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26 February 2025

This England: Things took a wrong turn

This column – which, though named after a line in Shakespeare’s “Richard II”, refers to the whole of Britain – has run in the NS since 1934.

By New Statesman

Runners at a 10k trail race in Glasgow were sent in the wrong direction by a prankster who impersonated a marshal and buried signs marking the course. Acorn Trails said someone moved a route arrow and impersonated a race organiser to send about 30 competitors on a 2.5km (1.5 mile) detour. At one stage, runners were approaching the finish line from three different directions.
BBC Glasgow (Steve Morley)

A bungling burglar has been jailed after he was caught out by a Home Alone-style bucket trap. The homeowners in Northumberland had set the snare after several recent reports of attempted break-ins in the local area. They had rigged up a string with their house at one end and a full bucket of water at the other and shortly before 3am, burglar Paul Howell, 56, fell prey to the trap. The overturned bucket led to the occupants checking their CCTV footage and days later they reported the incident to Northumbria police.
Sky News (Daragh Brady)

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