Economy

A pensioner who was walking his dog was attacked by another dog walker and has been left with a fractured collar bone and facial injuries.

The man, in his 70s, was injured in the attack on parkland near Margaret Road, Penwortham, at about 17:00 BST on Tuesday, Lancashire Police said.

The force has released an image of a man detectives would like to speak to, who was wearing a distinctive yellow t-shirt and walking a very small dog off the lead.

Officers said he was aged between 30 and 40, about 6ft 2ins (1.8m) tall and had a large build.

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Prosecutors in Mexico have arrested the mayor of Teuchitlán in western Jalisco state as part of their investigation into a nearby cartel training site.

The mayor, José Murguía Santiago, is suspected of colluding with the New Generation Jalisco Cartel (CJNG), which he has denied.

The investigation was launched after activists discovered bone fragments and hundreds of discarded shoes, backpacks and items of clothing at the Izaguirre ranch outside the town in March.

Rights groups said that they feared the ranch had been used as an "extermination camp", where people were forcedly recruited and trained, and those who refused were tortured and killed.

The discovery by people searching for their missing relatives of what appeared to be evidence of mass killings at the site shocked the country, where cartel violence is rife.

• Read: Ovens and bone fragments – BBC visits Mexican cartel 'extermination' site

Mexico's Attorney-General Alejandro Gertz gave a news conference last week updating journalists on the federal investigation into the ranch.

He confirmed that the site had been used as a training centre for recruits of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, one of the most feared and powerful transnational drug trafficking gangs, which has its power base in Jalisco.

However, he said that there was no evidence that it had been used as an extermination and cremation site.

According to the attorney-general, bone fragments discovered there were not recent and forensic tests suggested that the fires lit at the ranch would not have been hot enough to dispose of human remains.

Gertz's statements caused anger among "searchers", the name given to relatives looking for the more than 120,000 people who have been reported missing in Mexico over the past two decades.

They said that his news conference raised more questions than it answered and failed to address to whom the many abandoned shoes found at the ranch belonged and what had become of those people.

Gertz insisted that the authorities would continue looking into whether there had been any collusion between the CJNG and local officials.

The arrest of Mayor Murguía Santiago is part of that ongoing investigation.

Prior to his arrest, the mayor had said that he had nothing to hide. "If they want to investigate me, let them, I'm clean and willing to say what I know," he told local media.

But prosecutors allege that he knew of the existence of the training centre and did not act on that knowledge.

Bus fares will continue to be discounted from later this month, Brighton & Hove City Council has confirmed.

Short and medium length trips across the city will be capped below the national £3 single-journey price, which rose earlier this year.

Trevor Muten, cabinet member for transport, said the cap was "really good news for thousands of people who use the city's buses".

Prices for medium journeys will be subsidised from 28 April until autumn, the council said, while "short-hop" travel will remain at £1 until "at least the end of the year".

From 28 April, medium length journeys will drop from £2.80 to £2.50, the council said.

The type of trips covered by the fare include journeys from Seven Dials to George Street in Hove, or Palmeira Square to Brighton railway station in Queens Road.

Longer journeys will still be capped at the national £3 limit.

Student all-day fares will also be capped at a lower rate from the autumn, dropping to £4 from £4.40.

Added discounts will be paid for through additional funding from the Department for Transport, the council added.

Mr Muten said: "We've worked very hard with the city's bus operators to reduce the cost of medium length journeys, fares for students and extend the £1 short-hop fare offer until at least the end of the year.

"Making bus travel more affordable means we can connect residents and students with work, education and communities. It also makes bus travel more enticing, meaning people can make more sustainable travel choices.

"But this is just the start of an exciting 12 months with improvements to make bus journeys better for everyone."

Bus fares were previously capped at £2 per single journey but this was raised to £3 at the start of 2025.

A second person has died following a fatal crash in Carmarthenshire.

Dyfed-Powys Police responded to the incident on the A4183, between the Llangennech and Crematorium roundabouts, at about 22:50 BST on 2 April.

The crash, between a silver BMW and a black Peugeot 208, resulted in both drivers' deaths, with the BMW driver dying at the scene and the Peugeot driver dying in hospital on 5 April.

"Our thoughts remain with the families at this difficult time," Dyfed-Powys Police added.

A man who was attacked with acid in his own home has died in hospital, police have said.

Danny Cahalane, 38, who was described as an "outstanding father and son", was at home with his daughter when he was attacked in Lipson Road, in Plymouth, on 21 February. He died on Saturday, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

Mr Cahalane's family said in a tribute: "As a family, we are struggling to come to terms with Danny's passing. He is well loved by his family and friends and as a family we cherish his love and memories."

Nine people – seven men from London and two women from Plymouth – have been charged in connection with the attack.

Six of the men and both women have been charged with conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to kidnap.

Another man has been charged with applying a corrosive fluid with intent to burn, maim, disfigure or do grievous bodily harm, aggravated burglary, possession of an offensive weapon, and drug offences.

Four of the men have also been charged with laundering the proceeds of crime.

Eight of the defendants are due to appear at Plymouth Crown Court on 12 May and another is due to appear before the same court on 16 June.

Mr Cahalane's family asked for "privacy and respect during this time".

Senior investigating officer, Det Supt Ben Davies, said: "Our thoughts are with Danny's family and friends at this sad time."

The investigation remains ongoing.

A motorcyclist aged in his 70s has died after the bike he was riding was involved in a collision with a van on the North Yorkshire border with Lancashire.

The white BMW motorbike and a Peugeot Partner van collided on the A65 near Ingleton at about 13:00 BST on Tuesday, North Yorkshire Police said.

The biker died at the scene despite the efforts of members of the public and the emergency services, the force said.

Anyone who witnessed the incident, or who had dashcam footage from the scene, was urged to contact police.

A police CCTV van will be deployed to a park in Nottingham in response to a spree of "heartbreaking" plant thefts.

The Arboretum, in the city centre, has been affected by an increase in anti-social behaviour, according to Nottingham City Council.

This includes the theft of 180 plants across two occasions during the past two months.

Jane Barton, from the authority, said: "It's mindless and it's sad. Why spoil the beauty of what is an amazing green space?"

"Just short of 25% of Nottingham is green and open space, which combines parks, nature reserves, and woodlands, so to destroy it in such a way is just awful," she added.

Ms Barton said the "most upsetting" part of the recent thefts was that they had ruined the time and effort put in by volunteers.

Jess Rhodes, a volunteer for Nottingham Green Guardians, agreed it was disappointing.

"It's just really annoying because it's so selfish, and it's not for them to steal and take home, it's for everyone to enjoy," she said.

The city council said 120 perennials and shrubs were taken during an incident in March.

Replanting took place on Thursday, which was followed by another theft of 60 plants on Sunday.

Sgt Karl Browne, from Nottinghamshire Police, said the force had received reports of the thefts and he "sympathises" with the volunteers who look after the garden.

He said: "We will be deploying our force's CCTV van in the coming days to make sure we continue to proactively target areas where anti-social behaviour takes place.

"We encourage anyone with information that may help us find those who are responsible for this incident to contact us."

A care worker who targeted two elderly residents and stole "precious" rings from their fingers as they slept has been jailed for 20 months.

Bradford Crown Court heard one of Mohammed Numaan's victims, a 93-year-old woman, had worn her wedding ring for 70 years before it was stolen at The Mill House in Skipton in October.

Numaan, of Jervaulx Crescent, Bradford, also stole two other rings from her bedside drawer at the care home, with the 27-year-old admitting two counts of theft.

Judge Sophie McKone said the items had not been recovered by the time the victim passed away so she could not be buried with her "three precious rings".

Numaan's second victim had a diamond ring stolen from her finger, the court heard, with the item holding "immeasurable sentimental value" to her and her family.

He sold the rings to pawnbrokers soon after the thefts, with all the stolen jewellery eventually recovered.

"The words 'callous' and 'cruel' do not seem to meet the justice of what you did," Judge McKone told Numaan.

"Literally prising rings off the fingers of two elderly ladies as they slept in their beds."

The four stolen rings were valued at about £3,300, but the judge said their sentimental value could not be measured.

"It was done apparently for money, but it is inexcusable what you did to those two vulnerable people," she concluded.

West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds

A couple have been charged with drug importation offences over an alleged attempt to smuggle cannabis from Thailand to the UK.

Daniel McDonald, 36, and Sian Warren, 35, from Salford, Greater Manchester, were arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving from the country on 27 May, the National Crime Agency said.

The agency said suitcases containing 112lb (51kg) of cannabis were seized.

The pair faced drugs importation offences at Uxbridge Magistrates Court and were remanded in custody ahead of an appearance at Isleworth Crown Court on 26 June.

Free parking in some parts of a national park could end next year as plans for charges are being made.

Forestry England said the car parks in the New Forest, Hampshire, had become increasingly expensive to maintain in the last few years.

It said it only received 20% of its core funding from the government and needed to use car parks to help generate much-needed income.

The area is popular with dog walkers and some argue they should be offered discounts.

Totton South Councillor, David Harrison, said Forestry England needed to raise between £1.5m and £2m a year.

"They are under-resourced by government – they are being pressed to generate income and car parking is one of the obvious ways of doing that," he said.

Even though he is against the proposals, he said it had been in the works for some time.

"There is no such thing as a free car park, we know that," he continued.

"Forestry England have managed to generate smaller amounts of income by franchising things like ice cream vans and coffee vans in the New Forest car parks.

"Their plan is to introduce parking charges by the Autumn of next year, 2026."

It is not clear what the money will be spent on but Mr Harrison believes it will pay for fixing issues like potholes.

Dog walkers often use the Deerleap, Whitefield Moor and Longslade Bottom car parks.

Mr Harrison believes there is an argument they should get a discount card.

Local resident Ken Davis said people who lived near the national park were seeing their open space "swallowed up" by development, and as a result were even more reliant on the park itself.

"Charging New Forest District Council tax payers for car parking would be yet another burden on residents living within NFDC area but outside of the National Park boundary," he said.

He said residents should be exempt from the parking charge.

In a statement, Forestry England said: "With less than 20% of our core funding coming from government Forestry England needs to raise the majority of funds for car parks, trails and all of the work we do, ourselves.

"A sustainable approach to funding is needed if we are to going to be able to continue to do this vital work and provide these facilities."

It has not yet commented on the idea of a discount card.