For anyone looking to switch networks, it’s a great time to upgrade.
Smarty has some seriously good data boosting SIM-only plans right now, with up to 200GB of data for just £12.
Smarty SIM-only deal, 100GB 200GB data for £12/month
I’ve covered SIM-only deals for a while now, and over time, you learn to spot the real gems from the overhyped fluff.
This latest offer from Smarty is easily one of the better ones to pop up in recent months.
Right now, Smarty is running two impressive promotions that boost data without hiking up the price.
If you’re someone who chews through mobile data, these are well worth a look.
The first is its 16GB plan, which has just been bumped up to 50GB per month, all while staying at just £8.
The real eye-catcher, though, is Smarty’s 100GB plan, which has now been doubled to 200GB for just £12 a month.
That’s a huge amount of data for a great price, especially since there’s usually a big leap between low GB plans and Unlimited.
Deals like this make Unlimited plans feel less necessary, and are ideal if you’re not a heavy user but still want peace of mind.
It’s also a great time to join Smarty, as the provider runs on Three’s network, which is in line for some major improvements following Three’s merger with Vodafone.
That means better coverage and faster speeds are likely on the horizon as the networks start sharing infrastructure.
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If you want to spend less and use less data, or if Unlimited is what you need, Smarty has plenty of other budget-friendly deals going right now.
Smarty plans are all rolling 1-month contracts, meaning you’re never locked in and can switch or cancel easily.
It’s another reason the network is a favourite for budget-savvy shoppers.
And if you’re in the market for a new handset too, this week has delivered some tempting extras in the Android world.
One major provider is offering a free tech bundle worth £410 when you pick up the latest Honor phone, with plans starting from just £20 per month.
If these deals aren’t quite the right fit, check out our roundup of the best SIM-only deals across the big networks.
Smarty SIM-only deal, 100GB 200GB data for £12/month
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BOOTS just launched a beauty box for festival goers, with £161 worth of products for £45.
The edit includes 13 beauty treats to kit shoppers out for the festival in their diary, with products from cult favourite brands like Sol de Janeiro, Skin + Me and Anastasia Beverly Hills.
Boots Festival Beauty Bag, £45 (worth £161.34)
Glastonbury is two weeks away, so the Boots Festival Beauty Bag has dropped just in time for festival season.
The collection of skincare, body and make-up buys includes a full-size version of the viral Milk Cooling Water Jelly Tint (worth £22) that reviewers have described as “amazing”.
The blush and lip stain combo has a cooling effect, that works to give a natural glow that’s perfect for festival looks.
Also inside to elevate any festival look is the The Beauty Crop Dewy Bounce Setting Mist, along with Too Faced’s Kissing Jelly Gloss (worth £21).
Boots has thought of everything with its new edit, including a Monday Haircare Dry Shampoo and the TikTok famous Luna Spray-To-Wipe Body Cleansing Spray for staying fresh on the go.
No Boots beauty box would be complete without a product from Sol de Janeiro, and the retailer has thrown in a Cheirosa 68 Perfume Mist from the trending brand.
Read more festival essentials
Nine out of the 13 products are full-size, while the other minis are great for travelling, including Skin + Me’s popular moisturiser with SPF.
Everything is packaged inside a drawstring bag, which can carry the beauty products or other essentials during the festival.
Full list of contents:
Boots’ beauty boxes usually sell out, including the Make More Room For Beauty Box worth £227.
One edit that is still in stock is the retailer’s Fresh Faced Skincare Set, featuring brands including Supergoop and No7.
Whether you’re planning for Glastonbury or a day festival, Fabulous Deputy Fashion Editor Abby McHale has found the outfits and essentials to shop for less.
Visit The Sun’s shopping beauty hub for more news, tips and beauty deals.
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WE may well be seeing lower slug and snail numbers this summer thanks to colder weather in winter and the recent dry spells.
But mother nature never makes it easy for us. Instead – of course – there’s a new pest in town.
Aphid levels have rocketed this year – and the RHS reckons it’s top of the list of gardening queries to their hotline.
There’s over 500 different species found in the UK – and can be red, yellow, black, green, brown or pink.
They feed by sucking sap from plants – and can cause severe damage – including distorted growth, sooty mould and plant viruses – and sometimes plant death.
Chelsea award winning gardener Adam Woolcott – and Webb ambassador – gave Sun Gardening some top tips on how to tackle the most common early summer pests.
Physically remove the aphids from the stems and leaves.
Use natural insecticidal soaps.
Blast off with water jets.
Encourage predators such as ladybirds, lacewings, and hoverflies
Both the adult vine weevil beetles and their larvae cause damage.
Adults — all female — chew distinctive ‘U-shaped’ notches in leaves, particularly on evergreen shrubs like rhododendrons, escallonias, and viburnums.
Underground: larvae feed on plant roots and can kill container plants like Heucheras.
Remove adults at night when they’re most active
Break the life cycle with biological controls such as nematodes (apply in spring and autumn when grubs are active) Chemical treatments are a last resort, but offer longer-term control
The bright red beetles and their larvae are both covered in their excrement. They can strip a plant in days, affecting flowering and bulb health.
Remove beetles by hand where practical
Encourage wildlife into the garden. Birds and ground beetles will eat the larvae
Grow a resistant variety.
Tolerate some damage if you can — total eradication isn’t always necessary.
Especially troublesome in veg patches. Cabbage white butterfly caterpillars love brassicas, while box tree caterpillars are spreading rapidly across the UK, stripping foliage as they go.
Remove the caterpillars by hand if you can and destroy any badly affected plants (if practical) to stop the infestation from spreading.
Use biological sprays like nematodes.
In some cases, hot water and a mild detergent can help. Ecover is on sale at Dunelm for £2.45.
As a last resort, chemical controls can be effective
Top tips, Gardening news, and a competition to win a £250 lawnmower
NEWS KING Charles made a surprise visit to Windsor Flower Show last Saturday. Celebrities including Alex Jones and Kirsty Gallacher were at the one-day show – which had wonderful village fair vibes, vegetable and cake competitions and fantastic floral displays.
TOP TIP JUNE is actually a good time to take Hydrangea cuttings – and get your own plants for free. They’ll have produced some soft green growth – which is what you want. Choose healthy, non flowering shoots that are 10-15cm long and cut just below the node (the leaf joint). Don’t collect cuttings from plants with leaves that are turning brown. And try to collect in the morning if you can.
Remove the lower leaves – leaving just one or two at the top.
Then dip the end in rooting powder or gel – then pop it straight in a pot. You could splash out on seeding and cutting compost – but multi purpose will do – just add a bit of grit or perlite. Then keep them out of direct sunlight and keep moist. They should have rooted within about a month.
NEWS A RARE ‘sheep-eating’ South American plant has flowered in an English primary school for the first time. The Puya Chilensis, with its iconic spike pattern, is normally found in the Andes in Chile. But after it was planted 10 years ago by school horticulturalist Louise Moreton, it has sent out a 10ft spike at Wicor Primary School in Portchester, Hants. It’s called a Sheep Catcher as it would normally entangle wildlife, hold onto it – and then when the animal died – would take the nutrients. Ms Moreton said it was exciting but a worrying sign of global warming.
WIN! Keep your lawn looking its best this summer by winning a Webb Classic Self Propelled Petrol Lawn Mower worth £249.99. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/WEBBCOMP or write to Sun Webb competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. July 5, 2025. T&Cs apply.
TOP TIP IF you want to get more flowers from your sedums (now called Hylotelephiums) and prevent them from collapsing – pinch them out around now. Pinch off around four sets of leaves down – which will make them bushier.
JOB OF THE WEEK Weeds thrive this month – keep on top of them by hoeing. Tie in sweet peas, and give your plants a good feed – liquid seaweed feed is great – and Tomorite works with nearly everything. Give agapanthus a high-potash feed every couple of weeks.
For more top tips and gardening news, follow me @biros_and_bloom
Arsenal’s deal to sign Viktor Gyokeres could be at risk as Sporting CP have threatened to increase the striker’s asking price.
Earlier this week, Sporting’s president, Frederico Varandas, hit out at Gyokeres’ agent over suggestions that a transfer fee had already been agreed ahead of the summer transfer window.
Gyokeres has a €100 million (£85.1m) release clause in his contract but Sporting have been willing to sell the Sweden international for lower than that amount.
Varandas was angered by claims that Sporting have agreed to sell Gyokeres for €60m (£51m) plus a further €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons and warned the striker’s representative, Hasan Cetinkaya, that he is ‘making the situation worse’.
During his negotiations to bring Gyokeres to Sporting in a £20m deal from Coventry City two years ago, Cetinkaya secured an exclusive sales mandate which means that the Portuguese champions will have to pay the agent 10 per cent of the value of any rejected offer above €60m (£51m).
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It is understood that if Cetinkaya decides to activate that mandate this summer, Sporting will respond by demanding that Gyokeres’ €100m (£85.1m) release clause is paid in full.
Arsenal’s sporting director, Andrea Berta, met with his counterpart at Sporting, Bernardo Palmeiro, in Menorca to discuss a deal for Gyokeres this week.
Arsenal’s initial proposal worth an €55m (£46.8m) plus a further €10m (£8.5m) in add-ons was rejected but an improved offer is expected.
Sporting are believed to be holding out for a deal worth closer to €80m (£68.1m) including add-ons.
Reports in Portugal on Thursday claimed that there is a ‘growing optimism’ in Gyokeres’ camp that a deal can be agreed between Arsenal and Sporting.
Manchester United also remain in the race to sign Gyokeres and are hoping his strong relationship with Ruben Amorim can overcome the striker’s reservations about the lack of European football at Old Trafford next season.
United have indicated to Sporting that they are willing to pay €60m (£51.1m) up front, plus a further €10m (£8.5m) in performance-related bonuses.
Gyokeres, who finished the season with 54 goals in 52 games and helped Sporting win the domestic double in Portugal, issued a cryptic message on Instagram on Thursday which read: ‘There is a lot of talks at the moment, most of it is false. I will speak when the time is right.’
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SOMETHING a bit different. It’s not a car review. It’s a world-first look at Apple CarPlay Ultra.
Most of you with a newish car will hook up your iPhone and use the central touchscreen for music and maps.
CarPlay Ultra allows you to use two screens. So you can have Waze or Apple Maps filling the driver’s display in front of you.
Finally.
Apple’s first collab is actually with Aston Martin but you can guarantee CarPlay Ultra will be popping up in other motors in the near future.
There’s some cool updates on the central touchscreen too.
Swipe right for an Apple Watch-style dashboard with up/down toggles for weather, clock, calendar and more.
There’s a simple button to deactivate the bloody annoying driving assistance tech. We like that too.
Plus, car-specific buttons for hill descent control and noisy exhaust mode.
Radio station favourites are linked to your device. So when you’re driving you’ve got talkSPORT and when your partner’s at the wheel they’ve got Magic FM. Or vice versa.
It’s all very slick. All very easy. All very Apple. No handbook required.
The funny thing is, when the DBX arrived in 2020 it didn’t even have a touchscreen. Now it’s top of the class. Dreamy lines. V8 engine. Cutting-edge tech. Aston Martin is on it.
THE MET Office has issued a fresh warning for thunderstorms this weekend, with up to 50mm of rain expected to fall in just a few hours.
The alert signals the arrival of severe weather, bringing the risk of flooding, hail, and lightning strikes across the UK.
Brits are urged to be prepared as intense storms are set to hit several regions, sparking concerns of widespread disruption.
The weather warnings will affect several areas, including London, the South East, and the East of England, until 5am Sunday morning.
There is also a follow-up amber warning that continues until 5am on Monday.
The Met Office has highlighted the risk of “fast flowing or deep floodwater” that could endanger lives, with some communities potentially becoming cut off due to flooding.
During the thunderstorms, some parts of the UK could receive up to 50mm of rain in just a few hours.
This will bring major disruption, including road closures, train cancellations, and power outages.
The Met Office also warned of the potential for strong winds, reaching up to 50mph, which could exacerbate the impact of the storms.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin commented that the day would start off “hot and humid,” with some areas of the country potentially seeing temperatures climb as high as 30°C.
However, conditions will soon change, with thunderstorms beginning around 2pm in Wales and the South West, spreading to other areas later in the day.
Parts of southern England, including London, could see temperatures remain as high as 28°C on Friday evening, though the heat will quickly give way to more unsettled weather.
With 30–50mm of rain expected in some areas before the storms ease early on Saturday, residents across Greater London, Plymouth, Bath, Brighton, Norwich, and parts of the South East are advised to remain alert.
Cardiff and other southern regions could experience the heaviest downpours, with some areas possibly receiving up to 80mm of rain.
This level of rainfall is likely to cause significant surface water flooding, making driving conditions dangerous and leading to the risk of accidents.
The situation has already caused significant flooding in parts of the South West, particularly in Plymouth, where local residents battled knee-deep water.
The storms have already resulted in closures, with some roads, such as Gdynia Way and Kings Street, shut down due to flooding.
The Theatre Royal in Plymouth has also closed its doors as a result of flood damage.
James Mackenzie-Blackman, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of TRP, stated: “The torrential rain has required us to close the Theatre Royal today as we continue to deal with a significant flood into our basement.
Our priority is the safety of our staff, our artists, visitors and participants.”
In addition to the potential flooding, strong winds of up to 50mph are expected to cause problems along coasts and hills, further complicating the situation for drivers and emergency services.
Local authorities have advised caution when travelling, particularly in affected areas, as there may be delays and possible cancellations to train and bus services.
The disruption could continue into the weekend, particularly in areas where floodwater lingers.
The Met Office has issued a warning about the increased risk of power cuts, especially in areas where storms bring lightning strikes.
Residents are urged to be prepared for the possibility of service interruptions, with some homes and businesses potentially losing power due to the extreme weather.
This follows Friday’s amber weather warning for thunderstorms, hail, and lightning strikes.
The public is encouraged to monitor the weather closely and take precautions to protect themselves and their property.
