In Focus - page 5

Exploring the stories behind the headlines.

No tree, no trimmings, no presents… What it’s really like when you can’t afford Christmas

‘I start my apologies in November. People know I just don’t have the money to buy them presents. It’s tough and draining mentally.’

Money woes are forcing parents to go hungry so they can afford to feed their kids

You just can’t fathom how scary it is for a parent who can’t feed their child'

There are millions of #postpartumbody pics, but why do so few show stretch marks, squishy tummies and scars?

’We love the way our babies grow and change, but we don’t give our postpartum bodies the same compassion’

Social media is awash with finance gurus – but, as one woman discovered, not all finfluencers are on the money

And where to get sound financial advice instead.

People are being forced to brutally end their lives due to lack of assisted dying laws, leaving families devastated

'If we had the choice of assisted dying, he would have taken it, 100%'

Security guards spat at and nurses who became patients: NHS workers share hospital life at the height of the pandemic

'Denying patients their last goodbye, their final kiss will haunt me forever.'

Hungry, isolated and scared to death – OAPs share the shocking impact of the cost of living crisis

77-year-old Yvonne has lost more than 24lbs over the last three months after going from three square meals a day, to one

He was known to police in 2001 – so why did it take 16 years to catch serial killer Bruce McArthur?

'He seemed like any other guy - friendly, even'

New mums are suffering in silence – postnatal care shouldn’t just be about babies

A number of women have told Metro.co.uk they struggled with a lack of postnatal support

‘We were treated worse than animals’: Mouldy food, isolation and starvation – life at an offshore processing centre

As the UK announces plans to send male asylum seekers to Rwanda, we look at how other countries have offshored refugees, including Australia's controversial Manus Island detention centre.

Vaping is Gen-Z’s new status symbol with kids as young as 12 puffing away on the sickly sweet e-cigs, but how safe are they?

One teacher was asked to break up an illicit ‘vape club’ that took place once a week in the girls’ toilets.

What it’s really like to be a Black teen in the UK today

Four young Black people share their experiences.

Wild swimming may be on the rise, but so is the amount of sewage in our seas – and people are sick of it

'We get messages from people saying they’ve seen used toilet roll and wet wipes just washing up against the shore... It’s disgusting.'

‘I dread every day’: Overworked and under pressure, our teachers are in the midst of a mental health crisis

Figures reveal that almost half of teachers have said they'll quit in the next five years

‘If I don’t have HRT I will die’: How the menopause medication crisis became a matter of life and death

One woman had to call around 30 chemists before she got her prescription, while others are forced to raid their savings to go private

Breast cancer timebomb: Why we need to find the million women who have missed their mammograms

It's though that almost 8,000 people in England alone are living with undiagnosed breast cancer largely because of the screening disruption brought on by Covid-19

‘Our stories usually aren’t recognised’: The podcast bringing to life an archive of Black queer Britain

For so long I didn’t know that there was such a rich Black queer history in the UK.

‘I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy’: No cure, no vaccine – how long Covid continues to devastate lives

Two million people in the UK – 3% of the population - have been diagnosed with long Covid.

‘We are being harassed, touched and belittled’: Have beer festivals become a hotbed for crimes against women?

‘It's not about policing people's behaviour, it's about offering safe spaces.'

‘I just had to keep my mouth shut and put up with it’: What it’s really like to deal with racism in the workplace

‘Say anything and it's easy to be given the “angry Black woman” label.'

Black people are being failed by UK healthcare and the consequences are fatal

From new mothers to the elderly, cancer patients to Covid patients - research has found that if they are Black, they are more likely to have a negative experience.