A woman is fuming at her boyfriend after he told her to get her sentimental tattoo covered up because it makes him feel ‘disrespected’ – because it honours someone important to her

Arms, legs and adrenaline pumping, I kept my eyes focussed on the finish line that was now within my grasp.

It was a hot and windy day but the conditions had done little to slow me down. In fact, earlier in the race I’d thought I might be able to finish in the top five.

In the end, in October 2023, I achieved a 7th place finish in the World Cup Triathlon race in Tangier.

As an Olympic Bronze medalist, World Champion and Commonwealth medalist, you might think I’d be disappointed with that result, but you’d be wrong. Because while it won’t go down as my best race, it was one of the most emotional ones of my long career.   

That race took place exactly eight months and three days after I gave birth to my daughter, Emmie. It was my first race as a new mum and my first competition back after nearly two years out of the sport.  

I’m lucky in that I’ve had the support from British Triathlon (and my family) to try to balance motherhood and an elite sports career. But sadly, this is not the case for other women. 

In the ‘normal’ working world, basic maternity rights are covered by law and a company can then choose their own specific policy: Allowing women a longer period of maternity leave or a higher percentage of full pay, for example. 

Yet we are still struggling to get this aligned in elite sport. 

Currently, some contracts are still not protected by maternity clauses, and other people have lost sponsors after not being able to return to the sport. 

It’s why, for some, the choice between being a mum or retiring still exists, and why, for those who do choose to return, finding the time to train and pushing aside the guilt once we have children can be so crippling.

The commitment needed to be a professional athlete is above and beyond that of many jobs. The focus and dedication and self-centred way of living are often what make athletes great and you have to change those things when you become a mother.

You feel torn and question regularly whether you are doing the right thing for you and your family. I’m sure that’s relatable to many working mums, however self-doubt and second guessing oneself kills athletic performance and that’s something I definitely struggled with at times on my own journey back to the top.

Personally, I knew I wanted to have a child after the Tokyo Olympics. Getting to those games had already been a challenge – Covid had made training and travelling a lot more complicated, and I was beginning to struggle with a mysterious shoulder issue – and frankly, I was burnt out.

It felt like the best time to start a family and after that I would see whether I wanted to return to triathlon or not.

My last race ended up being in November 2021, where I came 10th in a World Championship Series event. Then, six months later, I fell pregnant.

While I’d have loved to be active during my pregnancy, I was struggling with significant pain throughout my body – I wouldn’t discover this was rheumatoid arthritis until I was seven weeks postpartum.

With all that going on there also remained the question of whether I would return to professional triathlon or not. I didn’t know whether I would be able to or even if I wanted to.  

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realised I wanted the opportunity to finish my career on my terms. 

By the time Emmie was born in January 2023, my fitness and strength were at the lowest point they had ever been and there was a moment when I wasn’t sure if I would ever get back to a start line.  

Fortunately for me, triathlon is relatively unique in that its roots are founded in equality – being a relatively young sport, women and men have always raced over the same distances and received the same prize money and exposure – and I had the full support of British Triathlon behind me. 

They gave me time, patience and, importantly, flexibility. I was allowed to bring Emmie with me to races and take on solo training in order to work around her needs and childcare arrangements. All this and more allowed me to steadily return to the sport I loved once I felt ready to do so. 

Don’t misunderstand, it was still a long road to get back to racing.  

At times I doubted whether it was worth it, whether I could balance training and life as a mother, if my body would allow me to do it or if I wanted to leave my daughter to jet off to other continents to race.  

Eventually though, I became their first athlete to return to international competition following pregnancy.  

As I stood on the start line on the beach in Tangier, I was nervous. I had absolutely no idea how I would perform again now that my training, lifestyle and even my body were different, but I was also immensely proud to be there.  

Seventh place felt like a huge achievement. Not only had I proven to myself I could be a professional athlete again but it made me excited about what I could still achieve.

From there, I went on to win a major title again – the European Championship – in September 2024.

Winning a medal as a mum in an event I’d targeted all year and a fourth place finish at the World Championships in October was the ultimate high to end on, so at the end of that season I retired for good. 

I felt like I’d come full circle, like I’d made it back to the top in every sense. And now any other woman who had dreams of both a professional sports career and motherhood could see it was achievable because I’d lived it. 

And, I’m pleased to say, progress is steadily being made to pave the way for more mothers and athletes like me.

UK Sport have guidelines that encourage sports to retain elite athletes’ funding should they fall pregnant and give them time to prove they can return to a certain level – which is what British Triathlon used to help me.

And earlier this year, British Triathlon introduced a pregnancy deferral policy for their age group athletes. This means that any athlete (who qualifies to represent GB at European and World Championships in their age group category) that becomes pregnant before a major event can now defer their entry for up to two years. 

This allows space and opportunity to return to triathlon after having a baby at a time that works for them.  

Another new policy allows elite triathletes (including Olympic and Para-athletes) to also retain their funding for two years if they become pregnant and World Triathlon – our international governing body – have also introduced a two-year freeze on rankings.  

All this is a huge step forward, but more still needs to be done. 

It seems crazy to me that women’s maternity rights have only been protected in sport for a few years and even then, the story is mixed across different sports. We must keep pushing forward. 

I never imagined that the six-year-old me – who was inspired by watching the Barcelona Olympics on TV in 1992 and seeing Linford Christie win a gold medal – ever dreamed she’d be World Champion, Great Britain’s first ever female Olympic triathlon medalist, a Commonwealth Games medalist and a European Champion after having a baby, but here we are. 

I’m just fortunate that, in the final chapter of my athletic career, I had a chance to set an example for the women who come after me. It’s that legacy, for Emmie (if she ever wants to follow in her mum’s footsteps) and other young girls that I am most proud of. 

That’s why I will continue to work with others to make sure that choice between being a top-level athlete and a mum is one they should never have to make.   

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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If you’ve made it this far, it’s clear to see that you’re after a new cleaning device for your home.

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‘Things are getting better right? I mean for people like you?’   

‘By people like me,’ I reply. ‘Do you mean Disabled people?’  

This is a conversation I feel like I, a physically Disabled woman, am constantly having with my pre-disabled peers.

It’s almost as though I am asked to reassure them that my life is OK and that they shouldn’t feel guilty.

I mean it is 2025 after all and ‘people like me’ are, in many ways, assimilated into mainstream society.   

Perhaps you’ve noticed a co-worker has a limb difference, or your favourite television show proudly showcases cast members from the Disability community.  

Maybe, there are Deaf, Disabled or Neurodivergent classmates at your kid’s school.  

So, things must be better simply because you can see us now more than ever? Yet being more visible after decades of being hidden away by society does not qualify as a better existence or quality of life.   

I want those people who assume my life is better for being more visible to know that they are seeing the world through an enabled gaze.  

The truth is that Disabled people face discrimination daily.  

New research by MoreinCommon has found that 78% of Disabled Britons feel life is harder for Disabled people than non-Disabled people. Over half (51%) think that life in the UK has become harder for us over the past 10 years.  

I want non-Disabled people to think hard about our struggle, but also to think about us positively.  

This is why it’s so important to celebrate the Disability community in all its multifaceted and vibrant colour, and the Scope Awards aims to do this.  

The Scope Awards is a celebration of Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent people and a way to ultimately amplify our voices.  

This annual ceremony celebrates those within our society: Disabled people and our allies who place value and pride in our community.   

And there is a lesson in that for everyone who isn’t Disabled. You may know us, but until you listen to us, champion us and give us tangible change and opportunity you are simply objectifying us to feel better about yourself.    

You shouldn’t kid yourself about the reality of discrimination.   

It takes many forms – like in the workplace, with Disabled people twice as likely to be unemployed.   

Scope Awards 2025

Metro is also the official media partner of 2025 Scope Awards that will take this week.

The ceremony will celebrate the work disabled people and organisations are doing to bring about important change.

Hosted by the BAFTA-nominated actor Adam Pearson, unsung heroes, amazing achievements and the incredible accolades of the disabled community are all being honoured at the Kia Oval.

There are 38 nominees for the nine Scope Awards: Accessible Product, Celebrity Role Model, Community Group, Inclusive Workplace, Journalist, Marketing Campaign, Media Moment, Purple Pioneer and Social Media Influencer.

Life also costs significantly more for us. In fact, the average extra cost of being Disabled is estimated at £1,067 according to Scope. Every single month.  

And from governments to people in the street, disabled people are constantly vilified.  

All of my Disabled or Neurodivergent friends have faced online trolling aimed solely at attacking their differences. 

That crosses over into real life too.  

Just last week I had an altercation with a taxi driver who attempted to pick me up in a cab without a working ramp.  

When I told him I’d have to cancel, he became verbally aggressive and screamed: ‘It’s people like you who are so difficult – if I’d known you used a wheelchair I wouldn’t have picked you up.’ 

Ignorance like this still prevails and it is largely because people don’t allow us to speak our truths.  

We still very much live in a world whereby able and enabled privilege prevails and ableism is so ingrained within our culture that most if not all Disabled people, myself included, live a lesser life.   

For me, the new findings about Disabled people’s real-life experiences highlight this. The more visible we are, the more the world has to see the inequalities we face. 

We aren’t hidden away in institutions anymore or kept segregated within our communities. Now, we have a voice and we will scream from the rooftops about ableism. 

However, people outside the Disabled community often don’t like to be told where they are failing, and don’t want to hear about our pain. Exposing our truth means others should be called to action, and action costs money and takes time and owning up to past wrongs. 

This is why I feel as though it’s tougher now to be Disabled. We are more malleable when we say nothing.  

But, here’s a reality check: those times are long gone and the Scope awards showcases those within our community who won’t be silenced.  

One in six people are Disabled. Think about this in context to your own family, friends, neighbours and colleagues: we will all have to live and work together to make this world more Disability friendly.  

And if you struggle to empathise naturally with Disabled people, ask yourself this: Would you want to live in a world that tells you repeatedly that you are lesser than others? 

Would you want your own children to miss out on accessing higher education, or accomplishing a milestone like moving into their own home or securing their first job?  

Would you want to live in fear that your independence is going to be ripped away from you every time a brown envelope lands on your doorstep and you may not be able to feed yourself or leave your home?

Because all of this is a reality for Deaf, Disabled and Neurodivergent people like me.   

My life isn’t a tragedy because I was born with a rare condition, but it’s tragic that in 2025 we still do not place value on the lives of Disabled people.

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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Let’s face it, the moment the British sun comes out, we’re making the most of it by getting outdoors faster than you can say ‘Pimm’s o’clock’, and this summer, Dunelm is making your alfresco dining look seriously good.

From cute picnic sets to comfy garden furniture that’s perfect for long lunches and lazy evenings, there’s bargains to be snapped up.

It’s the details that make it though, and the popular homeware retailer with the TikTok hunnies are pros at this. We’re talking about lanterns, outdoor rugs, scatter cushions in every shade and string lights to transform your space.

Whether you have a sprawling garden or a bijou balcony, Dunelm should be your go-to for elevating every outdoor moment this summer.

Ready to give your garden a glow-up? We’ve rounded up our favourite Dunelm picks to help you create the perfect setup.

Dunelm Rattan Rope Bistro Set

Featuring two comfortable armchairs and a compact square table, this set is perfect for morning coffees or evening drinks. The woven rope design and sturdy metal frame gives the chairs brilliant durability and its soft cushions are there for extra comfort.

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Three Rivers Picnic Blanket

With its stylish navy and white striped design, this generous 1.5m x 1.35m blanket has room for the whole family, plus food and drinks. The durable polyester and waterproof PEVA backing keep you dry on damp grass, and it’s easy to clean.

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Elements 5m 20 LED Festoon Outdoor String Lights

Dunelm Elements 5m 20 LED Festoon Outdoor String Lights – create a cosy, warm ambience with these mains-powered string lights. Featuring 20 warm white LEDs over 5 meters, they’re connectable up to three times for a longer glow. Durable and weather-resistant, these lights are perfect for any outdoor space.

Buy Now for £12

Sophie Robinson Coral Acrylic Wine Glass

Add a pop of colour to your drinks with this bold coral acrylic wine glass by Sophie Robinson. Perfect for picnics, parties, or everyday sipping, its boho design combines style and practicality. We suggest hand washing these to keep the colour vibrant.

Buy Now for £2.50

Cedar & Sage Forio Outdoor 3 Seater Sofa

Enjoy outdoor comfort with this generously sized 3-seater sofa. Featuring plush cushions and weather-resistant fabric, it’s perfect for relaxing in the garden. The minimalist design and fade-resistant materials ensure lasting style and durability, even in the elements.

Buy Now for £1,199

Palm Leaves Mango Wood Serving Plate

Made from 100% durable mango wood, this plate features a colourful palm leaves design. Food-safe, easy to clean, and hand-finished for a unique touch, it’s perfect for presenting your tasty offerings.

Buy Now for £20

Strawberries & Cream Outdoor Picnic Cushion

Made from recycled PET bottles (about 8 per cushion), this cute cushion is eco-friendly and durable. With a heat-sealed lining that’s water resistant for easy cleaning, simply wipe away any spillages with a damp cloth.

Buy Now for £20

furn Wave Indoor Outdoor Rug

Made from 100% recycled polypropylene, Dunelm’s furn Wave Indoor Outdoor Rug is an eco-friendly, durable rug that is perfect for both indoor and outdoor use. Lightweight, rollable, and weather-resistant, it’s ideal for patios during the summer months.

Buy Now for £18

Metal Orange LED Outdoor Solar Lantern

This bold orange lantern features a warm-white solar candle with flame, flicker, and constant light settings, plus a 6-hour timer. Stylish and weather-resistant, it’s perfect for adding cosy glow to your garden or patio.

Buy Now for £15

Whatever your summer plans, Dunelm has everything you need to dine, relax and unwind outdoors in style – all without breaking the bank.

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There were two phrases that Amelia Wrighton found unhelpful after her mum died by suicide. ‘Time is a great healer’ and ‘At least she’s not in pain any more…’ Both sentiments she could do without hearing.

Then there were the insensitive, thoughtless comments, Amelia, 32, tells Metro. ‘The number of times people say “Oh God, I would have killed myself!“. It just happens all the time.’

While she knew that most were accidental or came from a well-meaning place, the Londoner began to dread any conversations about her family. She’d fear questions about her parents on first dates, and any discussion about Mother’s Day felt tense and uncomfortable.

To cope, she taught herself to avoid certain situations and made sure she didn’t talk about her mum, Cindy, with new people.

Amelia was 19 and studying at university in Paris, when her mother ended her life in 2011. She received the news from her dad when he unexpectedly appeared on campus one day.

‘As soon as I saw him, I immediately knew something was wrong. I remember he couldn’t get any words out, and I was shouting at him, “Is grandma dead?”’ she explains. When Amelia found out the truth, she recalls falling to the ground, but not much else after.

‘I don’t remember the next 24 hours. It was shock and adrenaline,’ she adds.

An only child, Amelia returned to England for the funeral with her father, who was divorced from Cindy. The following weeks continued to be a blur, she says, but Amelia does remember reading her mother’s suicide notes and a big binder of her medical notes.

She soon discovered that Cindy, who suffered from bipolar disorder and some other health issues, had made an attempt on her life four years before, but that the family had been sworn to secrecy.

‘That was difficult. I felt like I’d been living a bit of a lie,’ admits Amelia. ’You look back at every scenario, going, “Were you happy that birthday or were you depressed and thinking about how you were going to die?”

‘My body had a physical reaction and I was sick all the time. I had awful nightmares and couldn’t sleep properly at all. My brain was total mush.’

Worried she would fail her university term, Amelia went back to France after just three weeks and developed coping methods – some healthy, some less so.

Six months later, Amelia was told by a hairdresser that she had bald patches at the back of her head, and a doctor diagnosed alopecia. ’They asked me if I had had any stress, and I said “no”. To me, stress meant money problems or exam struggles. It meant something completely different because I hadn’t learnt about the way grief can affect people,’ she explains.

‘But I had this darkness when I was alone. I would cry for a few hours every day. Being only 19, I just thought that that was my new normal. When I was with people I would being okay and be civil, although sometimes I would get a bit too drunk and emotional. I assumed my core was always going to be very sad and heavy because I’d always miss my mum.

‘I found the concept of suicide so confusing and I was terrified of feeling that dark myself.’

Amelia had a breakthrough 18 months later when a friend’s mum suggested therapy. Taking her advice, she began counselling which helped her realise it was possible to heal and process the trauma of not only realising that her mum was gone, but there was a side of her she knew very little about.

However, the truth was Amelia was still compartmentalising her grief due to the stigma around suicide. This was until 2019, when she met a young woman called Emma through her media and marketing job, who’d lost her dad the same way.

’It wasn’t something I spoke about, but over a glass of wine, Emma noticed me avoiding the same things that she avoided. I talked about my dad a lot but didn’t say anything about my mum. Emma just asked me outright: “Did you lose your mum to suicide?” And I was like, “Oh my God, yes.”

The pair decided they wanted to help others going through the same thing and in July 2020 launched the charity Suicide&Co, to offers free support from specialist counsellors to those bereaved by suicide.

6,000 people take their own lives each year in the UK, which means that 36,000 people are bereaved by suicide*, as around six people are significantly affected by each loss.

‘I still can’t answer my phone after losing my partner to suicide’

Yasmin Shaheen-Zaffar, 53, lost her partner to suicide in 2016, here she tells Metro the impact his loss had on her.

‘I loved Adam* very much but we weren’t married and he wasn’t the biological father to my daughter, so I always felt that I didn’t have the right to be bereaved when he died by suicide 19 years ago.

We were together for two years but people told me I came in too late in his life for a chapter that was already written.

They said it wasn’t a matter of if he would take his one life, but when.

He had mental health challenges. I thought love conquered everything, that it would be enough. I guess I was naive.

I received the news by phone; I still can’t answer my mobile today if I don’t know the number. He tried everything to help himself, but some people don’t make it. He was 34 when he died.

The early stages of grief sent me delirious; I could see him in my apartment after he’d died. I wanted to end my own life at the time, but I had a two-year-old to stay sane for and take care of. If I didn’t have my daughter I would have gone with him. I didn’t want to die but didn’t want to be here anymore. I wanted to be away from everything and everybody; I wanted to be left alone.

Adam and I had both wanted to go and see the Northern Lights so I took my daughter and drove to Sweden. I don’t know how I managed to drive across Europe, but that’s what saved my sanity. I just left everything. I’d planned to go for a few weeks but I soon realised I couldn’t come back so I stayed for more than five years, setting up a business.

In Scandinavia, people are very reserved and respectful, and I couldn’t speak the language, so it gave me the space to heal. Nobody knew me, no one was going to ask anything, say anything about it or give me that look. It helped me survive. Then one day it was minus 30 or something, and I was at the petrol station putting petrol in, shaking and frowning and I just thought – it’s time to go back – and went home.

I now work as a trauma therapist working with neurodivergent people and I support neurodivergent parents and young people build better bonds and communicate better. Instead of taking my life, I built a life. They call it post-traumatic growth.’

*Name has been changed

Research has found that these survivors are more likely to think about suicide, which is why Amelia, Emma and their team built up a community that provides specialist support via phone, email and an app. They’ve also just released a film by Will Castle to shine a light on how it can feel after a loved one has taken their own life, exploring the complexities of suicide-related grief and the generational impact.

‘Our mission is to help people build back a life around their grief by suicide,’ Amelia explains. ‘A lot of people don’t think this is possible – but it is.

‘I am living proof of this. When people get the support they need to navigate this awful grief they can build a life full of joy again.

‘Suicide rates have gone up for the first time in two decades – that’s not the right direction. We need more tailored interventions and systemic change, such as more community confidence in conversations around suicide and loss and better signposting, to start getting those numbers down and getting people who are going through something awful to rebuild their lives.

‘I now use my energy and grief to drive Suicide&Co forward. I know my mum would be really proud of our work, and she’d love that we’re helping so many people.

‘Grief isn’t linear, and there are challenges daily, monthly and at other points in our lives, but having access to support makes the burden a little easier to carry.’

To contact Suicide & Co, you can email info@suicideandco.org

*Cerel and Sanford

The sun was out and the hedgerows were full of primroses as I drove to see my son, Felix, at university in March 2017.  

I was excited at the thought of seeing him. His teenage years had been fairly difficult: he’d developed epilepsy at the age of 13, which was never that well controlled and it knocked his confidence.

But he seemed to be blossoming at university. He’d got involved in drama and I was travelling to Leicester from our home in Devon to watch him in the musical, The Producers. 

We’d arranged to meet outside the theatre but when I arrived at the appointed time, Felix wasn’t there. I called him but there was no reply. 

I waited for half an hour then went off to try and find him. In the theatre, I found the director, Izzy, who told me Felix hadn’t turned up for rehearsals for the last couple of days, and they’d also been trying to track him down but didn’t know where he lived.

He hadn’t responded to calls or texts. 

Deep in my being, I felt a terrifying sense of dread.  

We phoned Felix’s hall of residence who said they would go and check his room and call back. Time passed; there was no phone call.

Increasingly worried, with that visceral fear not going away, I drove there myself. The traffic was terrible. I finally arrived and the first thing I saw was an ambulance outside Felix’s room, along with a group of paramedics and security personnel. 

I knew, I just knew, that something terrible had happened. From this point on, my memory is not clear but I remember rushing over to Felix’s building, demanding to know what was going on.

No one would let me in, and eventually another paramedic emerged from the building and told me, ‘I’m so sorry. He’s passed over’. 

It is virtually impossible to convey the trauma of that moment, learning that Felix had died. It was like an earthquake, an incomprehensible shock, a ghastly drama that was so utterly surreal and yet was totally real – a hellish reality.  

In that moment my life changed forever and I have spent the subsequent days, weeks and years trying to deal with this terrible, incalculable loss. 

Felix’s death was put down to SUDEP: Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy.  

I had heard of SUDEP but it never occurred to me that it could take Felix’s life. I never thought he would die from his epilepsy. 

I have since learned that Felix was actually in one of the most vulnerable groups: he had seizures while asleep, his epilepsy was not well controlled and he was young and male. Many of those who die of SUDEP are, like Felix, found dead in their rooms at university. 

In the weeks after Felix died, I found myself writing letters to him. I kept a large red notebook by my bed and found comfort in telling him how much I missed him, and what was happening in our beautiful part of Devon, on the edge of Dartmoor.  

It was springtime, and the flowers were emerging in the lanes: celandines, violets and bluebells. Up on the moor the larks were singing. It was very strange, but even in the depths of trauma I remember being able to marvel at nature’s beauty. 

Felix was buried in a natural burial ground, a meadow overlooking the River Dart. I started to realise what a vital role the natural world was playing in my grieving.

My son had been returned to the earth, and, somehow, this was how I was going to connect with him going forward: walking in the countryside and on the coast and moors, sensing him in these wild places. 

For Sarah

Last year, on March 10, we lost our beloved colleague Sarah Whiteley. Sarah was a fantastic journalist; she was Metro’s parenting columnist and a valued member of our first-person and opinion desk.

Sarah died aged 39 from SUDEP – sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. It is thought that every year around 1,000 people die from causes related to epilepsy.

With support from Sarah’s family, Metro is fundraising for two very important charities: SUDEP Action and Epilepsy Action.

Sarah was so incredible at helping other people share their experiences; she was a born storyteller and we hope to do her proud with this series, while raising money in her memory.

After a couple of years, I was still writing letters to Felix, and I felt I had something to say about grief – it is a huge part of life that most of us never talk about.  

I ended up turning the letters into a book, The Green Hill: Letters to a Son, in which I explored the power of nature in helping me to deal with his death. Although there is, of course, a lot of pain in the book, there is also much joy: in the strange world of bereavement, life carries on, and includes the good as well as the bad. 

I will never be ‘over’ Felix’s death. I don’t want ‘closure’. I want continuing connection, and for me, this lies in my relationship with nature. 

My latest book, written with Felix’s father Alex Murdin, is about Dartmoor, where we live. We explore our relationship with this most wonderful of wild landscapes, which we feel, in many ways, has saved us.  

It has become a sacred place where we remember Felix and somehow find him again in the ancient granite tors which date back 300 million years, into deep time. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.

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Let’s face it, pet hair, dust, and mystery crumbs have a way of showing up everywhere. And if your current vacuum isn’t quite cutting it, it might be time to level up.

Enter Shark’s Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour XL Upright Vacuum – admittedly a bit of a mouthful, but trust us, it delivers.

Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour XL Upright Vacuum

Featuring Anti Hair Wrap Plus, technology to stop hair becoming tangled in the brush roll, anti-odour technology and a portable Powered Liftaway that makes cleaning under sofas and beds a doddle, the Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour XL Upright Vacuum [AZ3000UKT] is one sophisticated and sturdy model that turns cleaning from a tedious chore to a satisfying task.

Buy Now FOR £230 (WAS £349.99) – SAVE £119.99

There are plenty of features with this particular Shark vacuum cleaner but what makes it head and shoulders above the rest is its Anti Hair Wrap Plus technology.

Designed to remove long and short hair from the brush roll while you’re cleaning, you can say goodbye to tangled-up brush-rolls and spend half your weekend cutting fluff out of the vacuum.

Some vacuum cleaners can start to smell without regular emptying, but not this one. It actually has a built-in cartridge to help neutralise odours while you clean, helping to keep your home smelling fresh for longer – fantastic if you’re the owner of a pet with long fur!

The Anti-Allergen Complete Seal captures and traps 99.9% of all dust and allergens inside the vacuum too, making it ideal for someone who gets a little bit sneezy when it’s time to clean.

Its two brush rolls within the floor head are totally genius too and mean the Stratos seamlessly swaps between carpets, hardwood and rugs for even better deep cleaning. Plus, users can swap between the floor modes for even more control.

Got tricky areas in your home that need a spruce up or find doing the stairs a nightmare? Take your Shark on the go with its portable Powered Liftaway which makes cleaning under furniture, up high, or narrow spots easy.

There’s no need to keep heading to the dustbin every five minutes either as the Shark Stratos Pet Pro Anti Hair Wrap Plus Anti-Odour XL Upright Vacuum has a whopping 2.8L capacity. That, along with an 8m cord to make maneuvering it around your home a breeze, this vacuum cleaner is so user-friendly, we couldn’t love it more.

It’s not just us that’s impressed. The vacuum has a tonne of glowing reviews from previous shoppers including one left by Mz78: ‘Amazing, easy to use, makes light work of hoovering. I have always used Dyson, I now regret not trying shark sooner.’

A review from Sarah reads: ‘Fantastic hoover will never go back to my old one. Great quality lightweight, easy to use and picks up well more than my old hoover.’

And, Labmum’s review said: ‘This is brilliant especially for Labrador owners! You won’t be disappointed, picks up all the hairs in one go before it needs emptying. Good power and no smell with the special filters highly recommended thank you Shark!’

This vacuum cleaner? A brilliant, must-have gadget to keep your home looking spotless, we’d say.

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Asda customers are in for a treat this month, with the supermarket launching a major giveaway that could see you walking away with £6,000.

To celebrate its 60th Birthday, the supermarket has launched a new ‘Scan to Win’ prize draw, with instant giveaways ranging from 60p to thousands of pounds to spend on food, clothing and more in store.

To be in with a chance of winning, all you have to do is spend £5 or more and download the Asda Rewards app.

Simply scan your rewards app at the checkout to reveal a guaranteed prize.

How to claim your Asda’s ‘Scan to Win’ giveaway

From Thursday 1st May until Monday 30th June, customers who spend £5 or more in-store or online and scan their Asda Rewards app can earn one entry per day to reveal a guaranteed prize.

The top prize available to win is £6,000, but we’re afraid to say you won’t be leaving the car park with a wad of cash.

Instead, the prize money will be added to your Asda Rewards Cashpot in the app, where it can be converted to vouchers to spend in store or online.

Still, with the average family now spending £5,000 on food each year, the top prize will have your groceries covered and leave a decent chunk to splurge on clothing and homeware.

Other Cashpot prizes available are worth £600, £60, £6 and 60p, as well as £60, £6 and 60p off coupons.

Terms and conditions for ‘Scan to Win’ and a full list of products excluded from Asda Rewards can be found on Asda.com.  

Kids eat for 60p

As part of its birthday celebrations, Asda is also dropping the price of its ‘Kids Eat for £1’ meal deal in its cafes to just 60p.

The deal is available in all 205 cafes for the entire month of May, including the May half term holiday.

This article was first published on May 2, 2025.

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Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

I was running with my friend Polly, dressed as a pair of boobs in aid of CoppaFeel – to raise awareness of the risks of undetected cancer in young people.  

We weren’t necessarily fundraising for anyone we knew, we had just wanted to do our bit.  

I had run races in fancy dress before this and felt very prepared to finish.  

But not for what was to come.  

At the time of starting the race, I knew that my friend Simon was in hospital with his family in Hong Kong, having just been diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma  – a blood cancer –  a matter of days beforehand. 

I knew that it wasn’t looking good –  blood cancer is the fifth most common form of cancer and third most fatal in the UK.   

By the time I crossed the finish line that morning, I had several missed calls from friends who were in Hong Kong telling me to expect the worst.   

By that afternoon, we came to learn of Simon’s passing. It was a bittersweet moment – I was surrounded by around 20,000 elated runners fundraising for causes close to their heart, and had just learned that I had lost a dear friend to cancer, aged 31.  

I couldn’t believe that Simon had passed so quickly, and sadly I wasn’t able to say goodbye properly because of COVID travel restrictions.     

Simon and I met on a dancefloor of a nightclub in Hong Kong on the night of his 28th birthday in 2018 and instantly found a friendship through a mutual love of Belfast DJ duo Bicep, trail running and Hong Kong style BBQ pork.   

We were young, single expats saying yes to basically everything Hong Kong had to offer. I just knew we had a future of laughter and fun ahead of us.   

18 months before Simon’s passing, and a few years into our friendship, we ran our first ever ultra marathon together, the 50km Hong Kong trail.

I don’t think either of us were prepared for what was in store, but a healthy dose of ice creams, regular beer stops and a pack of Marlboro did the trick.  

There’s a photo of us at the end of that run that I have on my wall at home.    

We were both young and believed we had endless time ahead of us, and the world at our feet. Simon in particular lived life as if tomorrow wasn’t guaranteed, something I’ve tried to emulate in the years since his passing.  

He would constantly try new things, and his enthusiasm was infectious. We’d travel to new countries, try new food and run stupidly long distances – all in the name of ‘giving everything a go and having a laugh’.  

Simon didn’t do anything by halves, and that was true right up until he was admitted to hospital in spring 2022. He’d just ran a 70km all night ultra marathon, unaided, and seemed to be in peak condition.   

At the time, I had moved back to the UK and was living in London, having been unable to visit Hong Kong since I left in 2020. 

Just a few weeks later he was bed bound in hospital with misdiagnosed glandular fever, which is  common for people suffering from lymphoma.  

That’s the thing with this disease – it really can happen to anyone and can go undiagnosed so easily, with symptoms much more hidden than other types of cancer.  

The most common symptom of non-Hodgkin lymphoma is a painless swelling in a lymph node, usually in the neck, armpit or groin – many people mistake it for simple infections. 

He was keeping us updated with a sense of humour on WhatsApp from his hospital bed, with no visitors allowed while omicron swept through the city.   

When Simon’s family flew in from Northern Ireland, they had to abide by strict quarantine rules, with near zero flexibility. Simon’s mum and aunty weren’t allowed out to visit Simon until he was already unconscious in hospital, on the day of his passing.   

I think that was the most difficult thing for everyone to deal with, that we lost Simon without being able to say goodbye.   

Simon lived life to the full – he constantly threw himself into new opportunities. He always said yes to life, and that meant he had twice as much fun in 31 years of life than some manage in a whole lifetime.   

Something I believe is that when someone passes, a way of keeping them with you, is to keep their legacy alive in the way you lead your everyday life.  

One way I do this is by taking 30 minutes each day to run and think of Simon and the impact he had on us. I’ve been running 5km every day for over 1,000 days. Remembering Simon is now a daily ritual.    

Simon’s friends have to date fundraised a combined £100k in Simon’s name over the last few years to fund PHD research into the form of lymphoma cancer Simon passed away from, in the hope that testing, prevention and treatment can be much more effective in the future.    

Since his passing, the Hackney Half is now a really important annual celebration of Simon’s life for me and his friends. We are determined to run it every year in his memory, and to raise more funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma Northern Ireland in his name.   

The Hackney Half 2025 will be day 1,234 of consecutive 5km runs for me. For day 1,000, a few of us ran 100km in his honour, ending at his memorial bench in Bangor, Northern Ireland.    

I’ve decided I’ll keep running till I can’t anymore – to me, it’s as simple as that. I’ll keep going until there aren’t any more stories like Simon’s.   

Blood cancer takes 15,000 loved ones from us each year in the UK. So, I’ll keep running until that ends.   

In Simon’s name and honour. 

Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing James.Besanvalle@metro.co.uk. 

Share your views in the comments below.