COUNCIL URGED TO REJECT FRACK BIDS

Campaigners have called for permission for two new fracking sites in Lancashire to be refused, ahead of a meeting by county councillors to consider the plans.

Shale company Cuadrilla has applied for permission to explore for shale gas at two sites between Preston and Blackpool, in Preston New Road, near Little Plumpton, and Roseacre Wood, near Roseacre.

But the firm last week asked for the decision on whether to give the go-ahead to be deferred, as it submitted new information after planning officers for Lancashire County Council recommended the sites be refused planning permission due to noise and traffic.

LIB DEM QUITS AS AIDE OVER FRACKING

A Liberal Democrat MP has quit as parliamentary aide to Business Secretary Vince Cable after voting against the Government on fracking.

Tessa Munt, the MP for Wells, initially said she intended to stay on in her role as parliamentary private secretary (PPS) despite backing a rebel amendment calling for a moratorium on the controversial extraction technique.

But last night she said she had handed in her resignation.

MORE SNOW AS COLD FRONT SWEEPS IN

The UK is braced for more snow across the large parts of the country, prompting warnings of travel disruption and health fears.

A cold weather front is to sweep across the country with temperatures expected to drop as much as 10C to below zero overnight into Thursday.

A Met Office yellow "be aware" warning is in place from noon for large parts of England, from the North West to East Anglia, and forecasters asked the public to be aware of possible disruption to travel, while health officials urged people to take extra care.

DEFENCE SELL-OFF NOT OVER: FALLON

Surplus airfields, barracks and military vehicles must be sold off to ensure maximum resources are put into front-line forces, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon will warn.

He will hail efficiencies made by the coalition over the past five years and boast that they have been achieved while still maintaining the Nato target for military spending to be 2% of gross domestic product.

But he will insist the "job is far from over" and the Government has to keep "sweating our buildings and land".

iPHONE SALES RING UP APPLE RECORD

Apple announced record figures in its quarterly results for the final three months of 2014.

Its performance was boosted by sales of the latest generation of iPhone - the 6 and 6 Plus.

The company said that for the quarter ending on December 27 there was record quarterly revenue of 74.6 billion dollars (£49.4bn) and record quarterly net profit of 18 billion dollars (£11.9bn).

EARTHQUAKE SHAKES UP WINCHESTER

An earthquake with a magnitude of 2.9 has been recorded in Winchester.

Hampshire Constabulary said it had received lots of calls from concerned residents in the Kingsworthy area following reports of something which "felt like an explosion which shook their houses".

The quake, is believed to have hit the Hampshire town at about 6.30pm yesterday at a depth of three kilometres, according to the British Geological Survey website.

1M ASTHMA CASES MISDIAGNOSED - FEAR

More than one million people receiving treatment for asthma may have been misdiagnosed, according to a health watchdog.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) said studies showed up to 30% of the 4.1m people treated for asthma in the UK did not show any "clear evidence" of the incurable condition and may be receiving unnecessary treatment.

The watchdog has drafted new guidance, its first for asthma, for doctors in England to improve the accuracy of diagnoses, including an array of tests.

HELEN MACDONALD WINS COSTA PRIZE

Helen Macdonald has won this year's Costa Prize for her memoir H Is For Hawk.

She picked up the prestigious prize at a ceremony in central London having beaten bookmaker's favourite Ali Smith in the process.

Bestselling novelist Robert Harris, who chaired the judging panel, said it was a clear winner.

PREGNANT SMOKERS SHOPS TREAT BID

Pregnant women who smoke are more likely to quit if they are offered shopping vouchers, according to a study.

Researchers studied 612 women over 16 and less than 24 weeks' pregnant to assess whether financial incentives would help them quit the habit.

The study, published in the British Medical Journal, suggested up to 5,000 miscarriages a year could be attributed to smoking during pregnancy, along with hundreds of stillbirths and infant deaths.

MPS WARN OVER COUNCIL FUNDING CUTS

Further cuts to local government after the May 7 general election could undermine the viability of optional services and even threaten those councils are required by law to deliver, a cross-party parliamentary committee has warned.

Independent auditors have voiced concern over whether some local authorities will continue to be "financially sustainable" if required to make more cuts, after losing an average 37% of their funding since 2010, said the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

The committee said Eric Pickles's Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) "does not have a good enough understanding" of the impact of funding cuts on councils' finances or services, and had shown a "failure of leadership" on the issue.