane life, doing something they really don’t want to do.

“If they’ve got a dream to do something else – to be a painter or be a singer, or go live in America or whatever their passion is – I’m here to say it doesn’t matter how odd that is. I mean, it’s quite an off-the-wall pursuit that I’ve chosen.

“But whatever they do,” he warns, “I certainly don’t want those people to come and sit in a camper van and try to solve this mystery! I want them to go on their own adventure.”

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‘We’re living a life sentence’: Family of man killed by psychiatric patient demand answers

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'We're living a life sentence': Family of man killed by psychiatric patient demand answers

A grief-stricken family has told Sky News they want “someone to take accountability” for the death of Lewis Stone, a retired butcher who was killed by a secure psychiatric unit patient released 10 days earlier.

In her first TV interview, Mr Stone’s step-daughter Vicki Lindsay said they were calling for an internal NHS Trust report to be made public so that lessons can be learned.

“The thought of anybody going through what we’ve gone through for the last six years… We’re living a life sentence,” she said.

On 28 February 2019, Lewis Stone was where he loved being most – the remote town of Borth on the west coast of Wales near Aberystwyth. It’s where he and his wife, Elizabeth, had a holiday home and planned to retire.

Vicki Lindsay, Lewis Stone’s step-daughter
Lewis Stone was fatally stabbed on 28 February 2019 by David Fleet, has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act after admitting manslaughter with diminished responsibility. Lewis' family are demanding Hywel Dda health board reveals details of internal NHS Trust report into Fleet's mental health treatment. Pics sourced from Joshi VT
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Lewis’s step-daughter, Vicki Lindsay, says the family wants an apology and accountability

That morning, Lewis left for his daily pre-breakfast walk with his beloved dog Jock along the River Leri and never came home.

He had been stabbed multiple times, and despite repeated attempts to save his life, he died in hospital three months later.

Lewis’s killer, David Fleet, was sectioned under the Mental Health Act after admitting manslaughter with diminished responsibility.

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Sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas QC said Lewis had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Lewis’s family disagrees: “I just want somebody to say, ‘Yes, we messed up, we’re sorry. It doesn’t change things but we’re sorry’.

“We’ve had none of that. Mum’s had nothing, no support, she’s had nothing. That’s all we want, an admission.”

Elizabeth Stone (wife); Vicki Lindsay, Lewis Stone’s step-daughter; Lewis Stone
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Elizabeth and Lewis Stone, with their step-daughter Vicki Lindsay (centre), in happier times

Lewis Stone and Sammy (Granddaughter) , 
Lewis Stone was fatally stabbed on 28 February 2019 by David Fleet, has been sectioned under the Mental Health Act after admitting manslaughter with diminished responsibility. Lewis' family are demanding Hywel Dda health board reveals details of internal NHS Trust report into Fleet's mental health treatment. Pics sourced from family via mark.thompson@sky.uk
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Lewis Stone and his grand-daughter Sammy

Fleet was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the attack and told psychiatrists if he had not stabbed Mr Stone, the voices in his head “were going to kill him”.

Four months earlier, he had been detained under the Mental Health Act, but despite concerns raised by his own family, it was decided he should be treated at home.

The Hywel Dda health board told Sky News they don’t intend to release the internal report into Fleet’s care.

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Sharon Daniel, the Interim Executive Director for Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience, said: “The Duty of Candour for patients came into force in Wales in April 2023. At the time of this incident and concern, we fulfilled our duties to be open.”

When asked if they would be willing to apologise to both affected families, Ms Daniel said: “In the event of serious incidents, we have robust processes in place for reviewing internally, identifying any issues, and where appropriate preparing an improvement plan to prevent such an occurrence in the future. We regret such incidents and always seek to learn from them.”

In February, victims’ families in Nottingham won their fight for an NHS review into the care of paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane, who killed three people, to be made public. It exposed a catalogue of errors and systemic failings.

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In February, Sky’s Sarah-Jane Mee spoke to two mothers of two people killed by paranoid schizophrenic Valdo Calocane

The family’s adviser and former NHS lawyer Radd Seiger, who also advised the Nottingham families, told Sky News the two cases have striking similarities: “Sunlight is the best disinfectant when there are problems in the NHS.

“Let’s have these things out in the open. Yes, they’re uncomfortable, but that’s the only way the NHS is going to learn from its mistakes.

“It’s no good them marking their own homework in private where journalists, or lawyers, or families don’t get to scrutinise these things because we see that these things keep happening over and over and over.”

David Fleet’s family declined an opportunity to speak to Sky News for this report.

The Welsh government said: “We are fully committed to openness and transparency in line with the Duty of Candour to ensure lessons are learned. We have also invested in improving both the quality and safety of mental health care in Wales.”

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Local elections: From where they are to what they’re all for – your ultimate guide

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Local elections: From where they are to what they're all for - your ultimate guide

A host of local and mayoral elections will be taking place across England on Thursday 1 May – the first voting day since the general election last year.

There will also be a new Member of Parliament.

Here is everything you need to know – from what’s at stake to how you can vote.

Local elections

There will be local elections in 23 of England’s 317 local authorities on 1 May.

Some are slightly different to others, depending on the type of authority.

Here is the full list:

County councils

• Cambridgeshire
• Derbyshire
• Devon
• Gloucestershire
• Hertfordshire
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Staffordshire
• Warwickshire
• Worcestershire

Unitary authorities

• Buckinghamshire
• Cornwall
• County Durham
• North Northamptonshire
• Northumberland
• Shropshire
• West Northamptonshire
• Wiltshire

Metropolitan district

• Doncaster

The Isles of Scilly, which has a unique governance structure, is also holding a local election of its own.

Additionally, about 1,270 parish councils will be holding elections.

What is the difference between the types of authorities?

A county council is part of a two-tier local government system, taking care of things that affect the whole county, such as:

• Education
• Transport
• Planning
• Fire and public safety
• Social care
• Libraries
• Waste management
• Trading standards

They work alongside the other, lower-tier councils – district, borough or city – that take care of things on a smaller scale, such as:

• Rubbish collection
• Recycling
• Council tax collections
• Housing
• Planning applications

A unitary authority is a one-tier local government, where the services of a county council and the other smaller councils listed above are combined.

A metropolitan district has a council that oversees all services, similar to a unitary authority – but has a mayor with a role similar to that of local councils.

The mayors for Doncaster and North Tyneside are single authority, making them the political leader of the council and leaving them responsible for delivering local council services.

Metro mayors chair combined authorities made up of several local councils.

Metro mayor election

There are six mayoral elections taking place on 1 May, two of which are the first ever in their areas.

One of them is for the West of England, where the current mayor is Dan Norris, who was elected as a Labour MP when he defeated Jacob Rees-Mogg to win the seat of North East Somerset and Hanham in last year’s general election.

Labour MP Dan Norris suspended. File pic: PA
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Labour MP Dan Norris. File pic: PA

Mr Norris, who has been mayor since 2021, has to vacate the role because the Labour Party introduced rules to prevent serving MPs from standing as mayoral candidates.

There is another mayoral election in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, while the first mayors for Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire will be chosen after devolution deals were agreed in 2023, bringing together local councils in both areas to create larger authorities.

There will also be elections for the next mayor of Doncaster and North Tyneside.

New MP for Runcorn and Helsby

A by-election is also being held in Runcorn and Helsby after Labour’s Mike Amesbury agreed to stand down following his conviction for punching a man in the street.

Amesbury, who was suspended from the Labour Party, was jailed on 24 February for 10 weeks after he pleaded guilty to assault by beating of 45-year-old Paul Fellows in Main Street, Frodsham, Cheshire, in the early hours of 26 October.

However, following an appeal, his sentence was suspended for two years.

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Amesbury steps down as MP

His resignation means Karen Shore, the deputy leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, will run for Labour in the by-election, while the Conservatives are putting forward Sean Houlston, a membership services manager for the National Federation of Builders, and Sarah Pochin, a former Cheshire East councillor, is Reform’s candidate.

Amesbury came first in Runcorn and Helsby with 22,358 votes at the 2024 general election – equating to 52.9% of the electorate.

Reform UK came in second with 7,662 votes (18.1%) and the Tories in third with 6,756 votes (16%).

Outcomes could have significant national impact

The elections will be the first big test of all the parties since the general election, which fundamentally redrew the UK’s political landscape with a new world of multiparty politics.

The Tories have the most to lose as they hold 20 of the 23 local authorities up for grabs on 1 May.

And for the first time in a long time, Labour and the Conservatives are facing a genuine threat from other parties.

YouGov conducted exclusive polling for Sky News to get a sense of how the country was feeling ahead of the elections, surveying 2,178 adults in the UK on 6 and 7 April.

Here is the voting intention poll:

• Labour: 24% (no change)
• Reform UK: 23% (no change)
• Conservatives: 22% (+1)
• Liberal Democrats: 17% (+3)
• Green Party: 9% (-2)

It suggests that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could be Labour’s closest competitor, with Kemi Badenoch trailing as she leads the Conservatives through elections for the first time, while the Lib Dems have closed the gap on the three top parties.

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How do I register to vote?

You have until 11.59pm on Friday to register to vote if you haven’t already.

You must be aged 16 or over (or 14 or over in Scotland and Wales) to register to vote – but to vote for a new MP you must be at least 18.

You can register if you are:

• A British citizen
• An Irish or EU citizen living in the UK
• A Commonwealth citizen who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission
• A citizen of another country living in Scotland or Wales who has permission to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need permission
• You can be an overseas voter if you previously lived in the UK and are a British citizen.

The easiest and quickest way to register is online.

Alternatively, you can use a paper form – though it may be too close to the deadline for you to complete this by the deadline.

You can do it by contacting your local Electoral Registration Office and asking them to post a form to you. Or you can print your own form off. You’ll then need to return the completed form to your local Electoral Registration Office.

How can I cast my vote?

There are three ways to vote:

In person at your local polling station

You’ll be sent a poll card just before an election or referendum telling you when to vote and at which polling station. It will usually be in a public building, such as a school or local hall, near your home.

You can only vote at the polling station allocated to your address. This will be shown on your poll card. You can also enter your postcode on this website to find out where your polling station is.

You will be able to cast your vote any time between 7am and 10pm

You must bring a form of photo ID with you in order to vote. There are 22 accepted types of ID.

At the polling station, you will need to give your name and address to staff and show them your photo ID.

There will be instructions in the polling booth telling you exactly how to cast your vote.

Postal vote

You can register to vote by post for any reason, including that you simply don’t want to go to a polling station on the day.

You need to apply for this by 5pm on 14 April and can do so by clicking here.

Postal votes now expire every three years, so if you registered to do so more than three years ago, you will need to re-apply.

By proxy

This is where you apply for someone to vote on your behalf if you cannot go to the polling station in person and do not want to or can’t vote by post.

You and your proxy must both be registered to vote in the UK before you can apply.

The deadline to apply for proxy voting in the May 1 elections is 5pm on 23 April, and you can apply here.

Which elections have been postponed – and why?

Elections for county councils in the following areas have been postponed until May 2026:

• Norfolk
• Suffolk
• Essex
• Thurrock
• Surrey
• East and West Sussex
• Hampshire
• Isle of Wight

Most areas of the UK are now covered by one-tier systems such as unitary authorities, but there are still 21 county councils.

The government is pushing for a “devolution revolution”, meaning the remaining county councils are being encouraged to merge with other local authorities to become unitary authorities.

So in December last year, the government told county councils they could request to postpone their elections set for 1 May if they were trying to reorganise into one-tier systems.

While 16 county councils requested to postpone, only the eight listed above were successful.

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New at-home spit test for prostate cancer could be better than blood test, study suggests

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New at-home spit test for prostate cancer could be better than blood test, study suggests

A new spit test for prostate cancer which can be done at home may be better than current testing methods, a study suggests.

Experts have developed a simple saliva test which analyses genetic variants in a man’s DNA, which appears to perform better than the current method for assessing prostate cancer risk.

Currently, the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test is used to check for prostate conditions, including prostate cancer or an enlarged prostate.

Routine testing is not currently available on the NHS, but patients may be offered a PSA test if a GP suspects they have prostate cancer. Men over 50 can ask their GP for a PSA test even if they do not have symptoms.

But experts have said the new saliva test could be used as an additional screening tool, as it reduced the number of false positive results and detected a higher proportion of aggressive cancers than the PSA test.

It could lead to fewer men being sent for unnecessary testing, according to researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust.

They tested the effectiveness of a new tool they had developed called a polygenic risk score, which uses spit to assess 130 genetic variants known to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer, which can then determine whether or not a person is at high risk of the disease.

The new spit test for prostate cancer. Pic: PA
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The new spit test for prostate cancer. Pic: PA

Test saved lives of two brothers

Taking part in the trial saved the lives of two brothers.

Dheeresh Turnbull said traditional methods to assess prostate cancer deemed he had a low risk of disease, but the new spit test helped the 71-year-old discover he actually had a life-threatening tumour in his prostate.

After finding out the news, his brother Joel Turnbull also took part in the study and discovered he had an aggressive prostate tumour.

“It’s incredible to think that because of this study two lives have now been saved in my family,” Dheeresh said.

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How the tool was assessed

The brothers were among 6,300 men aged 55 to 69 in the UK who were assessed by the tool as part of the study.

Of those, 745 (12%) were deemed to have a high risk score and were invited to have prostate cancer screening, including an MRI scan and a biopsy.

Prostate cancer was detected in 187 of the 468 who took up the offer, and of those, 103 had cancer that was deemed to be “higher risk”, so treatment was offered.

Of the 187 men, 118 had a PSA level below 3.0ug/L – which is considered “normal” and would typically indicate no further screening is required.

Test could ‘turn the tide on prostate cancer’

Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said cancer “would not have been detected” in 74 of the men using the “diagnostics pathway” currently in use in the UK – which includes a high PSA level and an MRI.

They concluded that for the men with the highest genetic risk, the test falsely identified fewer people with prostate cancer than the PSA test and picked up people with cancer who would have been missed by the PSA test alone.

It detected a higher proportion of aggressive cancers than the PSA test and also accurately identified men with prostate cancer who were missed by an MRI scan.

Professor Ros Eeles, from the Institute of Cancer Research, London, and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, said: “With this test, it could be possible to turn the tide on prostate cancer.

“We have shown that a relatively simple, inexpensive spit test to identify men of European heritage at higher risk due to their genetic make-up is an effective tool to catch prostate cancer early.

Some 55,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed each year in the UK, with around 12,000 men in the UK dying from the disease annually, according to Cancer Research UK.

It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting suggested he would support a national prostate cancer screening programme for men at higher risk of disease if it is backed by the evidence. The UK’s National Screening Committee is currently assessing whether or not such a programme should be rolled out.

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