FAT, middle-aged detective Vera Stanhope seems an unlikely heroine. But the dishevelled sleuth has won millions of fans through Ann Cleeves’ gritty crime thrillers, and the TV adaptation starring Brenda Blethyn.

Hours after US authorities began investigating the shooting deaths of three people in a home, the man later charged in the case admitted to police that he had “messed up.”

A man shot dead three people in Pennsylvania after confronting his wife about custody arrangements for their daughter.

Woodcock Grove, associated with toffee makers Cleeves, has been switched to self-catering cottages, writes Tommy Barker.