The green status symbols have become the latest must-haves in cul-de-sacs and leafy suburbs, with research showing more than one in three adults have been inspired by the local community to make more effort to live in an eco-friendly way. Nearly a third (31 per cent) are also keen to keep up with their neighbours in the eco stakes to …

Millions of parents claim they have already ‘run out’ of ways to keep the kids entertained over the summer holidays – despite being just halfway through the break.   A study of 1,000 mums and dads of school-aged children found two thirds struggle to find ways to occupy their youngsters during the break, with four in 10 already out of …

Aimee Bannister aged 32, and Craig Holmes, 33, from Barrie, Wales, bought a battered old 24-seater school bus from eBay for £3,600, and transformed it into ‘Custard’, their two-seater home on wheels. The van took a whopping 588 hours – the equivalent of more than 24 solid days – and cost about £26,000 to convert, but now comes complete with fully fitted …

A study of 1,000 people who play sports and 1,000 who don’t revealed big differences between the two groups.   Those on a team have more friends, a better work-life balance, are physically fitter and even attend more parties than those who don’t.   And one in five non-athletes are single compared to only 13 per cent of sports players, …

Former Lions captain Matt Dawson took on former Springboks’ flanker Francois Louw in the ultimate cultural test match – a traditional South African Braai versus a good old British BBQ.   The Braai versus BBQ challenge series included a round on rugby trivia – which Dawson won handily, drawing on his years of Question of Sport experience.   Although both …

Guide Dogs has committed to supplying more than 3,500 visually impaired children with free iPads and iPhones after research revealed the damage caused to their personal development by a lack of access to technology   An in-depth study saw the charity interview 170 parents and guardians of children aged under 12 who had a vision impairment.   More than a …

A study revealed laughter (55 per cent), loyalty (53 per cent) and reliability (52 per cent) are among the things they value the most from their friends now they have been reunited again.   Others look for support (50 per cent) and kindness (41 per cent) from their pals.   It also emerged those polled made their first best friend at the …

A study of 2,000 adults found a fifth look for someone who is passionate about food in a potential partner and 29 per cent admitted they’d be put off by a picky eater. A third also said knowing someone is a good cook is a turn on. With 29 per cent agreeing a first date should always include food, ideal …

Parents typically notice a negative comment about their parenting four times a day, meaning there are more than 43 million judgements felt daily across the nation. The research of 2,000 parents also found same-sex parents were the ‘most judged’ group, receiving remarks eight times a day, DOUBLE the average. The top judgement behaviours range from negative comments behind a parent’s …

A survey of 1,000 16-18 year olds who are not yet in higher education found 73 per cent already have their future career plans mapped out. But only half want to get a degree (50 per cent) with more than a third (34 per cent) preferring to get an apprenticeship and learn a job at the same time. While 77 …