Star wars

STAR Wars memorabilia has been found in the loft at Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew’s old home.

The items include film set shooting schedules, call sheets from A New Hope and Empire Strikes Back , plus signed photos and a scrapbook.

New owners discovered the hoard during a clear out of the property in Keighley, West Yorks.

Peter — the 7ft 3in actor who played Wookiee warrior “Chewie” in five Star Wars films — moved to the US in 2000.

He died in Texas in 2019 aged 74 .

He starred from the 1977 original to 2015’s The Force Awakens.

Twenty-one lots will be auctioned later this month with estimates from £40 to £150.

Chris Depport, of Ryedale Auctioneers, said: “This will attract bids from all over the world.”

David Prowse , who was 6ft 6ins, was originally in the frame to play Chewbacca but chose instead to play Darth Vader.

Well, we finally know what it takes to beat Disney at THR reports that the entertainment omni-mind has finally relented to the forces of COVID-19, dropping Niki Caro’s Mulan remake from its August 21 spot on the ever-more-hypothetical summer release schedule, and declining to re-schedule it on the grounds that everyone involved knows fuck-all about when it might actually Mulan follows Christopher Nolan’s Tenet —as it has all summer, with the two movies leap-frogging past each other on multiple occasions in an effort not to turn into the first big coronavirus flop of 2020

As has generally been the case with these shifts i Bill And Ted movies we’ve been calling a release schedule, the Mulan mov Star Wars movies and the Avatar sequel by a full year, with Avatar 2 now set to arrive in December of 2022. Disney does continue to have the gall to act like some of its planned 2020 films are still going to arrive, though; The Personal History Of David Copperfield is now set for August 28, the Agatha Christie adaptation Death On The Nile jumped back a fortnight to October 23, and The Empty Man will now “run” on December 4. (We’re having to use a The French Dispatch —which is running through Fox Searchlight—is now off the schedule entirely, because of course it is.

Disney has yet to issue an ironclad, Nolan-style “We’re releasing Mulan in theaters even if it’s only playing for the last six people on Earth” declaration. Instead Mulan as we assess how we can most effectively bring this film to audiences around the world.”

AMONG the many heartbreaking images that emerged from Ukraine in the early days of war were the beloved pets abandoned by desperate owners as they fled for their lives.

For telly vet Scott Miller , it was a call to action.

And despite the worries of his wife Zoe, 44, and their four children, he went off to risk his life helping the canine victims of the conflict.

Along with the charity Breaking The Chains, 46-year-old Scott is helping to bring many abandoned, sick pups — some now paraplegic and relying on wheels to move around — to the UK to be rehomed.

And, in an exclusive interview, he opens up on what these poor animals have been through, and the amazing people he met in Ukraine who are risking their lives to care for them.

He said: “Everyone said I was absolutely crazy to go to Ukraine , because it is an active war zone, but I just felt compelled.

“I’ve been an animal lover my whole life.

“Animals helped me through as a child, struggling socially.

“They never judged and they are always there to give that unconditional love.

“Animals are sentient beings.

“They have emotions, they have feelings, they feel fear.

“And they’re caught up in this war, and they are also suffering alongside the Ukrainian people.”

When This Morning vet Scott arrived in Ukraine last month he was taken to a shelter where he met a few dogs , including paraplegic Jonny and Phoenix — who are both coming to the UK soon.

Makeshift clinic

Phoenix had both his back feet torn off in a bomb blast, and Scott said: “They found him hobbling through the rubble.

“He’s doing well though.

“He is very sweet, a lovely boy, which is quite incredible when they’ve been through what they’ve been through.”

Meanwhile, Jonny now relies on wheels after being shot in the back by a Russian soldier.

Scott said: “Unfortunately, when a dog is paraplegic, they can’t feel their legs very well, or even at all.

“And then when they’re moving around, they can injure themselves and not realise it, and unfortunately, he had injured himself and got an infection.

“It meant that, even with the best endeavours, when I got there and took the dressing off, I immediately noticed his toe was completely dislocated and the bone was degenerate.

“Unfortunately, the whole leg had to come off. But he’s got his wheels!”

At the shelter in Vinnytsia,, there were also nine puppies which Scott and the Breaking The Chains team drove for 330 miles across Ukraine to the city of Kherson, where they could be neutered before being sent for rehoming.

Scott said: “One of the main problems is that because the conflict has gone on for so long, the animals that were previously pets are now stray, as a lot of pet parents had to relinquish their animals as they fled.

“And these stray animals are now breeding these poor puppies in dire circumstances.

“Then they’re all getting infections because they are not vaccinated. So neutering is really important to stop further stress.”

However, when they arrived at the shelter in Kherson — run single-handedly by a 60-year-old woman who had been caring for 200 dogs — Scott found he couldn’t perform the necessary surgery where he had intended.

He said: “I needed somewhere sterile but the state of the shelter was horrendous.”

So he and the team emptied their van of the food and supplies they were carrying, and created a makeshift clinic there instead.

Without any electricity, Scott then had to quickly train Breaking The Chains’ volunteers how to put intravenous drips in the animals, and to make sure they were warm in the sub-zero temperatures.

Despite all this, the most stressful part of the surgery was that bombs were going off around them and making the ground shake.

Scott recalled: “The bomb blasts were between one and two kilometres away, and we probably had four or five on that day.

“We still managed to neuter ten dogs, which was a win, considering the situation.”

This wasn’t the last time Scott would experience explosives.

He admits he was “starting to get used to them” until, during a food drop at a farm, one went off just 800m away.

He said: “That was the scariest one.

“There were bangs everywhere. The ground shook.”

As well as helping animals, Scott and the team travelled across Ukraine to deliver food and supplies to families who had risked their lives to stay in the country with their animals.

One village he visited “had just been decimated, with every single building destroyed”.

Scott said: “Walking down the streets of this village, every metre there was unexploded ordnance.

“The Russians had left booby traps for people who had already suffered so much.

“There was shrapnel everywhere.

“The Russians have started using these bombs which blow up in the air over your head and then rain down about 10,000 metal shards to just annihilate.

“And there are dogs and cats.

“This one dog came up to me when we first got there and I noticed shrapnel in his knee immediately.”

The village’s population was previously 3,000 but there was just one family left, who had stayed purely to help the animals.

Scott added: “Walking through the town, we found a litter of 12 puppies that had found solace underneath some hay in a barn, and this family was looking after them.

“Unfortunately, you can’t save all the animals or the shelter becomes overworked.

“You just have to prioritise the most vulnerable, so we fed the family and gave them survival bags, which include solar-powered lights and battery packs.”

In another village he found two women who had been living with 20 dogs and cats in a cold, damp bunker beneath a building for three months, with no heating or water.

Scott said: “These two strong women couldn’t get their animals out and they refused to leave without them.

“There were bombs going off around them so they had nowhere else to go.

“They were traumatised and so downtrodden, but I saw one of the women pick up a dog, hold it like a baby and smile.

“The unconditional love from animals is a shining light to these people who are having the hardest time.”

But Scott says it was his final stop, at an orphanage, which was the “most harrowing” part of the trip, especially as he is dad to four children — Summer, 13, Quinn, 11, Jackson, eight and four-year-old Riley.

He said: “It was hard enough for me to be away from them and know the risk I was taking to go, but to see the babies and children in Ukraine was heartbreaking.

Huge scar

“There were healthy children who had been orphaned by the war and a number of special-needs children who were there simply because the parents didn’t have the support or the financing to be able to look after them in this war-torn country.

“They go through electricity outages as well.

“When we arrived there, air raid sirens were going off, meaning the children couldn’t go outside.

“They’re living in constant threat and constant anxiety.

“They’re all traumatised and yet this hospital was full of love, laughter and wonderful nurses dedicating themselves to the children.”

One girl, aged around three, drove Scott to tears.

He said: “There were four children on feeding tubes, and three of them had significant neurological injuries and disorders.

“One of them was completely paralysed on one side of the body.

“I picked her up, hugged her, and she lifted her shirt up to show this huge scar on her back, clearly from a bomb blast.

“It was so upsetting.”

Since returning from Ukraine, Scott says he has been “smothering his children in love”.

Despite being exhausted, physically and emotionally, the first thing he did when he got home was to do the school drop-off “to make sure that I could spend as much time with them as possible”.

He said: “I feel more emotional than I’ve felt for a very long time.

“I feel really passionate about what’s being done over there and I feel incredibly proud.”

Scott, who grew up in Brisbane, Australia, adds that having lived in the UK for more than half his life, he now feels like a Brit — and is proud of the UK’s efforts to ease animal suffering in Ukraine.

He said: “Every single English-speaking member of the team out there is British, and they’ve foregone relationships, jobs, finance, safety, everything to be out there.

“And they do it day in and day out without complaining, and I was really, really proud to be part of them.

“And yes, I do want to go back out. I have to. It’s needed. It’s crazy.”

In search of a UK refuge

BREAKING The Chains has saved many of Ukraine’s pets – and currently has three ready to come to the UK and find their forever homes.

JONNY: The brindle terrier-cross was shot by Russian soldiers and left for dead.

Though both his back legs were paralysed, he crawled for more than a mile until a Ukrainian rescuer found him and brought him to safety.

He now moves around with a set of wheels.

PHOENIX:

A Russian airstrike blew off both of the collie-cross’s back feet and injured his front left paw, though it was later reconstructed by medics.

SHEP: Before she can be rehomed in the UK this mature German shepherd needs surgery on injuries caused by a phosphorus bomb, which killed her owners and their two other dogs.

As a result, Shep’s face is burned right down to the back of her neck, and she lost all her hair.

When she was first found, she was aggressive, but is now fine with shelter staff.

• To find out more on how you can donate to Breaking The Chains, or to adopt, see breaking thechainsinternational.org/ .

STEPHEN Bear is set to make an appearance in court AGAIN – but this time for adding a massive new feature to his £600,000 home.

The 33-year-old has landed in hot water after he surrounded his Essex mansion with a black metal fence without permission.

It was only last month the TV reality Star appeared in court, when he was convicted of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private, sexual photographs and films.

He is yet to be sentenced for the ‘revenge porn’ sex tape made with Towie star Georgia Harrison .

Bear had filmed consensual sex without Georgia’s knowledge and then pocketed at least £40,000 after uploading it to OnlyFans.

He had advertised the clip: “Can’t wait to see me f****** in the garden.”

The court had heard how Georgia begged him not to share the footage.

After bravely waiving her right to anonymity, Georgia said she was “relieved” by the verdict.

But it has been revealed that he’s now in another legal battle – this time with his council.

According to Epping Forest District Council, the black fence around his property is “in excess of Permitted Development height.”

The council actually sent a notice requesting Bear to pull down the structure in May 2021 but in true Stephen Bear fashion – he ignored it.

He also failed to appeal the order.

Bear was called to a hearing at Chelmsford Magistrates Court, Essex, on March 3 2022 where he denied being in breach of the enforcement order between August 2021 and January 2022.

A trial was set to begin last week but has now been scheduled for October 2023.

The council and Mr Bear have been contacted for comment.

This comes as the sentencing date for his ‘revenge porn’ conviction has also been delayed .

He was due to appear at Chelmsford Crown Court on January 31 2023 but it has been delayed for psychiatric reports.

A hearing was told he needs to undergo a psychiatric assessment as those who have assessed him so far were “unable to formally diagnose”.

His lawyer Gemma Rose said: “The sentence should be adjourned for the wait to prepare this report.

“I realise the delay will cause stress and anxiety to all those involved in the proceedings, but it’s in my submission the court have all the evidence available before it.

“The crown have cited Mr Bear’s behaviour at trial and I believe a psychiatric report will provide some context.”

The 33-year-old will now wait until March 3, to find out if he will be jailed.

After winning her case, Georgia said previously : “The last two years have been absolute hell and this verdict will allow me to start to put the pain I have suffered in the past and start embracing the future.

“Bear’s behaviour was completely unacceptable and those who choose to commit such crimes should and will be prosecuted.

“I have felt ashamed, hurt, violated, even broken at times but today I stand here feeling empowered, grateful and a huge sense of unity with all of those who have reached out to support me throughout this ordeal.”

FORMER Chelsea star Christian Atsu has been rescued after becoming trapped under rubble in a huge earthquake, according to reports.

It is understood the dad was on the ninth floor of an apartment block when two earthquakes rocked Turkey today , devastating at least 12 cities and killing 1,000s.

Rescuers desperately tried to find Ghana star Atsu after he was caught up in the first powerful 7.8 magnitude quake.

Several members of his new team had to be rescued from their homes after the earthquake struck at 4am local time.

But Atsu and Hatayspor’s sporting director Taner Savut were reported missing under rubble.

After a huge search effort, the ex-Newcastle winger has been rescued and is in hospital, reports A Bola .

The 31-year-old has injuries to his right foot and breathing difficulties, according to the Portuguese outlet.

Atsu, who has three kids with wife Marie-Claire, plays for Hatayspor, who he joined last summer.

The earthquake hit hard in Kahramanmaras, where Hatayspor are based.

Atsu, who scored deep into stoppage time on Saturday to secure a 1-0 win over Kasimpasa, left St James’ Park during the summer of 2021 after making 121 appearances for the club.

He joined Chelsea from Porto for £3.5million in 2013 but didn’t make a single appearance for the Premier League giants.

Atsu took in loans at Vitesse, Everton, Bournemouth, Malaga and Newcastle.

And the Magpies made his deal permanent in 2017 after Atsu played a key role in their promotion from the Championship.

The ace ended up making 86 appearances for Newcastle before joining Al-Raed in 2021.

Atsu moved to Hatayspor last summer and has one goal in four games for the Turks.

It comes as many thousands are feared dead after two “once-in-a-century” earthquakes rocked Turkey and Syria today.

A massive 7.8 magnitude shock – one of the biggest for 100 years – was followed hours later by another huge 7.5 magnitude quake.

Frantic survivors used their bare hands to dig through the rubble of flattened homes and were filmed pulling children to safety amid scenes of utter destruction.

The twin earthquakes also sparked tsunami alerts on Mediterranean coasts in Greece, Cyprus and Italy, and shaking was felt as far away as Egypt and Iran.

By night time the confirmed death toll was over 3,400 – but the US Geological Survey warned it could top 10,000 when rescuers have reached the worst hit areas.

Most victims were asleep when the initial mega quake hit at 4am local time.

The 7.8 shock was the biggest in Turkey for “hundreds of years”, geophysics professor Martin Mai told the BBC.

It struck near Gaziantep in eastern Turkey at a depth of around 15 miles.

It was followed by dozens of powerful aftershocks which toppled already damaged buildings in great heaps of dust.

Then just before 1.30pm a second massive quake of magnitude 7.5 sent terrified locals running into the streets.

Videos showed buildings collapse as rescue workers fled for their lives amid dust and chaos.

The second quake – which was just six miles deep with an epicentre 59 miles north of the first – would itself have been the region’s most powerful since 1999.

An official from Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority said it was “not an aftershock” and was “independent” from the earlier quake.

Earthquake experts said it lay on a separate fault line but would almost certainly have been triggered by the initial shock.

Northern Syria was also devastated by the double shocks which caused buildings to violently shake side-to-side.

It is expected to be one of the worst ever disasters in a region that is susceptible to catastrophic earthquakes.