Ryanair launches membership - but expert warns Britons to 'think twice' before joining

The areas where landlords are snapping up buy-to-let properties

Buy-to-let investors are increasingly targeting northern England and the Midlands as they look for cheaper homes with higher potential yield.

Nearly two-fifths (39%) of buy-to-lets purchased in Britain during the first four months of 2025 were in the North of England or the Midlands, Hamptons property firm says, up from 24% in 2007 and 34% in 2022.

It suggested that stamp duty costs and lower rental yields have shifted landlords' attention away from southern England.

The average investor buying in the Midlands and North of England paid £150,480 for a new buy-to-let this year, £141,760 less than a landlord who bought in the South of England for an average of £292,240, researchers said.

These European destinations face biggest problem with overtourism

Zante, Mallorca and Paris are among the European destinations most affected by overtourism, new research from Which? has found.

Issues with tourists are now so prevalent that some countries and cities are bringing in measures to limit visitors, including tourist taxes or limiting the number of holiday lets available. 

The European Commission defines overtourism in three ways: the number of visitors compared to residents, the most overnight stays overall and the most overnight stays per square kilometre. 

Zante, which does not have the most visitors in absolute terms, is the capital of overtourism when considering how many residents call the island home.

Only around 40,000 people live there, but it had a staggering six million stays in 2023, equivalent to approximately 150 overnight stays for every person who lives there.

When looking at the most number of overnight stays overall, Mallorca comes out on top, with 51 million in 2023, compared to an island population of just under one million.

And when looking at most tourists based on area, Paris comes out on top, with 418,280 per square km.

Istria is often described as "Croatia's best kept secret" - but with 133 overnight stays per resident, it is actually second only to Zakynthos when it comes to overtourism.

For tourists looking for a quieter trip, Teleorman in Romania is the least visited place in Europe. The area recorded just 20 overnight stays per 1,000 residents in 2023. (That's if you discount Jan Mayen, which isn't actually possible to visit without special permission from the Norwegian government.) 

In some countries, quiet and busy places sit side by side. Central Athens has the second highest rate of tourists per square km, but Dytikos Tomeas Athinon, a region nearby, had just 64 visitors per 1,000 residents in 2023.

Ryanair offers low-cost membership - but is it worth it?

Ryanair has become the latest low-cost airline to offer a yearly membership scheme, but a consumer group says you should look at the small print before you join.

The Prime membership will set you back £79 a year and promises 12 free-seat reservations, travel insurance and monthly access to a sale. 

It seems a decent offering, but there are some limitations.

Rory Boland, the editor of Which? Travel, told The Guardian that people should "think twice" before committing.

"The service is full of caveats when it comes to seat selection, while Ryanair's travel insurance offers poor cover compared with cheaper policies that are rated highly by Which?," Boland said.

"There's little detail on Ryanair's exclusive deals for Prime subscribers, or how they would differ from the many offers and deals Ryanair already sends out to customers or features on its website."

What are the limitations?

For example, the free reservations are available only on designated seats. If there are none left for your flight, members will still have to take a randomly allocated seat, or pay for a different seat, minus the amount the Prime seat cost.

The travel insurance also only covers trips involving a Ryanair flight, and the medical protections are not available for people aged over 70.

Not a huge amount of information has been given about the sales either, and discounted fares are also available only to those who hold the membership. This means if you are travelling with family or children, they won't be able to get better rates or sit in member seats.

'Massive' increase in pensioner shoplifters reported

There has been a "massive" increase in pensioner shoplifters in the past year, a leading security firm has said.

John Nussbaum, director of service for retail at Kingdom Security, said his staff were seeing a "different sort of shoplifter now" as the cost of living "pushes people to something they've never done before".

He said his company was receiving up to 30 reports of shoplifting a week from "people who just can't afford to buy food".

"We've seen a massive increase in pensioners shoplifting, putting a jar of coffee in their bag and one in the trolley, that sort of thing," he said.

He estimated that 5% of people caught shoplifting by Kingdom staff each week were aged over 50, acting in "desperation".

Shoplifting offences are at the highest level they have been since 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Nussbaum said staff were seeing "terrible violence" every day from organised gangs, with one employee punched in the face in the past week, while staff at a shopping centre north of London resorting to stabproof vests.

-SKY NEWS