spent

A mother spent £170,000 building a two-storey annexe to give her disabled daughter a safe home in Worcester; it now faces demolition after neighbours complain

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A mother spent £170,000 building a two-storey annexe to give her disabled daughter a safe home in Worcester; it now faces demolition after neighbours complain

Clair Birch says her £170,000 annexe was designed around her disabled daughter’s needs, but planning officials have rejected her appeal. (Photo: SWNS) A mother who spent £170,000 building a two-storey annexe for her disabled daughter could now be forced to demolish it after losing a planning appeal. Clair Birch, 59, built the one-bedroom annexe in … Read more

68-year-old Sheila Consaul bought Ohio’s abandoned Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse for $71,010 in 2011, then spent 15 years and over $300,000 restoring it as an off-grid home

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68-year-old Sheila Consaul bought Ohio’s abandoned Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse for $71,010 in 2011, then spent 15 years and over $300,000 restoring it as an off-grid home

Sheila Consaul transformed Ohio’s abandoned Fairport Harbor West Lighthouse into a unique off-grid summer home. At 68, Sheila Consaul owns one of America’s most unusual homes, a century-old lighthouse standing in Lake Erie. During a conversation with Tiny House Giant Journey, she opened up about how she went from building a career in Washington, DC, … Read more

British Gas customer claimed £300 for solar power but received £38,611.59 by mistake; she spent seven weeks trying to give it back

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British Gas customer claimed £300 for solar power but received £38,611.59 by mistake; she spent seven weeks trying to give it back

British Gas paid a person £38,000 by mistake, and they can’t give it back A British Gas customer spent seven weeks asking the energy company to recover more than £38,000 that was mistakenly paid into her bank account, only to discover that customer service staff had no clear process for taking the money back. The … Read more

30 lions and tigers spent years in cramped concrete cages at a notorious Argentine zoo; they are now beginning a journey to sanctuaries where they can finally roam freely

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30 lions and tigers spent years in cramped concrete cages at a notorious Argentine zoo; they are now beginning a journey to sanctuaries where they can finally roam freely

Members of the Four Paws animal welfare organization load a tiger onto a truck for its transfer Thirty lions and tigers that spent years in cramped concrete cages at a shuttered zoo in Argentina have begun a long journey to new homes at wildlife sanctuaries in South Africa and the United States.The big cats were … Read more

US used dioxin-laden oil for dust control in a town with 2,000 residents, years later it spent $33.1 million for their relocation in order to protect their lives

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US used dioxin-laden oil for dust control in a town with 2,000 residents, years later it spent $33.1 million for their relocation in order to protect their lives

At times, things go wrong even when you try with all your might to ensure they are right. It was in the 1970s, that Times Beach, a small town in Missouri, attempted to solve a common problem for dirt roads by spreading residual oil to reduce dust. Years later, it was discovered that some of … Read more

She spent 10 months restoring a 160-year-old house; now Lauren Iraeta is reconnecting former families with pieces of their history

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She spent 10 months restoring a 160-year-old house; now Lauren Iraeta is reconnecting former families with pieces of their history

When Lauren Iraeta and her husband bought an old waterfront house, they expected to spend their weekends repairing timber and replacing outdated plumbing.Instead, after a 10-month renovation, the 44-year-old real estate agent became a historical investigator. She began researching the people who had lived in the house and reconnecting their descendants with forgotten family items … Read more

Australia’s Tiwi rangers spent two decades fighting invasive fire ants; the island is now declared free of them

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Australia's Tiwi rangers spent two decades fighting invasive fire ants; the island is now declared free of them

Over the last two decades, indigenous rangers in Australia’s Tiwi Islands have been working on an eradication and conservation effort that was vital to protect the native lives of the region. Scientists, government actors, NGOs and private enterprise all joined hands to eradicate the invasive tropical fire ant species from Melville Island, as they threatened … Read more