Bathing to be allowed in the Seine by 2025

Swimming has been banned in the Seine since 1923, owing to high pollution levels

(Image credit: James O'Neil/Getty Images)

The waters of the Seine will be clean enough for Parisians to bathe in by 2025, the French government has confirmed. Swimming has been banned in the river since 1923, owing to high levels of pollution. But the water quality has been improving since Jacques Chirac pledged to clean up the Seine in 1990, and efforts have recently accelerated, as Paris prepares to host the 2024 Olympics. Swimming is expected to be permitted in 23 locations, some in the city centre.

Former wasteland declared national nature reserve

A former industrial wasteland in Greater Manchester has been declared a national nature reserve (NNR). Named the Flashes of Wigan and Leigh, the 738-hectare wetland was formed by the flooding of land that had subsided as a result of intensive coal mining in the 19th century. Over the past 100 years, the area has become a haven for rare species, including bitterns and water voles. It is one of the largest of England’s 226 NNRs – and the first in Greater Manchester. Marian Spain, Natural England’s chief executive, said the Flashes’ new status showed it was “possible to reverse the decline in nature”

Retired engineer to take to the skies

A retired engineer from Hampshire has been given permission to take to the skies in the replica Spitfire he has spent the past 16 years building. Steve Markham, who qualified as a pilot in the 1970s, started assembling the aircraft in his barn, with the help of his wife Kay, when he realised that to buy an original wartime model would cost upwards of £2m. He said that he and Kay were hoping to fly the aircraft to Rome for a “nice Italian lunch” next year, but that their first flight would be to the Isle of Wight, for ice cream.