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Detroit defensive back Brian Branch thought he had been blocked in the back illegally without the officials calling a penalty during the Lions’ 30-17 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night.

So as soon as the game ended, Branch took matters into his own hands — or, rather, his own hand.

After the final play, Branch approached the player he later said was responsible for the illegal block, Chiefs receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, and hit him hard on the left side of his face mask with an open hand.

Smith-Schuster fell to a knee but immediately popped up and went after Branch. The two players scuffled briefly, with Smith-Schuster losing his helmet and ending up back on the ground, as other players and coaches tried to intervene.

Talking to reporters after the game, Branch apologized and took responsibility for his actions while also attempting to explain what had set him off.

“I did a little childish thing,” the third-year player said. “But I’m tired of people doing stuff in between the play and refs don’t catch it. Like, they were trying to bully me out there and I don’t think — I shouldn’t have did it. It was childish.”

Asked to elaborate on what had happened during the game, Branch said: “I got blocked in the back illegally, and it was front of the ref. The ref didn’t do anything, and just stuff like that. And I could have got hurt off of that, but I still shouldn’t have done that.”

Branch said later in the interview that he should have taken out his frustrations within the rules of the game “between the whistles, not after the game, and I apologize for that.”

Detroit coach Dan Campbell, right, approaches Lions defensive back Brian Branch, left, in a crowd of players after a game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 12.

(Jamie Squire / Getty Images)

Branch was fined $23,186 earlier this season for face-masking and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties during a game against the Green Bay Packers. He could face another fine and possibly a suspension for his actions Sunday night, an NFL spokesperson told The Times. There is no timetable for a decision to be made on the matter.

The Chiefs offense and Lions defense were on the field for the final play. As soon as the final whistle blew, Branch appeared to walk right past Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who had extended his hand for a postgame handshake, to confront Smith-Schuster.

“After the game, I was expecting to shake his hand and say, ‘Good game’ and move away, but he threw a punch,” Smith-Schuster told reporters in the locker room. “At the end of the day, it’s a team sport. We came out here, we did our job, we won, and that’s all that matters.”

Smith-Schuster was asked what might have led up to the incident.

“I mean, just me blocking him,” the ninth-year receiver said. “I mean, I’m just doing my job. I play between the whistles and after the game he just took advantage of what he did.”

Smith-Schuster reportedly received a bloody nose from the hit. There were no signs of blood by the time he gave his postgame interview, but Smith-Schuster confirmed that he had been bleeding.

Detroit coach Dan Campbell — who famously declared during his introductory press conference in 2021 that his team would bite off opponents’ kneecaps — told reporters that Branch’s actions were unacceptable.

“I love Brian Branch, but what he did is inexcusable and it’s not going to be accepted here,” Campbell said. “It’s not what we do. It’s not what we’re about. I apologized to Coach [Andy] Reid and the Chiefs, and Schuster. That’s not OK. That’s not what we do here. It’s not going to be OK. He knows it. Our team knows it. That’s not what we do.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A MAJOR supermarket chain is set to close one of its branches soon, with another 34 also on the way out.

The food store announced the “difficult decision” it has made to close the store next month.

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Co-op in Leicestershire’s Derby Road in Ashby-de-la-Zouch will permanently close its doors on Saturday, November 22.

A statement from a Co-op spokesperson read: ” ‘Our store in Ashby-de-la-Zouch will close next month.

“Our priority is to fully support colleagues, who have been informed.

“We would like to thank the community for its support of this store.”

The supermarket giant has come under some fire for some time now for having two of its stores in close proximity with the Ashby Town Centre.

This came after the Central Co-op moved from the top of Market Street to near the existing Co-op.

The spokesperson added: “We carry-out reviews of our existing store locations, and, sometimes, only after very careful consideration, we take the difficult decision to close a store.”

The Central Co-op will remain open, with the next nearest one approximately three miles away in Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire.

It comes as the supermarket could shutter another 34 of its stores due to financial struggles.

The Sun previously reported that stores in Braintree, Chelmsford, Basildon, Thurrock and Southend are among other locations that are at risk.

Chelmsford Star Co-op said it is “struggling financially” and needs to merge with the larger Central Co-op society.

Issues are also said to have been “exacerbated” by increases in National Insurance contributions and the living wage.

Late last year, Co-op announced plans for a “portfolio reshape” which included relocation of stores.

The Co-operative has over 7,000 registered branches owned by 17 million members, and is reported to contribute around £35 billion annually to the British economy.

Co-op as an organisation organisation has, like most companies, been hit by the cost of living.

In December last year it was announced 19 Co-operative stores would be shut down across the UK due to “financial sustainability issues”.

The locations, based in various areas around Central England, include Leicestershire, Yorkshire, Norfolk and the West Midlands.

B&M bought three of the 19 stores, while Samy Ltd, a convenience retailer, snapped up 16.

OTHER CO-OP NEWS

This comes as Co-op is rolling out a major change to stores across the country.

The supermarket giant is replacing paper product tags with electronic labels throughout its whole estate over the coming months.

The retailer has already made the change in 340 branches but will roll out the tags more widely.

The chain said 1,500 stores will have the labels by the end of the year and will be rolled out across all its nearly 2,400 by the end of 2026.

The electronic labels are designed and created by VusionGroup, which also works with Asda.

Steven Logue, Co-op’s head of operations, said: “With convenience at the heart of everything we do Co-op is committed to continually exploring innovative technology that can improve how we operate.”

Co-op said the new electronic labels will show allergen and nutritional information and products’ country of origin, as well as deals and savings.

A WOMAN killed by a falling tree branch has been named and pictured as her family paid a heartbreaking tribute.

Jen Higgins, 49, died at the scene in Barlow Moor Road, Manchester, on August 30 following the freak incident.

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In a statement, Jen’s family said: “The family of Jen Higgins are heartbroken to confirm she lost her life in a sudden and tragic accident.

“She was a beloved wife, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, and aunt – a vibrant and supportive friend to many; and a dynamic and widely respected member of the Manchester business community.

“You will no doubt empathise with the deep and profound shock we are feeling at this moment and ask for privacy while we grieve. A further statement will be issued when we feel able.”

Died at the scene

Emergency services rushed to the road following a call at around 7.15pm but Jen died at the scene despite the efforts of paramedics.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said at the time: “At around 7.15pm on Saturday, August 30, we were called to reports a tree had fallen onto a woman on Barlow Moor Road, Didsbury.

“Despite the best efforts of emergency workers, a woman in her 40s was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

“The death is not being treated as suspicious.”

A member of staff at Barlow Moor petrol station, who asked not to be named, described seeing the tree “snap” moments before the tragedy unfolded.

They said: “The tree just snapped, it was a big branch and just fell. A woman was walking underneath.

“The weather was a bit windy but not strong. A few locals came out and some of them were doctors so they were trying to help her.

“Then the ambulance came and police closed the road.

“It is a big tree and it was a massive branch that fell – blocking off all the road. It was two or three thick branches that fell at once.”

An inquest into Jen’s death is due to open at Manchester Coroners’ Court on September 23.

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BALTIMORE — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out the Trump administration’s lawsuit against Maryland’s entire federal bench over an order by the chief judge that stopped the immediate deportation of migrants challenging their removals.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Cullen granted a request by the judges to toss the case, saying to do otherwise “would run counter to overwhelming precedent, depart from longstanding constitutional tradition, and offend the rule of law.”

“In their wisdom, the Constitution’s framers joined three coordinate branches to establish a single sovereign,” Cullen wrote. “That structure may occasionally engender clashes between two branches and encroachment by one branch on another’s authority. But mediating those disputes must occur in a manner that respects the Judiciary’s constitutional role.”

The White House had no immediate comment.

Cullen was nominated to the federal bench by Trump in 2020. He serves in the Western District of Virginia, but he was tapped to oversee the case because all 15 of Maryland’s federal judges are named as defendants, a highly unusual circumstance that reflects the Republican administration’s harsh response to judges who slow or stop its policies.

Cullen expressed skepticism of the lawsuit during a hearing in August. He questioned why it was necessary for the Trump administration to sue all the judges as a means of challenging the order.

Signed by Chief Maryland District Judge George L. Russell III, the order prevents the Trump administration from immediately deporting any immigrants seeking review of their detention in Maryland district court. It blocks their removal until 4 p.m. on the second business day after their habeas corpus petition is filed.

The order says it aims to maintain existing conditions and the potential jurisdiction of the court, ensure immigrant petitioners are able to participate in court proceedings and access attorneys and give the government “fulsome opportunity to brief and present arguments in its defense.”

The Justice Department, which filed the suit in June, says the automatic pause violates a Supreme Court ruling and impedes the president’s authority to enforce immigration laws. The department has grown increasingly frustrated by rulings blocking Trump’s agenda, repeatedly accusing federal judges of improperly impeding his powers.

The lawsuit was an extraordinary legal maneuver, ratcheting up the administration’s fight with the federal judiciary.

Attorneys for the Maryland judges argued the lawsuit was intended to limit the power of the judiciary to review certain immigration proceedings while the Trump administration pursues a mass deportation agenda.

“The executive branch seeks to bring suit in the name of the United States against a co-equal branch of government,” attorney Paul Clement said during the hearing. “There really is no precursor for this suit”

Clement is a prominent conservative lawyer who served as solicitor general under Republican President George W. Bush. He listed several other avenues the administration could have taken to challenge the order, such as filing an appeal in an individual habeas case.

Justice Department attorney Elizabeth Themins Hedges said the government was simply seeking relief from a legal roadblock preventing effective immigration enforcement.

“The United States is a plaintiff here because the United States is being harmed,” she said.

In an amended order pausing deportations, Russell said the court had received an influx of habeas petitions after hours that “resulted in hurried and frustrating hearings in that obtaining clear and concrete information about the location and status of the petitioners is elusive.” Habeas petitions allow people to challenge their detention by the government.

Attorneys for the Trump administration accused the Maryland judges of prioritizing a regular schedule, writing in court documents that “a sense of frustration and a desire for greater convenience do not give Defendants license to flout the law.”

Among the judges named in the lawsuit is Paula Xinis, who found the Trump administration in March illegally deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador — a case that quickly became a flashpoint in Trump’s immigration crackdown. Abrego Garcia was held in a notorious Salvadoran megaprison, where he claims to have been beaten and tortured.

Trump has railed against unfavorable judicial rulings, and in one case called for the impeachment of a federal judge in Washington who ordered planeloads of deported immigrants to be turned around. In July, the Justice Department filed a misconduct complaint against the judge.

Skene writes for the Associated Press.

TAMZIN Outhwaite appeared to extend an olive branch to ex-husband Tom Ellis a decade after their split.

The former couple’s seven-year marriage ended in 2014 after Tom allegedly confessed to cheating with American actress Emilie de Ravin in 2013.

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Over the years, actress Tamzin, 54, has taken aim at her actor ex, who is best known for roles in Miranda and Lucifer, for “walking out” on her and their two children.

However, she appears at peace with their difficult history now, re-sharing pictures Tom, 46, uploaded to Instagram from the premiere of Netflix‘s The Thursday Night Murder Club.

They featured a suited Tom linking arms with daughter Marnie, 12, who stood beside brother Flo, 17.

Tamzin added: “My heart is bursting #suchaproudmama [love heart emoji].”

The positive post was very different in tone from a tweet she posted in 2023.

It read: “Ten years since the father of my kids walked out on us for the final time. I still meet new people on jobs who reveal more infidelities and lies he committed. 

“But thankfully my heart and soul are clear and clean and I could not be happier right now.”

After removing the post, the former EastEnders star explained: “Thank you all for your messages re my now deleted tweet.I was marking the 10 year anniversary with pride,a feeling of triumph & genuine gratitude.

“I understand it has triggered some people. For anyone struggling, the most important relationship you will ever have is with yourself.”

Last year Tamzin split from boyfriend of six years Tom Child. That relationship ended on much more civil terms, and she still refers to him as her “best friend”.

She credited him with being supportive throughout her eldest child’s transition to identifying as a boy.

Tamzin said: “[He] has been around for the whole of like Flo’s transitioning period, for the whole of Marnie becoming a girl that was discovering all sorts of stuff and boys, and so he is still a member of the family. We’ve been not together for over a year. 

“The kids often say to him ‘When you meet someone, or even if you have, how are you going to explain this situation to your girlfriends?'”

She’s in no rush to find a new man and hasn’t found dating apps to be fruitful.

Tamzin told The Sun last month: “I’m single, I’ve tried the dating apps. I’m on one now but I keep forgetting to check it.

“I just can’t imagine actually going on the date and going back to the small talk. It will happen one day but I’m certainly not waiting for it.

“I’ve been single for over a year now and I’m loving it too much.

“I owe it to myself to be single, because I haven’t been single for this long, ever. I have always been in relationships. I actually like being on my own, it’s really nice.”

Tamzin became a household name in 1998 when she joined the cast of the BBC’s EastEnders as Mel Owen, and went on to win several Sexiest Female awards as well as Best Actress.

She has also starred in army series Red Cap, crime drama New Tricks and played Rebecca Mitchell in drama Hotel Babylon.

Recently she played a recovering drug addict in ITV’s police series The Tower, and last year played sex-loving Sylvie in Channel 5’s six-part drama The Wives.

Tamzin says that after reading the script for The Wives, she overhauled her health and figure ready for the camera.

She said: “I lost weight before we started filming The Wives last February.

“I read that I was in a bikini a lot and a swimsuit. So, between Christmas and the New Year, I didn’t drink any alcohol and I exercised every day. I didn’t ever weigh myself, but I just knew I could fit into things that I didn’t used to.

“I went down a dress size. It took me six weeks. Now it’s just keeping it off.”

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On Tuesday, New York City radio host Sid Rosenberg asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio about whether the State Department intends to designate the Muslim Brotherhood and Council on American-Islamic Relations as terrorist organizations. Rubio responded that “all of that is in the works,” although “obviously there are different branches of the Muslim Brotherhood, so you’d have to designate each one of them.”

Logistics and bureaucracy aside: It’s about time.

For far too long, the United States has treated the Muslim Brotherhood with a dangerous combination of naiveté and willful blindness. The Brotherhood is not a random innocuous political movement with a religious bent. It is, and has been since its founding about a century ago, the ideological wellspring of modern Sunni Islamism. The Brotherhood’s fingerprints are on jihadist groups as wide-ranging as Al Qaeda and Hamas, yet successive American administrations — Republican and Democratic alike — have failed to designate its various offshoots for what they are: terrorist organizations.

That failure is not merely academic. It has real-world consequences. By refusing to label the Muslim Brotherhood accurately, we tie our own hands in the fight against Islamism — both at home and abroad. We allow subversive actors to exploit our political system and bankroll extremism under the guise of “cultural” or “charitable” outreach.

Enough is enough.

Founded in Egypt in 1928 by Hassan al-Banna, the Muslim Brotherhood’s stated mission has never wavered: the establishment of a global caliphate governed by sharia law. The Brotherhood has always attempted to position itself as a “political” organization, but it is “political” in the way Lenin was political. Think subversion through infiltration — or revolution through stealth.

Consider Hamas. Hamas is not merely inspired by the Muslim Brotherhood — it is the Muslim Brotherhood’s Palestinian-Arab branch. The link is unambiguous; as Article Two of Hamas’ founding charter states, “The Islamic Resistance Movement is one of the wings of Moslem Brotherhood in Palestine.” And Hamas’ charter also makes clear its penchant for explicit violence: “Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.”

This is not the rhetoric of nuance or moderation. This is the ideological foundation of contemporary jihadism. Yet, while Hamas is rightly designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department, other branches of the Muslim Brotherhood remain off the list.

Why? Because Western elites have allowed themselves to be duped by the Brotherhood’s two-faced strategy. Abroad, they openly sow the seeds of jihad, cheer for a global caliphate and preach for the destruction of Israel and Western civilization more broadly. But in the corridors of power in the U.S. and Europe, they and their Qatari paymasters don suits and ties, rebrand as “moderates” and leverage media credulity and overly generous legal protections to plant ideological roots.

What’s more, CAIR — an unindicted co-conspirator in the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history — has extremely well-documented ties to the Brotherhood. And yet CAIR agents continue to operate freely in the United States, masquerading as civil rights advocates while pushing Islamist narratives that undermine the core constitutional principles of equality that they purport to champion. Today, almost two years after CAIR-linked Hamas executed the Oct. 7 pogrom in Israel, CAIR remains in good standing with many elected Democrats.

It shouldn’t be so. In November 2014, the United Arab Emirates designated CAIR as a terrorist organization, citing its links to the Brotherhood and Hamas. And the Brotherhood itself is recognized as a terrorist organization by at least Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, Bahrain and Russia. Jordan also banned the Brotherhood earlier this year. Put bluntly: There is absolutely no reason the United States should have a warmer approach toward CAIR than the UAE or a warmer approach toward the Brotherhood than Saudi Arabia.

The first Trump administration flirted with the idea of designating the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization. It was the right impulse. But the effort was ultimately bogged down by internal bureaucracy and international pressure — most notably from Qatar and Turkey, both sometime U.S. partners that harbor strong Brotherhood sympathies and bankroll Islamist causes. And the second Trump administration’s troubling embrace of Qatar may well nip any designation in the bud before it even takes off.

Critics argue that such a designation would complicate relations with countries where Brotherhood affiliates participate in local politics. But since when did the U.S. place a premium on building alliances with the ideological cousins of Al Qaeda and ISIS?

Moreover, designating the Muslim Brotherhood would empower domestic law enforcement and intelligence agencies to go after its networks and financial infrastructure. It would send a clear signal that the U.S. government no longer accepts a claim of “nonviolent Islamism” as a pass when designating terrorist groups.

In a time when the threat from Islamic extremism remains global and decentralized, we can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to the architects of the movement. The Muslim Brotherhood is not, as “Arab Spring” boosters risibly claimed a decade and a half ago, a Western partner in “democracy.” It is the mother’s milk of modern Sunni jihadism.

The question is not whether we can afford to designate Muslim Brotherhood offshoots as terrorist organizations. It is: How much longer can we afford not to?

Josh Hammer’s latest book is “Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West.” This article was produced in collaboration with Creators Syndicate. @josh_hammer

The Oscars’ voting body is growing again with a glittering list of new recruits that includes pop superstar Ariana Grande, newly minted Oscar-winner Kieran Culkin and late-night veterans — and past Oscar hosts — Jimmy Kimmel and Conan O’Brien.

On Thursday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it had invited 534 new members across its 19 branches. This year’s class includes Oscar nominees, below-the-line craftspeople and rising international voices — among them “Wicked” star Grande; “Succession” actor Culkin, who won the supporting actor Oscar for “A Real Pain”; and late-night hosts Kimmel, a four-time Oscar emcee, and O’Brien, who hosted the ceremony for the first time this year. In all, the group features 91 Oscar nominees and 26 winners, including Mikey Madison, who took the lead actress Oscar for the best picture winner “Anora.” Madison’s co-stars Yura Borisov and Karren Karagulian were also invited to the actors’ branch.

The latest invitations reflect the academy’s ongoing push for greater inclusion, even after meeting its post-#OscarsSoWhite diversity benchmarks. Of the 2025 class, 41% identify as women, 45% as members of underrepresented ethnic or racial communities and 55% are from outside the United States. Across the total membership, 35% identify as women, 22% as members of underrepresented groups and 21% are based internationally.

After years of rapid expansion — peaking with a record-setting incoming class of 928 in 2018 — the academy has shifted toward more sustainable growth. Still, this year’s tally represents a modest increase over last year’s 487 invitees.

Other additions to the acting branch — the academy’s largest — include “The Apprentice” co-stars Jeremy Strong and Sebastian Stan, who drew nominations for their portrayals of Roy Cohn and Donald Trump, respectively, in the controversial biopic, along with supporting actress nominee Monica Barbaro (“A Complete Unknown”), Aubrey Plaza, Jason Momoa, Jodie Comer, Dave Bautista and “Emilia Pérez” star Adriana Paz. (Notably, “Emilia Pérez” lead Karla Sofía Gascón, who made history this year as the first openly transgender performer nominated in the lead acting category, did not receive an invitation — a decision that follows backlash over past controversial remarks.)

New recruits to the directors branch include this year’s nominees Coralie Fargeat (“The Substance”) and Brady Corbet (“The Brutalist”), as well as Gints Zilbalodis, who directed the Oscar-winning animated feature “Flow.” Invitees in the documentary branch include the team behind this year’s Oscar-winning “No Other Land”: Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal and Rachel Szor.

“We are thrilled to invite this esteemed class of artists, technologists and professionals to join the Academy,” academy CEO Bill Kramer and President Janet Yang said in a joint statement. “Through their commitment to filmmaking and to the greater movie industry, these exceptionally talented individuals have made indelible contributions to our global filmmaking community.”

If all invitations are accepted, the academy’s total membership will rise to 11,120, including 10,143 voting members.

Joseph Neumeyer, who is also a German citizen, approached the building on May 19 with Molotov cocktails, officials say.

A dual United States and German citizen has been arrested on charges that he travelled to Israel and attempted to firebomb the branch office of the US Embassy in Tel Aviv, federal prosecutors in New York have said.

Israeli officials deported Joseph Neumeyer to New York on Saturday and he had an initial court appearance before a federal judge in Brooklyn on Sunday. His criminal complaint was unsealed on Sunday.

Prosecutors say Neumeyer walked up to the embassy building on May 19 with a backpack containing Molotov cocktails, but got into a confrontation with a guard and eventually ran away, dropping his backpack as the guard tried to detain him.

Law enforcement then tracked Neumeyer down to a hotel a few blocks away from the embassy and arrested him, according to a criminal complaint filed in the Eastern District of New York.

“This defendant is charged with planning a devastating attack targeting our embassy in Israel, threatening death to Americans, and [US] President [Donald] Trump’s life,” US Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement. “The Department will not tolerate such violence and will prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law.”

Neumeyer’s court-appointed attorney, Jeff Dahlberg, declined to comment.

The attack took place against the backdrop of Israel’s ongoing deadly war on Gaza, now in its 19th month. Nearly 54,000 Palestinians have been killed in the blockaded enclave, where a famine is now looming as Israeli forces continue to seal vital border crossings and uphold a crippling blockade on humanitarian aid including food, medicine, and fuel.

Neumeyer, 28, who is originally from Colorado and has dual US and German citizenship, had travelled from the US to Canada in early February and then arrived in Israel in late April, according to court records.

He had made a series of threatening social media posts before attempting the attack, prosecutors said.

During his first term, Trump recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s capital despite Palestinian objections, in a move that has not been recognised by the international community. He also moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

A HUGE coffee chain with more than 1,300 UK branches has shuttered one of its high street shops.

Starbucks abruptly pulled the plug on its coffee house in Headington, Oxford.

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The location on the town’s London Road notified punters that the “shop is now closed” on a store window sign.

The coffee giant first waved in customers in October 2007.

It is unknown why Starbucks decided to close down the location.

Starbucks now has two remaining locations in Oxford, according to its website, which are located on Cornmarket Street and Westgate Shopping Centre.

The Sun Online has reached out to Starbucks for comment.

In April last year, Starbucks announced the closure of one of its Reading cafes, leaving some shoppers “shocked”.

And in March 2024, locals were saddened to hear their Dalton Park store, in Murton, Country Durham, would be closing down in hours.

RETAIL APOCALYPSE

Both independent and industry giants have been struggling with rising costs and reduced footfall over the past few years.

Dozens of shops are set to close across the country before the end of the month in the latest blow to UK high streets.

Just a few months into 2025 and it’s already proving to be another tough year for many major brands.

Rising living costs – which mean shoppers have less cash to burn – and an increase in online shopping has battered retail in recent years.

In some cases, landlords are either unwilling or unable to invest in keeping shops open, further speeding up the closures.

Smiggle isn’t the only stationary shop shutting its doors, more WHSmiths stores are set to close in the next few months.

The huge sports retailer, Sports Direct is axed its Newmarket Road store in Cambridge on April 18.

Whilst, Red Menswear in Chatham in Medway, Kent, shut for the final time on Saturday, March 29, after selling men’s clothing since 1999.

A couple months ago, Essential Vintage told followers on social that it would be closing down after they had been “priced out” because of bigger players in the market such as Vinted.

Jewellery brand Beaverbrooks is also shutting three shops early this month.

New Look bosses made the decision to axe nearly 100 branches as they battle challenges linked to Autumn Budget tax changes.

Approximately a quarter of the retailer’s 364 stores are at risk when their leases expire.

This equates to about 91 stores, with a significant impact on New Look’s 8,000-strong workforce.

It’s understood the latest drive to accelerate closures is driven by the upcoming increase in National Insurance contributions for employers.

The move, announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October, is hitting retailers hard – and the British Retail Consortium has predicted these changes will create a £2.3billion bill for the sector.