Tech

The famous blue cheese it gave its name to is known throughout the world, but despite years of local protests, the Cambridgeshire village of Stilton is still not allowed to produce it.

The history of Stilton is more controversial than you might think. A battle over what the name can and can't be applied to has been rumbling for years.

So, as a former MP raises the subject again, what's in a name and what could the future hold for this fought-over foodstuff?

How did Stilton cheese get its name?

It was thought that the famous cheese was named after the village of Stilton, just south of Peterborough, not because it was made there, but because it was sold at The Bell Inn there.

However, some historians have claimed the cheese did, in fact, originate in the village in the 18th Century.

In 2011, Stilton resident and local historian Richard Landy claimed to have documents that could potentially prove the cheese was first produced there.

Mr Landy told the BBC at the time: "I stumbled across a reference to a recipe on the internet that had been sent to Richard Bradley, the first professor of botany at Cambridge University.

"This recipe was not only earlier than any previous recipe that had been published, but it also says that the cheese was produced in the village of Stilton."

The conversation continues to this day, with residents and a former MP calling for a change in the law to allow the cheese to be made in the village.

What rules prevent it from being made in Stilton?

A row about the origins of Stilton and who can make it has been rumbling for years.

The Stilton Cheesemakers' Association achieved Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status for blue Stilton from the European Commission in 1996.

This meant that only cheese produced in three counties – Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire – could be called Stilton.

Despite Brexit, the legal protection continues.

Stilton is one of just a few products that enjoy this status. Many English regional cheeses, such as Lancashire, Red Leicester and Double Gloucester, are not protected.

What other foods have protected status?

While Stilton continues to have special protection, it is not the only British food or drink product to enjoy this.

Scotch Whisky, for example, can only be produced, unsurprisingly, in Scotland, and even within that there are tightly controlled regions.

For instance, Campbeltown whiskies can only come from a specific part of the Kintyre peninsula, while Islay whiskies must be from the island of the same name.

And although you can find a pastry-encrusted snack of meat, potato and vegetables almost anywhere these days, a true Cornish Pasty must originate from Cornwall.

The same applies to another famous meat and pastry product. If your pork pie is not from the Leicestershire town, it cannot be called a Melton Mowbray.

Similarly, if your oyster does not come from Pembrokeshire, then it does not qualify as a Pembrokeshire Rock Oyster.

What is the Stilton Cheese Rolling Festival?

The annual cheese-rolling event in the Cambridgeshire village dates back to the 1950s.

The tradition was started by four publicans who were thinking of ways to generate income after Stilton was bypassed by the A1 in 1959, Adam Leon, one of its organisers previously told the BBC.

The event was paused for seven years because organisers said it was no longer seen as "cool", but it returned in 2024.

You would be forgiven for thinking a cheese-rolling festival would involve the dairy product itself.

However, 12in (30cm) sections of an old telegraph pole are painted to look like a cheese.

To participate, all teams must consist of four members, and the "cheeses" must be rolled by hand.

Each team member has to roll the cheese at least once during the race, which takes place on on a course of about 30m (100ft) in length.

Typically, people have taken part wearing fancy dress, and in the past teams of nuns, Smurfs and even a tribute to rock band Kiss have participated.

Could Stilton ever make Stilton once again?

Former Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire, Shailesh Vara, is one of the people who have been voicing their opinions on the cheese's origins.

Mr Vara, who lost his seat to Labour's Sam Carling in July 2024, said: "Stilton cheese was historically made in the village, and I know there has been a bit of dispute about that.

"But the historical evidence that I have seen in the case that the cheese was made here."

He added that Mr Leon, described by Mr Vara as a "local entrepreneur", had started "making efforts to make sure that we start making cheese locally again".

He said: "I am in conversation with Adam and the villagers have my support, and whatever conversations they want to have with me, I am always available."

According to Mr Vara, now the UK has left the European Union there is less protection on where Stilton can be produced.

"That protection is no more, so we can now start making cheese. I am looking for it to be made again," he added.

The UK Protected Food Names Association, however, maintains that English law protects Stilton, and that any change would undermine the cheese-making industry.

Cumbria is under an extreme wildfire warning and the county's largely on-call fire service is braced to tackle the wide-reaching blazes. With a high number of the fires being caused by members of the public, two firefighters describe the dangers they face, and the toll it takes on their families.

Phil Gardner is ready for a busy summer.

As the on-call watch manager at Sedbergh fire station, he has noticed wildfires becoming increasingly common over the last 10 years.

"Everything's like a tinderbox," he said of the current situation.

The vegetation is dry and the lush growth has yet to come through, with problems already being caused.

Wildfires take a toll on people's livelihoods, obliterate wildlife and put firefighters' lives at risk, on-call watch manager at Appleby fire station Neil Aitken added.

"Come to enjoy the countryside, but be safe, be responsible," Mr Aitken said.

'You don't get any warnings'

On-call firefighters maintain regular jobs, but respond to emergencies – dropping whatever they may be doing to respond to a call out.

Mr Gardner, 44, remembers watching a nativity performance at the school village hall when his pager went off, alerting him to an incident.

"There was a big rattle of chairs and five of us ran out," he said.

"Apparently, the kids just carried on."

Mr Aitken, 62, remembers putting the first roast potato in his mouth one Christmas Day when he got called to attend a fire.

"Four hours later we're still out, and I come back to a Christmas lunch that's been under the grill for hours," he laughed.

He recalled a wildfire in Lancashire he and his team were called to.

"We went down initially for 24 hours, 10 days later we managed to get back home," Mr Aitken said.

Mr Gardner said: "There's no predictability about it either, you know?

"It could happen at anytime, day or night. You don't get any warnings."

'Worst day of somebody's life'

Tackling wildfires is a long, hot and arduous job, Mr Gardner said.

Getting all the equipment up the Cumbrian fells, sometimes on foot, is an "absolute nightmare", he added.

"You can't work for long in the fire kit because it does get very hot," he said.

"You're literally stood, like, a metre or two metres away."

Ten to twelve hour days during those types of incidents are common, Mr Aitken said.

Mr Aitken, who like Mr Gardner joined the service at the age of 19, said he was getting to the twilight of his career but, in his head, he was still enthusiastic to help.

"Where you're going out, it's probably the worst day of somebody's life, and you can go and you can make a difference," he said.

"It's just my body shouts a bit at sometimes."

'Carelessness risks lives'

They are asking people to tidy up after themselves when they have been out in the countryside.

One wildfire was caused by a bit of broken glass which had magnified the suns' rays and sparked a blaze, another by a disposable BBQ.

The direction of the wind meant the BBQ was still there, with a couple of square kilometres of burnt grassland in its wake, Mr Gardner recalled.

"It can be annoying at times," Mr Aitken said.

"Just one person's carelessness, it's putting other people's lives – firefighters' lives -at risk."

A large cargo ship which ran aground in a Devon harbour has been refloated.

Rob Parsons, Teignmouth harbour master, said the ship was refloated at about 18:00 BST and had been berthed alongside the harbour wall.

The vessel from Amsterdam, which was carrying animal feed, had become stuck at about 06:00 and was refloated on the evening tide.

Mr Parsons said there had been no injuries on the boat which would be surveyed for damage.

The Marine Accident Investigation Branch said it was aware of the incident and was "making initial inquiries".

An ice cream parlour owner says he was struggling to make a profit due to the rising costs of ingredients, including chocolate going up by more than 240% in two years.

Ben Govier, who runs Dylan's Ice Cream in Haslemere, Surrey, says since 2023 the cost of the chocolate sprinkles he buys has also increased by 203% and the cost of cocoa powder has risen by more than 140%.

Mr Govier, who started selling ice cream in 2008, said he only had to increase his prices by 20p in his first ten years in business – but has now introduced a 50p increase.

"March and April have been really good. We have never been this busy. But we didn't make any money. It was insane," he said.

Mr Govier added: "The ice cream is more expensive to make [and] everyone obviously knows the electricity bills are mad."

He said he increased his prices after the business "absorbed as much of this as possible for as long we could".

He explained that the cost of milk powder had also gone up by 55% in two years and regular sprinkles cost 83% more.

In a post on the business' social media page, Mr Govier said: "The cost of everything we buy at the moment – packaging, energy, staffing and especially ingredients – is absolutely unbelievable."

He said if the cost of ingredients continued to rise he would have to think about staying closed during the winter.

People are being urged to take care on Dartmoor at the weekend due to heightened fire danger.

The Fire Severity Index showed the risk of fire rising from "high" to "very high" on Saturday.

Tens of thousands of people are set to converge on Dartmoor later to take part in the 63rd Ten Tors challenge.

Fire crews and rangers battled a blaze spanning 1,232 acres of central Dartmoor last weekend.

The Dartmoor National Park Authority said the index also showed large swathes of the moor would also be on "high" alert on Sunday.

Simon Lee, Dartmoor National Park's head ranger, said: "We're asking everyone to stay safe and respect Dartmoor.

"Leaving barbecues at home, disposing of glass bottles and cigarettes responsibly and taking all litter home are simple actions but will help prevent the risk of a fire breaking out."

The authority reminded visitors on the moor to respect by-laws by not lighting open fires and follow all advisory notices and warning signs.

It said robust contingency plans were in place for Ten Tors – including "weather monitoring and preparation and all routes avoiding rare bird nesting areas".

A road safety scheme where drivers report other motorists' bad driving by submitting dashcam footage has proved "incredibly effective", a police and crime commissioner (PCC) has said.

Last year, Operation Snap received more than 16,200 video clips of careless, dangerous or reckless driving, which had a "remarkable" success rate for prosecution of nearly 85%.

Those who were found guilty faced instant bans, warning letters, fines, penalty points, and court appearances in the most serious cases.

West Midlands PCC Simon Foster is now investing £165,000 to expand the scheme, and people have been urged to keep submitting footage.

Mr Foster said: "Preventing and tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads is a top priority.

"Operation Snap is proving to be an incredibly effective tool in holding careless, dangerous and reckless drivers to account."

He said the funding was to send "a clear message" that careless, reckless and dangerous driving will not be tolerated across the West Midlands police area, covering Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and Wolverhampton.

Ch Supt Andrew Parsons, who leads the Operation Snap team, said the funding would "significantly increase our capacity to review and process the footage submitted by the public".

Funds will see the force expand the team's officers and resources to increase the efficiency of processing footage, enhance the quality of investigations and carry out increased enforcement.

The government has been urged to take action after research found more than half of London's short-term holiday let properties are being rented out unlawfully.

A report by Central London Forward, a partnership of inner city boroughs, revealed more than 50% of the 117,000 short-term lets listed across the capital in 2024 were booked for more than 90 days a year, in breach of regulations.

Westminster City Council leader Adam Hug said: "This concentration has a profound effect on our local communities."

A government spokesman said: "We will introduce a short-term let registration scheme to reap the benefits of a thriving tourist economy while protecting the spirit of our communities."

'Waste and noise complaints'

Landlords cannot legally rent out their homes in the capital for more than 90 nights a year under regulations.

They are only allowed to let their homes out for more than 90 nights a year, on short-term lets, if they receive planning permission from the council.

Speaking at the Centre for London think tank's annual housing summit on Wednesday, Mr Hug said his borough was "at the epicentre of the problem", with short-term lets concentrated in "the West End, Bayswater, Lancaster Gate and parts of Pimlico".

He added: "It can hollow out long-term residents, making neighbours subject to significant noise disruption, fly-tipped waste linked to short-term let properties.

"But it also impacts the council services which have to pick up the waste, respond to the noise complaints and deal with pressure in the local housing market, as we see private rents rise year on year."

Central London Forward's report, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), found the number of short-term lets in London has risen over the last decade.

In 2015, there were fewer than 30,000 short-term lets in London, which more than doubled throughout 2016 to 60,000, peaking at over 100,000 in 2019.

The numbers of short-term lets then "fell dramatically" in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, before making a "steady recovery," the report added.

'Completely inadequate'

The report calls on ministers to force short-term let rental websites "to share individualised, unit-level data with local authorities and the government" and to introduce a mandatory national registration scheme for the sector.

"At the moment, it isn't possible for local authorities to effectively, at scale, enforce the existing regulations," said Mr Hug.

He added that holiday let websites will often "mask where the properties are, putting it on a street a couple of roads away, and not being clear what building it's in".

The Labour councillor added: "It means that hard-pressed planning enforcement teams are really struggling to build the evidence base to get the court to enforce the 90-day rule.

"In order to better regulate the market, and to empower local authorities, we really do need national government to step up."

The report was endorsed by Tom Copley, Sir Sadiq Khan's deputy mayor for housing, who said with 65,000 homeless households in London living in temporary accommodation, "we need to bring those properties back into use as long-term rented properties, or long-term properties for people to buy and live in as owner-occupiers".

A government spokesman told the LDRS the short-term let sector has seen rapid growth in recent years.

They said: "This can bring economic benefits to the economy and tourism industry, but we know that having excessive concentrations of short-term lets in an area can drive up housing costs and harm local communities.

"That's why we have abolished the furnished holiday lets tax regime so that landlords are no longer incentivised by the tax system to rent homes as holiday lets.

"We continue to consider further action."

Four new bus routes will start operating in Leicestershire this summer.

Operator Arriva has said four routes will begin in June and July on behalf of Leicestershire County Council.

From 2 June, the LC14 from Hinckley to Fosse Park and LC16 from Ashby-de-la-Zouch to Loughborough, via Shepshed, will run from Monday to Saturday.

And from 14 July, the LC12 weekday service from Witherley to Measham, via Market Bosworth, and the Monday to Saturday LC15 route from Coalville to Leicester, via Markfield and Anstey, will launch.

Volunteers are celebrating after breaking their own record for tree planting in a single season.

Each year, Stroud Valleys Project (SVP) in Gloucestershire plants trees to support national and regional environmental targets.

Founded in 1988, SVP works with communities and organisations throughout the district to improve green spaces and protect habitats.

In the 2022/23 season, the team planted 6,000 trees and hedgerow plants. The following year, they increased that number to 8,500 but between November 2024 and March 2025, they managed 19,139 trees.

"We're incredibly proud of all the trees we've planted throughout Stroud and the surrounding towns and villages," said Clare Mahdiyone, SVP's CEO.

"Not only have we exceeded our target, we think it's fair to say we absolutely smashed it."

She credited project officer Stuart Roweth for helping the team reach their ambitious goal.

Voters heading to the polls next week on the Isle of Man will, for the first time, be able to choose where in their constituency to cast their ballot.

Polling stations will be open from 08:00 until 20:00 BST on Thursday in five local authority general elections – Castletown, Douglas South, Patrick, Peel, and Ramsey North.

Following the successful trial of an app developed by the Government Technology Service at the 2021 House of Keys general election in Douglas South, people will be able to vote at any polling station in their constituency.

The software is used to check voters in at polling stations. A live link into the electoral register will ensure that voters can only cast one ballot.

'Accessibility needs'

In addition to offering convenience for voters, the elections team said the move would "allow voters with additional needs to identify a venue that best suits their accessibility needs".

Those with additional accessibility requirements have been advised to check the facilities of their polling station online or contact their deputy returning officer for advice.

There are 21 local authorities on the island and elections take place every four years.

All registered voters within the five contested local authorities or districts will receive a polling card by post.

This will detail their designated polling station as well as alternatives within the constituency.

Voters have been advised that while they do not need to bring their polling cards to vote, those who have not received one should contact their deputy returning officer.

The deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 17:00 on Wednesday.