Buyers snapping up homes in property shortage

An increase in the demand for sold boards is the latest proof of a squeeze on stock with five buyers for every seller

The 'Equity Haves' and 'Equity Have-Nots'

Many people might like to be moving home but they are being compelled to stay put because of a lack of spare cash

Queen comes prepared with road atlas

Hundreds of people line streets during royal tour of North East that included opening of Washington School, Tyne and Wear

Council gets a bad name for poor spelling

Matthew Spurgin, 8, was appalled when workmen from Knowsley Council installed signs with a glaring error near his house

DVDs’ days are numbered as streams gather pace

With disc sales continuing to fall, electronics firms are preparing for the death of the DVD as the internet takes over

Cheap cash may create another property bubble

Great swaths of the world's residential market - outside Britain - are not just in full recovery mode, they are booming

Miss England loses crown after 'brawl over TV star'

Rachel Christie, arrested after reported fight with fellow beauty contestant, quits role to concentrate on 2012 Olympics

Simon Mann reunited with wife after release

The former SAS soldier and Old Etonian, who was sentenced to 34 years for the failed plot, returns to family in Britain

Ministers retreat over Nutt row

Lord Drayson, the Science and Innovation Minister, endorses independence after sacking of drugs adviser

Cowell has the X-factor at charity auction

An hour with the head of Syco entertainment raised £19,000 at auction that included time with Wenger, the Arsenal manager

ANALYSIS: Brown has raised the prospect of 'failure'

Gordon Brown has introduced a string of nuances on Afghanistan which have raised the very doubts he wished to dispel

Fireworks set off at Aberdeen petrol station

Emergency services were called to a rising number of dangerous incidents involving fireworks and bonfires across Scotland

Thanks for the MBE, Ma'am, any sausages with that?

Butcher who keeps a biro behind his ear to take orders kept it there on Palace visit in case the Queen needed any meat

Australian republic debate reignited

Republicans say removal of Queen as head of state is 'unfinished business', ten years after a referendum on the issue

RBS losses hit £1.5bn as bad debts triple

State-owned lender, which received an extra £33.5bn in taxpayers' funds, reports £3.3bn in impairment charges

Lost Chaplin film bought for £3.20 on eBay

A previously unknown seven-minute Charlie Chaplin film has been found in a tin bought on eBay for £3.20

Dead man’s ghost wastes police time

Police were sure that Carlos Assaf had killed himself — until psychics said he was telling them that he had been murdered

Why 'autistic' jibe was lost in translation

Spokesman for Pierre Lellouche says he 'bitterly regrets' comments but blames his interviewer's poor grasp of French

Teenager killed after air rifle went off in flat

Rachel Davies was in bed when she was shot dead with a faulty air rifle that had been left loaded with a pellet

Council used terror powers on school place mother

Jenny Paton has taken Poole Borough Council to court for spying on her family for three weeks over school application