It wasn’t all bad

The number of young adults treated for heroin addiction has plummeted in the past ten years in England. Last year, 2,367 people aged 18 to 24 sought help to kick the drug – 79% lower than a decade earlier. The total number of people getting treatment for heroin addiction has also fallen: it was under 150,000 last year, down 12% from its peak six years ago. Experts say the drug carries more of a stigma than it used to, making it unfashionable among younger people.

An Australian boy who makes teddy bears for sick children has become an internet sensation. Campbell Remess, 12, from Hobart in Tasmania, started making the teddies at the age of nine, when he taught himself how to use a sewing machine. Since then, he has made around 800; every Thursday, he takes his latest batch to a local hospital to distribute to its young patients. When he started sewing, it took him five hours to assemble a teddy; now, he can do it in just one hour. “Lots of people like skateboarding and socialising with their friends,” said Campbell. “I just like coming home and sewing.”

James Dyson is setting up a feefree university to tackle Britain’s skill shortage. The inventor is ploughing £15m into the Dyson Institute of Technology, which is set to open next year at his company’s research campus in Wiltshire. It will offer a four-year engineering course, in partnership with the University of Warwick, with plans eventually to apply for the power to grant its own degrees. Students will be paid up to £16,000 a year to work on new products with Dyson engineers, but will have no obligation to work for the firm after they graduate.