A great white egret chick has hatched in England, making a new breeding bird record for the UK, Natural England has said.

A council is appealing for the return of 21 banners that were stolen in Bath when the Olympic flame passed through the city.

Hilary Rubinstein lived during a golden age of publishing, when publishers and literary agents (and he'd been both) were gentlemen, kept their words and always answered your letters. His long and mostly happy life was marked by his enthusiasms: for his family, for good books of every sort, for small, owner-run hotels and for chocolate. He was the youngest of three sons of a very old Anglo-Jewish family. One ancestor, a quill-maker, averted an attempt on the life of George III, and was rewarded with the royal warrant for quills.

Jeetan Patel's four wickets helped Warwickshire make it three wins from three Clydesdale Bank 40 Group C games with an easy eight-wicket victory over Northamptonshire yesterday.

Years ago, Somerset could call on the power of Viv Richards year after year

Warming climate may have enticed first pair of the Continental herons to mate in Britain

Lancashire survived a late onslaught from Graham Napier to secure a 28-run win over Essex in Group A of the Clydesdale Bank 40 yesterday.

Stuart Meaker took a career-best 8 for 52 to give Surrey what appeared to be an excellent chance to record their second win of the season against Somerset at The Oval only for Rory Hamilton-Brown, who is normally the most positive of captains, to suffer a rare attackof conservatism.

As Somerset celebrated signing Twenty20 world record holder Richard Levi, his future team-mate Nick Compton was progressing in contrasting style towards his own record.

It will be the opinion of more than one judge on the first day of a West Indies Test series in England that Ramnaresh Sarwan is wasted playing in the Second Division for Leicestershire.

Privacy fears over microchip that would replace tickets – and cash

Explore the outer edges of our island heritage

Durham, who began the season among the favourites for the Championship, continued their troubled start by being bowled out for 125 by an injury-hit Somerset side containing five players aged 20 or under yesterday.