One of the world’s most famous steam trains, the Flying Scotsman, has been driven by an all female crew on the East Lancashire Railway (ELR) to mark International Women’s Day.

It was crewed entirely by a female footplate team made up of ELR volunteers and a Network Rail driver.

The event celebrated the role of women in rail and aimed to encourage more women into engineering careers.

Volunteer Charlotte Instance working on board said it was “a real privilege”.

“To be on the greatest steam engine of all, it’s such an honour,” Ms Instance, who was the locomotive cleaner for the all female crew, said.

“I started about a year and a half ago, and that’s where everyone starts off on the railway as a cleaner.

“That means not just cleaning the actual engine itself, but getting in underneath, getting the ash out of the pan and smoke pops out and then learning how to fire.

“So to be here today, to be on the greatest steam engine of all, it’s such an honour.”

The crew was made up of three volunteers from the ELR, Linda Henderson, Charlotte Instance and Steph Elwood, and driver Beth Furness from Network Rail.

Widespread snowfall is disrupting travel across the West Midlands, after warnings were issued.

Motorists are reporting difficult driving conditions, with multiple bus routes terminating early or taking diversions.

In north Staffordshire, a Met Office amber weather warning was issued for heavy snowfall of up to 40cm (16in) in places.

National Highways has asked drivers to avoid travelling if possible.

Other parts of the West Midlands region are under a yellow warning, with ice and snow making conditions dangerous.

West Mercia Police said it was dealing with several accidents caused by the weather, and advised motorists to “adjust driving to suit the conditions”.

Traffic Bromsgrove tweeted a video of conditions in Lickey, describing Monument Lane and other routes around high ground as “treacherous”.

Transport for West Midlands advised passengers to check for diversions and cancellations before travelling, with some minor routes deemed unsafe

National Express West Midlands reported service disruptions around Birmingham and the Black Country, with routes terminating early or following diversions.

Landflight Buses, which operates services around Solihull, tweeted it would be sticking to main roads due to some minor routes becoming unsafe.

Stagecoach Midlands also said it was also diverting routes between Banbury and Stratford upon Avon.

Transport for West Midlands advised passengers to check with operators before setting out.

More than 171 trillion pieces of plastic are now estimated to be floating in the world’s oceans, according to scientists.

Plastic kills fish and sea animals and takes hundreds of years to break down into less harmful materials.

The concentration of plastics in the oceans has increased from 16 trillion pieces in 2005, data suggests.

It could nearly triple by 2040 if no action is taken, scientists warn.

Last week, nations signed the historic UN High Seas treaty aiming to protect 30% of the oceans.

To produce this new estimate, a group of scientists analysed records starting in 1979 and added recent data collected on expeditions that trawl the seas with nets to collect plastics.

The plastic counted in nets is then added to a mathematical model to produce a global estimate.

Ben’s Cave is an underwater cave that is a popular tourist attraction, located in the Lucayan National Park, on the island of Grand Bahama, within the northwestern part of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

As the park has a land area of some 16 hectares (40 acres), it contains also an underwater cave system where some tunnels are still uncharted and dangerous.

Being part of this underwater cave system, Ben’s Cave has been explored quite extensively, and it has been made a safe place for novice divers to explore the hidden underwater world.

As the cave extends some 14 km (9 mi) underwater, it encompasses stalactites, stalagmites, fossilized conch shells, bivalves, and a halocline which is a vertical zone in the oceanic water column in which salinity changes rapidly with depth, located below the well-mixed, uniformly saline surface water layer.

Named after Ben Rose who is considered to be a scuba diving legend that was part of the scuba tour agency in the Bahamas known as UNEXSO, where in 1982 he also co-discovered new species in the cave.

Still, the upper part of the water in the cave is fresh and floats on top of the lower saltwater, and then once the saltwater begins, it is horizontal caverns as far as the eye can see underwater.

Since the exploration of this intriguing place is conducted only by certified dive instructors, it is not possible to dive by you, and all diving expeditions are conducted by a certified diving agency or certified divers.

In conclusion, despite the potential dangers of diving, with a competent guide, exploring Ben’s Cave will surely be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that offers a glimpse into the magnificent underwater blue world of the Bahamas, unparalleled anywhere else on the planet.

Dozens of bushfires burning across Australia’s east coast could get worse as a severe heatwave continues, fire services have warned.

After two years of rains and floods, a return to warmer conditions has sparked New South Wales state’s worst fires since the 2019/2020 “Black Summer”.

A blaze 250km (155 miles) north-west of Sydney triggered the region’s first emergency fire warning in two years.

Residents in affected areas across New South Wales – Australia’s most populous state – have been urged to evacuate, and there are reports of damage to some properties.

Temperatures in some parts of the state also hit 40C (104F) on Monday, for the first time since January 2021.

On Tuesday, 33 fires were still burning across the state, 10 of which were not under control, fire authorities said.

The NSW Rural Fire Service said strong winds had driven the fires’ rapid spread.

“It’s going to be another tough day for firefighters and potentially even into tomorrow before we get some reprieve,” RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (Bom) also warned that dry thunderstorms were possible across eastern NSW, which could spark new fires.

The hot and dry conditions are expected to last until Wednesday.

Eastern Australia has experienced three consecutive summers of La Niña conditions, with above-average rainfall causing widespread flooding.

But last week, the Bom said its models suggested La Niña was “likely near its end”, with a return to neutral conditions or even the hot and dry El Niño phenomenon, likely in the southern hemisphere’s autumn.

At least 33 people and an estimated 3 billion animals and birds died in 2019-20 Black Summer fires, one of Australia’s worst-ever natural disasters.