Barcelona fan mistakenly travels 366 miles to the wrong St James Park stadium


Barcelona fan mistakenly travels 366 miles to the wrong St James Park stadium
The football fan was able to watch Exeter City lose to another team (Picture: Getty)

A Barcelona football fan who travelled to the UK to support his team in a match against Newcastle United ended up 366 miles away from the venue.

The FC Barcelona fan was ‘gutted’ after showing up to St James Park in Exeter, rather than the St James Park in Newcastle.

When he showed his ticket to the staff, he realised his mistake. Employees felt bad for the man and gave him a free ticket to the match in Devon, where the Grecians lost.

In Newcastle, however, FC Barcelona drew 1-1 against Newcastle United, but the devoted Spanish fan wasn’t able to see it.

Adam Spencer, who works at Exeter City, told the BBC: ’My guess is he’d put St James Park in his phone and then just followed the directions from there.’

Mr Spencer said the fan’s English wasn’t ‘great’, but added: ‘We sorted him out a ticket, and he got to watch a game at the real St James Park.

Newcastle United FC v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League 2025/26 Round of 16 First Leg
Newcastle United tied with FC Barcelona (Picture: Getty)

‘He was pretty gutted and a bit embarrassed. But he’s welcome back anytime.’

Still, the story has left many in stitches. One fan wrote on X: ‘Fella probably had a great night, made some new friends, hopefully left with a shirt and will have a great story for his mates back home. Plus, it’s not like he missed a great game.’

Another added: ‘Hopefully, he now has a second team to support in England. Lucky coincidence, a game was on.

‘You couldn’t turn him away after that journey, great gesture. Well done.’

Others felt bad for the footy fan, writing: ‘There are two St James parks in England? We need to sort out these naming conventions. It’s damn confusing.’

Eddie Howe’s side delivered an impressive performance against Barcelona at St James’ Park and appeared to be heading into next Wednesday’s second leg with a 1-0 advantage following Harvey Barnes’ goal in the 86th minute.

But Barcelona were awarded a penalty in the sixth minute of injury time, which was scored by Lamine Yamal.

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After Barnes’ opener, Newcastle continued to push for a second goal, which divided commentators.

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Kids being offered £380 to snatch an iPhone – with a £100 bonus for stealing 10


Kids being offered £380 to snatch an iPhone – with a £100 bonus for stealing 10
In the UK, the Met has seen adverts on Snapchat offering children as much as £380 to steal a single iPhone, with a bonus of £100 for stealing 10 (Picture: Getty Images)

The head of Britain’s biggest police force has urged phone companies to turn stolen devices into ‘unusable bricks’ so they are less attractive to snatching gangs.

Sir Mark Rowley told the International Mobile Phone Crime Conference in central London ‘there would be no criminal market’ for handsets if telecoms giants did more to make them worthless after being taken.

The Met Police Commissioner said phone thefts are a ‘significant’ problem for the force, which has some of the highest rates of robbery and theft from the person in England and Wales.

He warned the Met will call on the Home Secretary to change laws to force phone companies to take action if necessary, and will encourage international law enforcement to do the same.

Sir Mark said: ‘Phone manufacturing software companies have invested massively in preventing access to your data.

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‘It’s an escalating war with fraudsters and cyber criminals, but they’ve been successful enough to allow us to run our lives, including our finances, on our phones.

‘Whilst they’ve worked hard on the financial and data security of our phones, they spend far less attention on the physical safety of their customers who walk through cities with a £1,000 or £2,000 device held loosely in their hands.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley speaking outside New Scotland Yard in London after a misconduct hearing for a Metropolitan Police firearms officer who fatally shot a man during a foiled prison break has been discontinued. The officer, known only as W80, shot Jermaine Baker as police stopped a plot to snatch two prisoners from a van near Wood Green Crown Court in December 2015. Picture date: Wednesday October 15, 2025.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said phone thefts are a ‘significant’ problem for the force (Picture: PA)

‘If a stolen phone were to become an unusable brick and the parts were not recyclable, there would be no criminal market.’

He added: ‘I do not understand why tech companies leave their clients at risk despite two or three years of discussions.

‘Until this device is worthless, the market will remain attractive to organised crime.’

In the UK, the Met has seen adverts on Snapchat offering children as much as £380 to steal a single iPhone, with a bonus of £100 for stealing 10.

Sir Mark said: ‘The exploitation of children in this trade is not just about individual offences.

‘It’s an entry point into organised crime.

‘Children recruited to snatch phones for quick cash are being groomed into criminal networks, normalised into offending behaviour and pushed further into exploitation.

‘What begins as one device on a street corner becomes a pathway into debt, coercion, violence and deeper criminality.’

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The Met wants anti-theft protection switched on by default, stolen phones to be rendered unusable, and better access to IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) data to make it easier to return devices to their owners.

Figures released under Freedom of Information legislation show only a fraction of devices taken in London are returned to their owners.

Between 2017 and February 27, 2024, a total 587,498 phones were stolen in London excluding the City, 13,998 of which were recovered, and 573,500 were not.

Separate figures available on the Met’s crime data website show that in 2023 there were 52,820 thefts from the person where a phone was taken, and 14,326 robberies; the figures for 2024 were 70,249 thefts and 11,125 robberies; and for 2025 61,292 thefts and 10,207 robberies.

In the space of the month to mid-February, the Met arrested 248 people over phone theft and recovered around 770 stolen handsets.

The force is using high-powered e-bikes and drones as part of its operations to stop phone theft.

But in a report for the London Policing Board, Sir Mark warned the Met remains ‘an outlier’ for the number of personal robberies per thousand people, and theft from the person.

The force also solves one of the smallest proportion of these offences compared with others in England and Wales.

In the year to the end of December 2025, 6.9% of personal robbery cases ended with a suspect being identified and dealt with, while the rate was 0.9% for theft from the person.

In Westminster, between 69% and 72% of thefts from the person and personal robberies each week involve phones.

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Face of man whose body was found in reservoir reconstructed by police


Face of man whose body was found in reservoir reconstructed by police
The unidentified man was found in the water after 12 weeks by a walker (Picture: PA)

A facial reconstruction of a man whose body was found in a reservoir has been released by police more than a year after he was discovered.

The unidentified man, who was wearing a wetsuit, is believed to have been in the water for up to 12 weeks before he was found at Claerwen Reservoir, Powys, in October 2024.

Dyfed-Powys Police have released the facial reconstruction, created by Face Lab at Liverpool John Moores University, in the hopes someone will recognise him.

Detective Inspector Anthea Ponting said: ‘In the absence of any personal belongings other than the wetsuit he was wearing, no identification documents or vehicles nearby, we began by working with neighbouring police forces to conduct checks for missing or wanted people who had not been traced.

‘When this was unsuccessful, we extended our inquiries to contact all UK forces, ran searches through the Police National Database, and issued bulletins to police overseas through Interpol.’

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Police have also searched DNA, fingerprint and dental records, in addition to massive media appeals, to no avail.

EMBARGOED TO 2200 SUNDAY MARCH 8 Undated handout digital depiction image created by Face Lab at Liverpool John Moore University and issued by Dyfed-Powys Police of a man whose body was found in the Claerwen Reservoir, Powys, in October 2024. Issue date: Sunday March 8, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Dyfed-Powys Police /PA Wire NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Police have released an e-fit of the man (Picture: PA)

DI Ponting added: ‘Each time we have reached out to the public, we’ve been provided with some lines of inquiry to follow up on, but unfortunately, none have proven to be the key to finding out who this person is.’

There were no other items of clothing, jewellery or modes of transport in the area when the man was found, and he had no distinguishing marks such as scars or tattoos.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the man was aged between 30 and 60, around 6ft tall, weighing 202-220lb, and of white European descent.

DI Ponting added: ‘I urge anyone who thinks they might recognise him to come forward.

‘This is someone’s family member – someone’s loved one – and I would like nothing more than to return him to his loved ones who might be missing him.’

Anyone who visited Claerwen Reservoir between July and October 18 2024, and saw anything that might help inquiries, or is aware of someone who has not been seen for some time and matches the description, should contact the police.

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Princess Eugenie leaves anti-slavery charity after Andrew’s arrest


Princess Eugenie leaves anti-slavery charity after Andrew’s arrest
Princess Eugenie was a patron at the charity for seven years (Picture: PA)

Princess Eugenie has stepped down as patron of a historic anti-slavery charity after her father Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested.

The disgraced Duke’s youngest daughter left her role at Anti-Slavery International after seven years.

Eugenie’s profile – which praised her work ‘across the board with leaders in the fight against modern slavery’ – has been taken down from the human rights group’s website.

Her father Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office after allegedly sharing confidential information with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a trade envoy.

Princess Eugenie of York walks down the aisle with her father, the Duke of York, for her wedding to Jack Brooksbank in St George???s Chapel, Windsor Castle, near London, England, Friday Oct. 12, 2018. (Yui Mok, Pool via AP) WEDDING MATCHERS
Princess Eugenie of York walks down the aisle with her father, the then Duke of York (Picture: AP)

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He was released under investigation the same day, when he was pictured slouched at the back of a car.

In a statement just two weeks later, Anti-Slavery International said: ‘After seven years, our patronage from HRH Princess Eugenie of York has come to an end.

‘We thank the Princess very much for her support for Anti-Slavery International. We hope that she continues to work to end slavery for good and deliver freedom for everyone.’

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Eugenie, her sister Princess Beatrice or their mother Sarah Ferguson in connection with Epstein.

Emails from the Epstein files appear to show that Ferguson and her two daughters flew to the United States just days after he was released from jail in July 2009.

They met him for lunch in Miami, when he was still under house arrest as a registered sex offender.

The paedophile financier appears to have paid for the flights for the trip.

Sarah, Duchess of York with her daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie during a visit to the Teenage Cancer Trust unit at University College Hospital, London. Picture date: Wednesday April 23, 2025. PA Photo. See PA story ROYAL Sarah. Photo credit should read: Aaron Chown/PA Wire
Emails from the Epstein files appear to show that Ferguson and her two daughters flew to the US to meet Epstein (Picture: Aaron Chown/PA Wire)
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor in the back of a car.
Andrew was driven home following his release from police custody last month (Picture: Reuters)

Ferguson wrote after the lunch: ‘I have never been more touched by a friend’s kindness than your compliment to me in front of my girls. Thank you Jeffrey for being the brother I have always wished for.’

Princess Eugenie, 35, announced on Anti-Slavery Day – 18 October – in 2019 that she was becoming a patron of Anti-Slavery International.

The charity is the world’s oldest human rights organisation and was founded by Thomas Clarkson in 1839.

The Princess also co-founded a separate charity called The Anti-Slavery Collective in 2017.

The group spent twice as much on salaries, £191,537, as charitable programmes, £97,206, The Observer reports.

The newspaper revealed that the Charity Commission has said they are assessing concerns over expenditure at The Anti-Slavery Collective.

Metro has contacted The Anti-Slavery Collective and Princess Eugenie for comment.

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Fake taxi driver picked up and raped woman after forcing his way into her home


Fake taxi driver picked up and raped woman after forcing his way into her home
Shabir Sultani was given a seven-year extension to his prison sentence due to dangerousness, and he will be on the sex offenders’ register (Picture: Derbyshire Constabulary)

A predatory driver who pretended to be a cabbie attacked and raped a woman in her home after forcing his way in.

Shabir Sultani, 27, has been jailed for 13 years after the sickening attack in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, last year.

The woman had been out enjoying a night with friends in Sheffield in spring last year, when she decided to go home.

Outside a nightclub, she got into a car driven by Sultani, which she thought was a taxi.

Sultani then lied to her that he was a cab driver and he would take her home.

He offered the woman vodka during the journey, but she refused.

Once they reached her home in Chesterfield, Sultani crept behind the woman to her front door and forced his way in.

He continued to kiss her despite her telling him to stop repeatedly, and raped her.

The woman managed to kick him off her.

Sultani fled the scene, but he was later tracked down and arrested thanks to CCTV footage, and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology which spotted his car.

Sultani, of Sturton Road, Sheffield, denied the charges, but he was found guilty following a trial at Derby Crown Court in November.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

The 27-year-old sentence included an extension of seven years due to dangerousness, and he was handed a Sexual Prevention Order designed to prevent him from contacting the woman, and he was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register.

The Detective Staff Investigator Beth Waite, who led the probe, commended the victim for her bravery and coming forward to report it.

She said: ‘Sultani clearly preyed on this woman on this occasion, pretending to be a taxi driver and offering to take her home.

‘Despite her repeatedly saying she wasn’t interested and asking him to leave her alone, he continued to force himself upon her, ultimately raping her.

‘I’d like to commend her bravery in coming forward and reporting this incident, and her support for the police investigation and subsequent prosecution.

‘This incident will undoubtedly have a long-lasting impact on her but her courage has ensured that we were able to bring the perpetrator to justice.

‘I hope that knowing he is now behind bars will allow her some form of peace.

‘I’d encourage anyone who has been a victim of rape or a sexual assault of any kind to please come forward and report it to us. We will listen without judgement and support you throughout.’

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For more stories like this, check our news page.


Study shows worrying lack of awareness about the realities of domestic abuse


Study shows worrying lack of awareness about the realities of domestic abuse
A new survey conducted by YouGov on behalf of Refuge shows that most UK adults still believe home is where women feel safest (Picture: Getty)

A woman is safer down a dark alley than she is in her own home.

It is a stark truth, long backed up by facts – but despite one in four women experiencing domestic abuse, new data from Refuge exposes wide gaps in the public’s understanding of this ‘national emergency’.

More than two million women suffered domestic abuse in the year to March 2025. In the same period, 75 women were killed by a current or former partner, with even more victims taking their own lives.

Additionly, more than seven times as many women are killed by a current or former partner than by a stranger.

Rear view of teenage girl looking through window
More than two million women suffered domestic abuse in the year to March 2025 (Picture: Getty Images/Johner RF)

However, the poll, conducted by YouGov on behalf of the charity, shows that most UK adults still believe home is where women feel safest.

While more than half of UK adults (57%) acknowledged that women are most at risk behind closed doors, 85% believe most people feel safe in their own home.

When asked where women are most commonly abused, 14% cited outdoor public spaces such as parks, 10% said in the street, 5% said on public transport, 4% suggested in the workplace, while 10% were unsure.

The most common form of domestic abuse experienced by victims in the last year was emotional abuse by a partner or ex-partner.

Aggressive man and unhappy crying frightened woman. Domestic violence.
More than seven times as many women are killed by a current or former partner than by a stranger (Picture: Getty Images)

Most often taking the form of coercive control, it can include threats, humiliation, manipulation, ‘gaslighting’, intimidation, isolation and generally monitoring or controlling the victim’s day-to-day life.

This Is Not Right

On November 25, 2024 Metro launched This Is Not Right, a campaign to address the relentless epidemic of violence against women.

With the help of our partners at Women’s Aid, This Is Not Right aims to shine a light on the sheer scale of this national emergency.

You can find more articles here, and if you want to share your story with us, you can send us an email at vaw@metro.co.uk.

Read more:

Refuge’s survey also highlights gaps in awareness around how abuse is evolving inside the home.

Four in 10 adults (42%) say they have heard nothing about abusers monitoring, manipulating, or controlling someone through technology such as smart devices, while only a small minority (6%) report knowing a lot.

Refuge says domestic abuse is a crisis hiding in plain sight and is seeking to confront it head-on with a powerful new campaign.

Learn more about domestic abuse in the UK

  • One in four women experience domestic abuse
  • It takes an average of seven attempts for a woman to leave for good
  • Police record a domestic abuse every 40 seconds.
  • Less than 20% of women who experience partner abuse reported it to police
  • 84% of domestic abuse victims are women – 93% of defendents are male
  • Disabled women are twice as likely to experience domestic abuse
  • Source: Refuge

Home is Where the Hurt is subverts the familiar ‘house tour’ content often seen from estate agent influencers, gradually revealing subtle but unsettling signs of abuse.

Gemma Sherrington, CEO of Refuge, said: ‘Too often we are taught to fear strangers, when the reality is that the most dangerous place for a woman is often her own home.

‘This survey shows a public belief in safety that masks a deadly truth. Abuse happens behind closed doors – and for too many women, it is fatal.

‘Our campaign is shining a light on these hidden harms, and the fact specialist services like ours need urgent, sustained funding to support survivors and, ultimately, save lives.’

Refuge Ambassador Sharon Gaffka said: ‘I hope this campaign helps people recognise the warning signs of abuse in their communities and empowers more women to seek help.

‘No woman should ever feel unsafe in her own home.’

Refuge: Home is Where The Hurt is

In England and Wales, one in four women will experience domestic abuse in their lifetime, and 75 women were killed by a current or former partner or family member in the year ending March 2025.

Refuge’s International Women’s Day campaign, Home is Where the Hurt Is, exposes a devastating truth: the most dangerous place for a woman is her own home.

Watch the charity’s campaign film here to learn more.

Refuge’s National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available on 0808 2000 247 for free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

If you or someone close to you has felt unsafe at home because of a current or former partner or family member, you can also contact Refuge here.

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For more stories like this, check our news page.


Home Secretary announces asylum seekers who break the law won’t be able to acces


Home Secretary announces asylum seekers who break the law won’t be able to acces
As of December, there were 107,003 people in receipt of asylum support, with 30,657 in around 200 asylum hotels (Picture: Getty)

Asylum seekers who break the law or work illegally will soon be thrown out of Government-funded accommodation and lose support payments.

A new rule change means only those with legitimate asylum claims who follow the rules will get taxpayer-funded support, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced.

The measures, coming into force in June, will remove support payments and accommodation to asylum seekers who illegally work, have the ability to support themselves, have the right to work or have broken the law, the Home Office said.

The statutory legal duty under EU law to provide asylum seekers with support and accommodation will be replaced with a conditional approach.

The Government is determined to make the UK a less attractive destination for illegal migrants.

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Mahmood said: ‘Britain will always provide refuge to people fleeing war and persecution. But taxpayers cannot be expected to fund the lives of those who exploit the system or break our laws.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood leaves BBC Broadcasting House in London, after appearing on the BBC One current affairs programme, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. Picture date: Sunday January 25, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: James Manning/PA Wire
Mahmood is expected to lay out further measures to toughen up the UK asylum system (Picture: PA)

She added: ‘Asylum support and accommodation will now become conditional – reserved only to those who play by our rules.’

Last year, a total of £4 billion was spent on asylum support in the UK, and as of December, there were 107,003 people in receipt of asylum support, with 30,657 in around 200 asylum hotels, the Home Office said.

The issue of people being housed in hotels rose to prominence last year with protests outside some sites.

Labour has pledged to no longer use asylum hotels by the end of this Parliament, which would be 2029, if not earlier.

In October, the Government announced that barracks in Scotland and southern England would be used to house around 900 men temporarily, as part of the Government’s efforts to stop using hotels to temporarily house asylum seekers.

A charity boss said the Home Secretary was looking for ‘a bump in the polls’ with the move.

Tim Naor Hilton, chief executive of Refugee Action, said: ‘The Home Secretary already has the power to deny support and accommodation to people seeking asylum who are not destitute or who have broken the rules.

‘This is the latest in a long line of announcements from successive governments that bully refugees for a bump in the polls rather than try to solve the real problems faced by people and communities – poverty, homelessness, and the rise of the far right.’

CROWBOROUGH, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 14: Crowds march through Crowborough during the peaceful protest on December 14, 2025 in Crowborough, England. The Ministry of Defence has offered the army base at Crowborough to the Home Office for a period of 12 months to house a maximum of 540 single male asylum seekers aged between 18-65. A group of Crowborough residents has launched a legal case against the government over its plans to house the asylum seekers at the army training camp in East Sussex. (Photo by Ben Montgomery/Getty Images)
Protesters around the UK marched against the ‘migrant’ hotels (Picture: Getty)

Hilton added: ‘Ministers must end this dangerous race to the bottom and make the case for a UK that welcomes people fleeing war and torture and supports them to rebuild their lives here.’

Amnesty International UK’s Naomi McAuliffe said: ‘This proposal is scapegoating and cruelty masquerading as strength. It is the latest punitive blow being dealt to some of the most vulnerable people in our society.

‘People seeking asylum are often fleeing conflict, persecution and grave human rights abuses. Removing access to basic support and accommodation risks forcing people into destitution, homelessness and exploitation while they wait for their claims to be decided.’

Responding to the announcement, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: ‘Labour should put foreign criminals on a plane home, not onto British streets.

‘If Labour had a backbone and deported all illegal immigrants, there would not be the need for asylum accommodation. Foreign nationals who commit crimes should be deported anyway.

‘Labour have deported only 6% of illegal arrivals since coming to office, so rolling out another gimmick will not change a thing.’

Mahmood will lay out further measures to toughen up the UK asylum system in a speech on Thursday.

Under the widely trailed plans, asylum seekers in the UK will have their refugee status reviewed every 30 months in an effort to make the UK less attractive for illegal immigrants.

Refugees whose countries are deemed safe will be expected to return home.

The Home Secretary believes the Government must cut migration or risk opening the door to the right who would divide communities with the kind of anti-immigration raids seen in the US.

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Headmistress ‘changed term dates’ to go on luxury cruises, tribunal hears


Headmistress ‘changed term dates’ to go on luxury cruises, tribunal hears
Joy Ballard allegedly changed term dates on two occasions (Picture: Solent News)

A headteacher who starred on TV changed the dates of school term times just to accommodate luxury cruise trips she went on, a misconduct panel has heard.

Joy Ballard, who shot to fame on Educating Cardiff, allegedly changed term dates on two occasions to accommodate cruise trips she was going on.

She also used a school car for a personal trip to France and bought a karaoke machine with school funds, it has been alleged.

Ballard is said to have created a ‘toxic culture of fear’, leaving senior staff too scared to make any complaints about her conduct.

Ballard appeared on the hit Channel 4 show in 2015 at Willows High School in the Welsh capital.

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Shortly after the show aired, she left to become principal of Ryde Academy, later renamed Lift Ryde, on the Isle of Wight.

Pictured: Joy Ballard. A headteacher who starred on TV changed the dates of school term times just to accommodate luxury cruise trips she went on, a misconduct panel has heard. Joy Ballard, who shot to fame on Educating Cardiff, changed term dates on two occasions to accommodate cruise trips she was going on. She also used a school car for a personal trip to France and bought a karaoke machine with school funds, it has been alleged. Faced with a string of allegations, Mrs Ballard is said to have created a
Ballard is facing a tribunal with the Teaching Regulation Agency (Picture: Solent News)

In 2024, she ‘stepped back’ from her role – with her picture suddenly removed from school newsletters sent out to parents.

In July 2024, the Academy Enterprise Trust, now Lift Schools, said the departure was for ‘personal reasons’.

She now faces a tribunal with the official regulator, the Teaching Regulation Agency.

Ballard has chosen not to attend her misconduct hearing, instead nominating a union representative to appear for her.

Jim Olphert, for the TRA, said Ballard has admitted all the facts against her.

The tribunal heard that Ballard started working as the principal at Ryde Academy in September 2015, and concerns about her behaviour were first raised in March 2024.

The panel heard Ballard changed the school term dates to accommodate her personal holiday arrangements.

She changed the dates at the end of Autumn 2023 to accommodate a cruise trip she went on, and she also changed the dates of the start of the Spring term 2024 for a cruise trip, it was alleged.

Pictured: Will Doyle. A headteacher who starred on TV changed the dates of school term times just to accommodate luxury cruise trips she went on, a misconduct panel has heard. Joy Ballard, who shot to fame on Educating Cardiff, changed term dates on two occasions to accommodate cruise trips she was going on. She also used a school car for a personal trip to France and bought a karaoke machine with school funds, it has been alleged. Faced with a string of allegations, Mrs Ballard is said to have created a
Doyle, current principal of the school, said she created a ‘toxic culture of fear’ (Picture: Solent News)

The misconduct hearing was also told that Ballard did not go to school on an inset day because she was still travelling as part of a cruise trip.

It also heard that Ballard used a Peugeot 5008, purchased for £30,000 with school funds to be used as a vehicle for school purposes, for personal trips between July 2022 and June 2024.

This included using the car for a personal family trip to France in or around Easter 2024.

She allegedly bought camping equipment, a karaoke machine and at least one TV with school funds between April 2021 and October 2022 – all items which were of limited use to the school.

The tribunal heard that Ballard did not follow the correct procedures for the banking of cash between September 2022 and June 2024. She allegedly carried cash in her handbag to take it home and then bank it.

Giving evidence, Will Doyle, current principal of the school and Ballard’s successor, said she created a ‘toxic culture of fear’ which left staff too scared to raise concerns.

Doyle said her behaviour reached a ‘tipping point’ at a four-hour-long meeting of the school’s senior leadership team on March 28, 2024.

Doyle, who was initially ‘excited’ to work with Mrs Ballard, said during a meeting about redundancies that she swore.

‘To have someone use that language, to then be told I might be made redundant was devastating for me,’ he said.

Doyle also recalled the ‘significant impact’ changing school term dates at the end of 2023 to 2024, to accommodate Ballard’s cruise, had on attendance figures.

Parents and staff had already booked holidays for Christmas and families ‘voted with their feet’, he said. Asked why he did not raise concerns sooner, Doyle said he was ‘scared for the repercussions’.

In September 2024, a letter was sent to parents, signed by regional education director Karl Sampson, confirming Ballard had ‘retired’ after 30 years in education.

During this time, vice principal Will Doyle oversaw the academy under the guise of ‘head of school’, before being appointed principal in October last year.

The tribunal continues.


Drill rapper DSavv finally arrested ‘after smuggling himself to France on lorry’


Drill rapper DSavv finally arrested ‘after smuggling himself to France on lorry’
Daniel Boakye DSAVV has been caught in France

A drill rapper and armed robber on the run from prison for weeks has finally been arrested.

Daniel Boakye, 21, who also goes by the rap name DSAVV, fled police for a second time on February 15.

Met police have confirmed he was arrested after a tip he was in France.

A spokesman said: ‘A man who absconded from Lewisham Hospital has been detained in France.

‘At around 20:18hrs (local time) on Monday, 2 March, Daniel Boakye was arrested in La Bouëxière, France on suspicion of escaping lawful custody.

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‘His arrest follows a joint operation by officers from the Met, National Crime Agency and French law enforcement partners.

‘It is believed Boakye, aged 21, was smuggled out of the country in a lorry after he absconded while in police custody on Sunday, 15 February.’

‘Arrangements are now underway to return him to custody in the UK.

‘Enquiries are ongoing to identify those who may have assisted Boakye to evade capture.’

In a video posted on social media, a young man claiming to be the rapper was again mocking police who have failed to locate.

Sitting in a chair in a dark room, the attention seeker brags: ‘I’m that guy I’m the boss of the UK.

‘Done it twice now they think I’m insane.

‘On my side we’ve got guns from Ukraine. Catch me if you can, I’m in a Wray on the way to the plane.’

‘I’m a magician like poof out of space.’

While police will probably be frustrated at the video, hip-hop fans were less impressed.

One commented: ‘He would be the biggest legend in UK Rap history if he could rap well’.

On Wednesday, he posted a video with an article on Boakye’s escape from prison was displayed on a TV in the background while the young man rapped.

‘I just broke out of jail like Modie, f*** the government fam they’re phoneys,’ he said.

‘Prison break, s*** fam – f*** these police. On the roads, I’m a legend like Toby, but I can’t go wrong like Kobe.’

Boakye is understood to have links to London gang OFB – Original Farm Boys – based on the Broadwater Farm estate in Tottenham.

He is known for his lyrics boasting of committing knife crimes, in one rap he says: ‘Man plug that shank in his socket. You should’ve saw the way he ran, that muppet.

‘Still caught him and I chinged that muppet. Crime scene juice got spilled like bucket.’

When he was in prison he had lots of fans calling for his release.

Between June 2021 and January 2022, Boakye and three other teenagers participated in a spree of robberies and attempted robberies across London, Essex Live reports.

Armed with knives, they forced victims to hand over their mobile phones and provide passcodes to unlock them.

The group then transferred victims’ cryptocurrency into ‘hot wallets’, stealing more than £115,000 in total.

They also used stored bank details to buy top-up cards, pay for taxi fares and complete other fraudulent transactions.

The gang were only caught after detectives identified their home addresses from takeaway orders they paid for using stolen bank details.


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