National News

Here are the latest stories from the team at Radio News Hub. The links will open in a new page and take you to their website.

• Fans travel from across UK and arrive hours early for Bonnie Tyler funeral

  Fans have arrived hours early for Bonnie Tyler’s funeral to their pay respects to the singer and say goodbye.

• Mrs Browns Boys shows cancelled after Brendan OCarroll medical issue

  Brendan O’Carroll has announced the Mrs Brown’s Boys Christmas and New Year’s specials have been cancelled as he faces an “unexpected medical issue”.

• Actress Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36

  US actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, has died aged 36.

• Wessex Water announces hosepipe ban for first time in 50 years

  Wessex Water has become the latest utility to announce a hosepipe ban after weeks of hot and dry weather have plunged large parts of the country into drought

• Heroes and Nashville actress Hayden Panettiere dies aged 36

  US actress Hayden Panettiere, best known for her roles in Heroes and Nashville, has died aged 36.

• Amy Hunt surpasses expectations after claiming fourth European Championship gold

  British sprinter Amy Hunt was delighted to have succeeded beyond her wildest dreams after becoming the first athlete to win four gold medals at a single European Championships.

• Households evacuated after Stourbridge wildfires begin to return home

  Residents evacuated after a wildfire in Stourbridge have started returning to their homes as firefighters continue tackling ongoing blazes across the UK.

• Sebastien Pocognoli takes over as Scotland boss on two year contract

  Sebastien Pocognoli has been confirmed as the new Scotland head coach.

• Arsenal make a statement to take Community Shield title over Manchester City

  Arsenal set down a Community Shield marker for the new season by beating Manchester City 3-0 in Cardiff.

• Murder investigation after man bitten by dog dies

  A murder investigation has been launched after the death of a man who was bitten by a dog on a footpath often used by walkers, police said.

• Crowdfunder raises more than 40000 for Jason Ardays family

  More than £40,000 has been raised for the family of former Cambridge professor Jason Arday after a Windrush campaigner launched a fundraising drive in his memory.

• Reform UK sets out proposals to slash benefits bill

  A Reform UK government would cut £50 billion from the welfare bill, with almost three million people seeing disability and sickness payments withdrawn or modified, Robert Jenrick said.

• Relay success takes Amy Hunt within one of four gold target

  The Golden Girl of British Athletics has added the Women's 4x100m title to the individual sprint titles she won earlier in the week

• Return to home plan put in place for wildfire victims in Stourbridge

  The wildfire which spread across more than 500 acres and destroyed 19 homes on Thursday is now under control

• Magnitude 77 earthquake strikes off Indonesias coast killing at least 38

  A powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia early on Saturday, killing at least 38 people.

• Jason Ardays family Campaign of misinformation was too much for him

  The family of former University of Cambridge professor Jason Arday said they are “in shock to have lost this amazing father, partner, brother, uncle and son”, adding “the campaign of misinformation was too much for Jason”.

• Jeff Bezos and Amit Bhatia consortium buys minority stake in Liverpool

  Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group has announced the sale of a minority stake in the Premier League club to a consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

• Probe into two train derailments to look at all possible causes and factors

  Investigations into two train derailments in two days “will look at all possible causes and factors”, a Network Rail boss said, adding the hot weather had “presented exceptional challenges to the railway”.

• Emergency alert sent to mobile phones with wildfire warning after UK blazes

  Mobile phone users in England and Wales have received an emergency alert, warning them not to light anything that could spark a fire.

• Huge wildfire in West Midlands destroys 19 homes on UKs hottest day of year

  A huge wildfire in the West Midlands completely destroyed 19 homes after it rapidly spread to buildings during the UK’s hottest day of the year.

• Second train derails day after two passengers badly hurt in East Sussex

  A second train has derailed less than 24 hours after two passengers were seriously injured when a Southern Rail service came off the tracks in East Sussex.

• West Midlands crews make progress tackling wildfires after extensive devastation

  Fire crews are making progress tackling huge blazes in the West Midlands that led to thousands of 999 calls and caused “extensive” devastation, a fire chief said.

• Farage wins in Clacton as police contest credible threat claim at count

  Nigel Farage has won the Clacton by-election amid contested claims he was told by police not to attend the election count due to a “credible threat” against him.

• Two people seriously injured after train with 150 on board derails

  Two people have been seriously injured after a train with around 150 people on board derailed near Lewes in East Sussex.

• UK has hottest day of year so far as temperatures hit 381C

  The UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, as temperatures provisionally reached 38.1C at Kew Gardens in London, the Met Office said.