Садівники все частіше звертаються до екологічних і доступних народних методів боротьби з гусінню. Нижче — 5 найефективніших засобів, які допомагають зупинити навалу без шкоди для дерева й довкілля. Гусінь на яблуні здатна знищити не лише молоде листя, а й порушити розвиток зав’язі, а подекуди — залишити дерево без урожаю. Хімічні інсектициди — справа ефективна, але […]

A GRIEVING pensioner was banned from a Ryanair flight and made to feel “like a criminal” because of a harmless mark on his passport.

David Burton, 70, was trying to fly from Exeter to Faro, in Portugal, last week when the low-cost airline said a tear meant his travel document was invalid.

Thomas Godfrey

David’s passport was not considered valid and stopped him from flying home that day[/caption]

The expat was back in the UK to attend his closest friend’s funeral in Cornwall, but was blocked from returning to Portimao, where he has lived for 30 years.

David had planned to get the 5.35pm Ryanair flight to the holiday hotspot but was turned away at check-in when staff spotted the mark – caused years ago by a luggage sticker.

It tore off the surface paper of David’s official observations page, even though there are none listed.

The father-of-two said he had travelled across Europe for years using the passport and never had a problem at border control.

Yet his treatment at the hands of Ryanair’s staff left him “shook up and startled”.

Thomas Godfrey

David wasn’t able to travel home until the following morning[/caption]

Retired David told The Sun: “I gave the agents my passport and they just went off with it.

“He came back and said it was being checked, to see if it’s valid.

“Eventually they came back and said that Ryanair is very strict with documents.

“He came back with another young man and he said, ‘You won’t be travelling to Portugal today from this airport. You might be able to travel from Bristol or Gatwick’.

“He was trying to assert himself, so I thought there was no point in arguing.

“Not that they would know, but I’d just laid one of my friends to rest.

“My wife told me to go outside and get some fresh air. I wouldn’t treat anyone the way I was treated.

“They were looking for a problem and a reason not to let me fly. You can use the word criminal, but it certainly felt like they had been trained to boot me off.”

The rejection, for which David was not offered a refund, meant he had to book a new Jet2 flight from Bristol the next morning, setting him back hundreds of pounds in train and bus fares.

The next day, David sailed through check-in with no issues, and agents told him his passport was perfectly valid to fly.

The shocked pensioner added: “Once I got to Faro, I asked the border agent if there was anything wrong with my passport.

“He looked at me like I was stupid, said no, stamped it, and sent me on my way.

“I’m just staggered this happened, and it’s really shaken me.

“I’m lucky I could re-book the flight, or I really would have been stuck.”

A Ryanair spokeswoman said: “This passenger was correctly refused travel on this flight from Exeter to Faro by the gate agent at Exeter Airport as his passport was damaged and therefore not valid for travel.”

STANDING at the self-serve till in Primark, I feel a buzz of excitement as I casually start scanning the t-shirts and dresses I plan to wear on my summer holiday this year.

Buried amongst them and out of plain sight is a swimsuit and two t-shirts but I have absolutely no intention of paying for them.

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Zoe Walters is hooked on shoplifting – despite the fact she can afford the items she steals[/caption]

Alamy

Zoe says she impulsively shoplifts from shops like Primark ‘out of greed not need’[/caption]

I’ve been doing this on a weekly basis since I booked my holiday to Portugal earlier this year.

On one level I feel very guilty, stealing is wrong but it feels like a compulsion that makes me feel alive.

Not only do I get a buzz while I’m stealing, but when I put on the swimsuit to stroll down to the beach next month, I’ll feel another thrill.

I don’t steal because I’m broke – I earn a decent wage and can afford the clothes – I do it out of excitement and greed.

I feel it has turned into an addiction.

I’ve been shoplifting for the past five years and if I add up the price of all the items I’ve swiped, it totals around £20,000 – or £10 a day.

I’m the last person you’d think is a thief. I work as an estate agent and I’ve been married for 14 years. I don’t have kids myself but I adore my seven godchildren and I volunteer for a homeless charity.

My taste for petty thieving started as a teenager, when I’d help myself to the odd lipstick from Boots and a photo frame from a local card shop.

I’d dabble in shoplifting if I’d spent all my £10 a week pocket money, but it was rare.

For years I stayed on the straight and narrow because I had money, socialised constantly, and loved going to the gym. My life was exciting enough.

My shoplifting addiction began completely out of the blue during the Covid 19 pandemic.

I’m an extrovert, and the isolation of not working and being in the company of only my husband John, 46,  took its toll.
Ironically, he works in security at a shopping centre near our four-bed home in a leafy part of Manchester but he had no idea that he’d soon be living under the same roof as a seasoned thief.

It was in April 2020 when I stole a block of cheese from Tesco.

I’ve no idea what came over me – I’d filled my basket and started putting the overflow into my tote bag as I browsed the aisles with the intention of paying at the checkout.

But when I reached the tills, I paid for everything else except the cheddar.

I’d acted on impulse and whilst I felt prickled with shame, I also felt strangely excited about what I’d just done.

It gave me something else to think about other than how miserable and lonely I felt.

During my next trip to the supermarket I did it again and it has continued from there.

I swore to myself that I’d stop once lockdown ended and life was back to normal but the exact opposite has happened.

Five years later I feel ashamed to say I’m addicted – I steal from everywhere, on a daily basis.

‘I feel guilty’

I help myself to face creams and nail varnishes on cosmetic stands and food essentials in big supermarkets.

Stealing a candle from Primark for the first time two years ago I felt no other buzz like it.

I can’t stop. Half of my summer holiday wardrobe is ‘free’ thanks to Primark.

I would never steal from a small independent shop because they don’t have the big profits that chains do.

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Zoe slips items in her bag at self-scanning checkouts in high street stores[/caption]

I never hide items, my stealing could be taken for being accidental.

It’s a case of ‘forgetting’ to scan everything at the tills and I always make a purchase. If I was confronted I could easily pretend I’d made a mistake and got in a muddle.

If I buy a bunch of flowers I put two in my basket, but scan only one at the self scanning checkout.

And I also make sure I’ve got a basket full of items.

I wasn’t surprised when I read recently that £2.2billion a year is lost in the UK to shoplifting or that it costs Primark more than it pays in rates.

It’s an alarming number yet I’m not alone in my friendship group in contributing to the losses.

I’ve confessed my addiction to a couple of friends – ordinary women like me – and half of them admit they shoplift too.

Even the ones you’d never suspect, which normalises what I do.

I operate on a policy of plausible deniability – so I can easily pretend it’s a mistake and I got in a muddle.

Zoe Walters*Shoplifter

Years ago a friend told me she was bored with her ordinary life and that she was either going to take up shoplifting or have an affair – I was shocked.

But now I understand where she was coming from, and I will always be a loyal wife.

I would never tell my husband – he’d be livid – and I was mortified to almost be caught by my mum recently.

We’d been to Primark and among the items I didn’t scan was a red dress she wanted.

Later, after trying it on, she changed her mind and asked for the receipt to take it back for a refund.

Terrified of shoulder tap

I had to feign surprise as I looked at the receipt, claiming that it must not have scanned at the till.

I told her I’d take it back – but I sold it on Vinted instead.

I felt ashamed because I know how upset my mum would be if she knew the truth.

And I live in fear of being caught in the act.

That tap on my shoulder is what I dread more than anything because the thought of what might happen if I was prosecuted is horrendous.

However, like with any addiction the buzz outweighs the risks and for now I’ll carry on.

• Zoe Walters is not her real name

HE’S the most famous survival expert in the world – but even Bear Grylls couldn’t save his latest show from Netflix’s killer blow.

The big budget reality series that saw Bear, 50, partnered with glam assistant Holly Willoughby, 44, has been axed after just one series despite being a hit with fans.

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Netflix axed Celebrity Bear Hunt after just one series[/caption]

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Holly Willoughby wasn’t utilised properly and cost a whopping £1m[/caption]

Netflix is getting a nasty reputation for being trigger happy when it comes to prematurely culling shows after their debut run.

Sometimes that brutal streak is justified; there’s no shortage of utter tosh on streaming platforms, but in this case, they’ve made a massive mistake.

I’m yet to hear from anyone who didn’t enjoy watching Bear Hunt’s crazy escapades from Laurence Llewellyn-Bowen casually taking a leak as Bear crept up on him to poor Steph McGovern smashing face first into a cliff during an adrenaline-fuelled challenge.

It was popular with all ages; my son, seven, among those devastated by its untimely demise, but ultimately money talked and Netflix decided it wasn’t getting enough bang for its buck.

That’s fair enough, no business wants to throw money away for fun, especially when Bear Hunt is said to have cost £10m to make, but from the outside looking in there are a number of ways to save a lot of cash while maintaining the brilliant concept.

First up, Holly Willoughby. She was paid a reported £1m to effectively be nothing more than the series’ eye-candy.

Holly’s star power was undeniable through the noughties as she became the undisputed queen of daytime TV and primetime evening entertainment shows.

She also had naughty streak that saw her equally at home on the Celebrity Juice panel cracking crude jokes.

To make her even more appealing, she’d already hosted the biggest survival show out there: I’m A Celebrity.

She expertly stepped in when Ant McPartlin‘s battle with alcohol forced him to take a break to focus on his wellbeing.

Slipping into Ant’s shoes and attempting to replicate his impeccable banter with best pal Declan Donnelly was a task tougher than most Bushtucker Trials, but Holly deserved a bag of gold stars as her ability in front of camera shone through.

When it was announced she was swapping ITV for Netflix following a torrid time at the channel, there was a clamour to see how she’d make her mark on the platform.

Would she bounce back from her bitter fall out with former co-star Phillip Schofield as well as the extended break she took following a terrifying kidnap plot with a career-defining new show, or would she fail to reach past heights?

The answer was a resounding disappointment. With minimal screen time and no real purpose, she became a jungle Jane without any bite.

That’s not Holly’s fault, she obviously worked to the direction she was given, but it felt like a step back for a woman who’d made her way to the top of the TV game in the UK.

It did her a disservice and took away an opportunity from aspiring presenters who would leap at the chance to smile and look pretty in such a big show for a fraction of Holly’s seven-figure payday.

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Twelve celebs flew to Costa Rica to take part[/caption]

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The beachside accommodation was stunning[/caption]

There are no shortage of excuses show’s bosses could have given to spare Holly’s, and their own, blushes as she quietly stepped away. Scheduling clashes, family responsibilities, take your pick.

Then there’s the location. The Costa Rican jungle and coastline certainly looked exotic and created a feeling of great adventure.

But the reality is it was totally unnecessary.

The Bear Pit itself, the natural arena in which Bear hunted his celeb prey, could have been replicated in a British woodland.

In fact, hosting on home soil would give the programme a gritty edge not too dissimilar from early series’ of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins set in remote Scottish terrain, which would add to the sense of peril.

Let’s face it, flying 12 celebrities to the other side of the world, putting them up in a luxurious cabin and then insuring them for the privilege was always going to be a hell of a bill, not to mention the thousands they had to splash out to lure the big names in the first place.

A source told us: “Everyone involved with Bear Hunt is absolutely gutted – they loved the format, and it actually hit its targets from the streaming side.”

If that’s the case, why not fight tooth an nail to save it? The hard work in creating a fresh new format and building a loyal audience has been done.

Show talisman Bear’s mantra is ‘never give up’, it’s a shame Netflix didn’t show the same fighting spirit.

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Bear lived up to his action man reputation[/caption]

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Holly looked the part but had very little to actually do[/caption]

"Lotta talking going on!”

Labour party presidenti

Renee Zellweger is hoping more Bridget Jones movies and novels will be made in the future and she can keep playing the character.

CHELSEA have announced four players will leave the club when their contracts expire later this month.

The Blues finished fourth in the Premier League table and won the Uefa Conference League last season.

Shutterstock Editorial

Chelsea have announced their retained list following the 2024/25 campaign[/caption]

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Lucas Bergstrom (right) is among four players being released[/caption]

Boss Enzo Maresca is set to get the chequebook out this summer.

And four up-and-coming prospects have not made the cut at Stamford Bridge.

Promising 22-year-old keeper Lucas Bergstrom has left the club after six seasons.

Bergstrom was on the bench for the Blues as they beat Real Betis in last month’s Conference League final.

But the 6ft9 Finn leaves without making a senior appearance for Chelsea.

Eddie Beach, 21, is also among those released.

The stopper spent last season on loan at Crawley Town and is a Welsh under-21 international.

Fellow goalkeeper Luke Campbell has also been let go, despite having been at the club since the age of 9.

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And left-back Dylan Williams has left to join Burton Albion following a successful loan last term.

A statement from the club read: “Chelsea thanks all four departing players for their contribution during their time with the Blues.

“We wish them well for the next chapter in their career.”

Chelsea have reportedly put up to FOURTEEN of their stars up for sale this summer.

Noni Madueke and Joao Felix are among those Maresca wishes to move on, per The Guardian.

Chelsea began the week with a flourish, announcing the capture of Mamadou Sarr from sister club Strasbourg.

The French defender, 19, has penned an eight-year contract with the Blues.

Sarr impressed in Ligue 1 last term, playing 27 times as Liam Rosenior’s side finished seventh.

The teenager played alongside fellow Chelsea loanees Andrey Santos and Djordje Petrovic.

He has signed in time to be part of Chelsea’s squad for the upcoming Club World Cup.

“Hesitation when it comes to melanoma could be the difference between a simple removal and getting chemotherapy," Jacqueline Mills told The Post.