An angry farmer who put up a sign branding his village the nastiest in the county will go on trial after he refused to remove it. Carl Powell, 75, erected the billboard describing the village of Peopleton in Worcestershire as a “murderous, lawless and godforsaken place”.
Western Daily Press (Catherine Dyer)
Information super-high price
A couple in the countryside were offered faster broadband from BT for £89,000. David and Daphne Margetts, both 84, can only get speeds of 2MB – five times slower than the UK average – at their home near Llanidloes in Powys. They were told the work would involve laying four miles of cables and cost more than £100,000, with BT offering to contribute £27,000.
Metro (Amanda Welles)
Towering achievement
Will Cutbill, 23, a civil engineer from Solihull, dreamt of breaking a world record. This year, while he was tucking into a bag of chocolate M&Ms, he attempted to make his dream a reality, and stacked five to claim the record. In the video recorded as evidence, Will builds a four-tall tower before accidentally knocking them down. After rebuilding and adding the record-breaking fifth M&M, he exclaims several times, “Five M&Ms!”
Birmingham Live (Daragh Brady)
Emergency exit
West Yorkshire Police staff were appalled after a caller asked them to reopen the M62 so they could “go on holiday”.
Yorkshire Evening Post (Michael Meadowcroft)
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[see also: This England: Spurring stuff]
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This article appears in the 14 Jul 2021 issue of the New Statesman, Apple vs Facebook