Frankie Hooper from Oundle was crowned Queen Conker at the World Conker Championships in Southwick, Northamptonshire, after beating the men's winner in the final showdown. More than 250 competitors, including visitors from Japan, Holland and Germany, took part in the friendly, fun-filled event.
A marble model of Pope Clement XII, made by sculptor Pietro Bracci as a preparatory piece for a larger bronze, was found in a salvage yard in Wiltshire after a builder noticed its quality. It had long been used as a garden ornament at a country estate in England. The piece was offered for sale at auction by Woolley & Wallis, with experts describing it as a rare survivor from eighteenth-century Rome.
Simon Morris from Cardiff paid for a heart scan through a Welsh charity, which revealed a blocked artery and a silent heart attack he had not known about. He had an angioplasty, completed cardiac rehabilitation, and is now climbing Snowdon to raise money for Calon Hearts UK, the charity that provided the scan.
Drone pilots are using thermal cameras to locate hidden hot spots left under the ground after a huge wildfire in the Cairngorms, allowing ground teams to put them out efficiently. Green shoots, fungi and wildflowers are already emerging through the scorched forest, and the same drones will be used to track the landscape's recovery over the years ahead.
A volunteer from Ramsgate has been recognised as a Kent Local Hero for many years of service to the community. The honour celebrates the lasting difference their volunteering has made locally.
Two players from Hartlepool helped Team GB's blind baseball side win bronze at the Blind Baseball International Cup in Italy. The squad, which includes members from the Hartlepool Monkeys team set up by Gareth Hammond's ideas, reached the semi-finals against strong international opponents. The players said they were proud to bring a medal home to Teesside.
Volunteers from a Durham litter-picking group uncovered a plaque marking an 1883 riverside walk, hidden beneath ivy on a wall near Elvet Bridge. The walk, named after Reverend William Andrewes Fearon, a former Durham School headmaster, was a surprise even to the local parish council, and the group hopes to trace his relatives and encourage more people to join their litter picks.
A pair of ospreys, a bird once hunted close to extinction in Britain, has raised three chicks to fledging in a Herefordshire oak tree near the River Wye, the county's first recorded osprey chicks in at least 200 years. Local wildlife groups and a nature recovery officer welcomed the news, and visitors to Bodenham Lake have enjoyed spotting the birds on their migration.
A giant mural has been unveiled in Liverpool to honour a figure often described as the city's forgotten sixth Beatle. The artwork aims to give due recognition to a local music figure whose contribution has been overlooked.
Leicester Tigers recovered from a difficult start to beat Gloucester, claiming their first home win of the season. The hosts scored several tries after the early setback and kept the Slater Cup, a trophy honouring former captain Ed Slater, who is living with Motor Neurone Disease. Gloucester still earned bonus points and remain top of the league.
Volunteers in Lancashire are working to transform local green spaces.
A new specialist centre for neurodivergent children has opened in Coventry, founded by two mothers who wanted a non-judgemental space for young people with conditions such as autism and ADHD. Actor Colin Farrell sent flowers and a handwritten note to mark the opening, and parents have spoken warmly about the centre's value to their families.
