A Cern physicist studies readouts from the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva. The level of Britain’s participation in the project may be reduced after the spending review. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images Big reductions in the UK’s scientific research capacity will be necessary if planned 25% cuts to government spending in the sector go ahead, the [...]

There are an estimated 4 million female and 3 million male shopaholics in Britain. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters British shoppers are in the grips of recession shopaholism, having amassed nearly £24 billion of unsecured debt during the downturn, according to product comparison website uSwitch. The website defines a recession shopaholic as someone who has built up [...]

Schools with newly-changed academy status are being encouraged to keep the cost of uniform down. Photograph: Martin Godwin/Guardian Parents should not be asked to pay for new school uniforms by schools that change status to academies, council leaders warned today . The Local Government Association (LGA) has asked dozens of schools to “show restraint” when [...]

First Direct’s call centre in Leeds: extra staff are being recruited to deal with the rush in new business. Photograph: Don Mcphee First Direct mortgage customers are having to wait four weeks for interviews to apply for the bank’s lifetime tracker mortgage following a deluge of applications. The bank has seen a 40% increase in [...]

The 17th hole has become home to a family of nesting swallows during this, the 150th anniversary of the Open. Photograph: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images Peter Fox is the secretary of the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust. He also, alongside Caroline Rice, keeps the...