The whole town centre of Newton Aycliffe in County Durham is owned by billionaire brothers – so why is it so run down? Josh Halliday reportsThe Guardian’s northern editor, Josh Halliday, recently went to Newton Aycliffe, a town in County Durham, to talk to residents about their high street. They hated it, they told him: there were too many boarded-up shops, the banks had closed and the whole place looked miserable. And yet, Josh discovered, the high street – and the whole of the town centre – was owned by billionaires.Newton Aycliffe was a new town and when it was built, the high street was supposed to be the jewel in the crown. Today, Josh tells Helen Pidd, “it feels a bit like a ghost town. When I was doing the reporting for this story I was counting the shops: how many there were, which ones were vacant. A teacher spotted my notebook and he just said to me, ‘it’s disgusting, isn’t it?’” Continue reading...

09 Feb 2026 03:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Whether you want the basic safety net or complete rescue package, the bill depends as much on what’s needed as what is includedIt is not a legal requirement to have breakdown cover – it is a safety net to ensure you are not left on the roadside if something happens to your vehicle. But you should be aware of all of the policy’s limitations when you buy one. Continue reading...

11 Feb 2026 07:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

Special coins | Country Diary | Duvet days | Washing instructions | Sleeping on the job | A former princeI enjoyed Sammy Gecsoyler’s article on using only cash for a week (My week of only using cash: could a return to notes and coins change my life?, 10 February), but he does not mention the joy of getting one of the specially designed £2 coins in change. My collection contains all the Shakespeare ones and Charles Dickens, but I lack the new George Orwell one. How will I get one now, with so little cash being spent?Manju GhoshBolton, Greater Manchester• The Country Diary is a beacon in the chaos in the country. Susie White’s beautiful prose from Cullernose Point, Northumberland (9 February), took me back to the late 1950s when we had botany classes there, with the bonus of the sounds from the birds.Jean JacksonSeer Green, Buckinghamshire Continue reading...

10 Feb 2026 16:51 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

We had to buy a new ticket after an air traffic control outage but the airline is giving endless excuses for not repaying usThe day before my easyJet flight to Budapest last July, a UK air traffic control outage caused significant disruption at Gatwick.On my arrival at the airport check-in, easyJet staff refused to issue me with a boarding pass because a smaller aircraft, with fewer seats, had had to be substituted. This left 35 passengers unable to board. Continue reading...

10 Feb 2026 07:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN

It kept on billing us for a neighbouring house’s supply although I live alone at my grandmother’s homeI’m currently renting my grandmother’s house while she is in a care home with dementia.Soon after I moved in, I was hit with a £614 quarterly water bill from Southern Water. I was already paying £62 a month in direct debits but was apparently falling short. Continue reading...

09 Feb 2026 07:00 ✍️ RSS THE GUARDIAN