Thousands of drivers face more traffic headaches on a Devon main road because repairs planned to end in March will not start until April.

Traffic lights were placed on the A379 near Yealmpton in March 2015 after the road started subsiding.
Repairs were due to be finished by 31 March this year, said Devon County Council.
The authority has admitted the problems mean a delay for about 6,000 drivers on the road every day.
Read more on this story on our live page
The A379 was turned into a single carriageway for about 200m with traffic lights last year after highways chiefs were alerted to subsidence.
Yealmpton parish council clerk Mike Stickland said: "We are fed up with it being closed for so long, it's a major tourist road and the local area's businesses rely on it."
South Hams district councillor Richard Hosking asked the county council to classify the roadworks as an emergency but his request was rejected.
"I've been assured it is being treated as a priority," he said.
A county council spokesman said: "Public safety is our prime concern, and one lane of this section of the road is closed, with temporary lights, because the road is subsiding and is not safe.
"It doesn't normally take this long to design a structural repair scheme but the investigation work was seriously hampered by the location of a gas main under the road.
"A further complication arose following preparatory vegetation clearance which identified the need for a risk assessment to determine if a safety barrier was now required.
"That assessment took place last week and the outcome is a significant length of barrier is required to safeguard the highway user from what is a significant drop.
"The re-design of the strengthening works and the safety barrier will delay starting on site until April."


One of two men arrested on suspicion of murder after a woman was found dead in Bradford has been released without charge, police have said.

The woman, believed to be in her 30s, was found dead at a house on Bankholme Court in the Holmewood area on Boxing Day.
West Yorkshire Police arrested two men, aged 33 and 42, on suspicion of murder.
The 33-year-old man has been released without charge, while the other man remains in custody, the force said.
Officers are appealing for anyone with information to contact them.
A cause of death is yet to be established and a post-mortem is due to take place later, police said.
More on this and other local stories from across West Yorkshire


The online retailer Amazon has apologised for a fault in its  web hosting service EC2, which knocked out many well-known websites.

Last Thursday's outage caused sites including Foursquare, Reddit and Quora to go offline, some for days.
EC2- Elastic Compute Cloud - provides processing power and storage to companies that do not have their own data centres.
The apology comes after a week of silence on the matter.
Amazon is giving users a 10-day cloud services credit, whether or not they were affected.
Cloud computing is a fast-growing business that is becoming essential to increasing numbers of businesses and individuals, who use it for remote storage of data.
It offers individuals and businesses the ability to rent virtual storage space.
Cloud providers like Amazon host websites and other data in server farms.
• Cheap: IT provider hosts services for multiple companies; sharing complex infrastructure is cost-efficient and you pay only for what you use.
• Quick: Basic cloud services work out of the box; for more complex software and database solutions, cloud computing allows you to skip the hardware procurement and capital expenditure phase.
• Up-to-date: Most providers constantly update their software offering, adding new features as they become available.
• Scaleable: You can grow quickly because cloud systems are built to cope with sharp increases in workload.
• Mobile: Cloud services are designed to be used from a distance, so if you have a mobile workforce, staff can have access to most of your systems on the go.
Cloud computing goes mainstream
A statement on Amazon's website said: "We know how critical our services are to our customers' businesses and we will do everything we can to learn from this event and use it to drive improvement across our services."
Amazon promised to "spend many hours over the coming days and weeks improving our understanding of the details of the various parts of this event and determining how to make changes to improve our services and processes".
In a detailed technical explanation the company described what had gone wrong with its data storage process.
It said there was a problem when changing a network configuration, which caused its primary and secondary systems to fail and overload.
Amazon then had to stop the system and restart it, including physically moving servers.
Amazon's statement on Friday said: "Everything looks to be getting back to normal now."
It concluded with: "Last, but certainly not least, we want to apologise."


Theresa May has set out her desire to create a "more united" Britain, in a speech in Cardiff.

The prime minister told the Conservatives' spring conference that Britons are "at heart one people" be they Welsh, English, Scottish or from Northern Ireland.
It follows Nicola Sturgeon's demands for a second independence referendum for Scotland.
Mrs May has already rejected the call from Scotland's first minister.
Scotland voted to remain in the UK in 2014 but the SNP administration in Edinburgh wants a fresh vote as the UK plans to leave the European Union.
Scottish voters opted by a majority to remain in the EU, with England and Wales voting to leave.
Mrs May said on Thursday it was "not the right time" for another independence referendum.
2017
Brexit will be triggered in March
2018/19 Sturgeon's preferred vote dates
2019 Two year Brexit deal period ends
2020 Next UK general election
2021 Next Holyrood election
In her conference speech on Friday, the prime minister described her triggering of the Article 50 process for Brexit as one of the "great national moments that define the character of a nation".
With a "road before us" that "may be uncertain at times", the UK could "look forward with optimism and hope, or give in to the politics of fear and despair", she said.
"I choose to believe in Britain and that our best days lie ahead," she said.
The Brexit vote in 2016 was also a vote for changing the way the country works, Mrs May added.
"It means forging a more united nation, as we put the values of fairness, responsibility and citizenship at the heart of everything we do, and we strengthen the bonds of our precious union too," she told the conference.
"It means building a stronger, fairer Britain that our children and grandchildren will be proud to call home."
The union is "more than just a constitutional artefact," she added. "It is a union between all of our citizens, whoever we are and wherever we're from."
The prime minister also promised to take account of competing demands from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland as the negotiations begin on leaving the EU, saying: "We are four nations but at heart we are one people."
Opening the conference earlier, Welsh Conservative leader Andrew RT Davies said Labour ministers' plans to scrap the right to buy council homes in Wales would end "one of the greatest aspirational policies this country has ever seen".
Meanwhile education spokesman Darren Millar joked about being dubbed "Millar the Cereal Killer" because of his opposition to free school breakfasts.
The AM for Clwyd South said he had been compared to "Thatcher the so-called Milk Snatcher", before saying he was proud to have been compared to the former prime minister.
Analysis by BBC Wales political editor Nick Servini
This was a Theresa May speech delivered to an audience of the Welsh Tory faithful, but in reality was directed further afield and in particular to a Scottish audience contemplating the prospect of another independence referendum.
The gloves came off as the prime minister visibly became more animated as she called the SNP and Plaid Cymru "obsessives" with tunnel vision.
In fact, Jeremy Corbyn was barely mentioned as nationalist-bashing became the tactic of choice instead from a roll-call of senior party figures.
This conference may have been in Cardiff but there was little to give it a Welsh dynamic, with the focus turned to May's twin battle of Brexit negotiations while trying to hold Britain together.


Europe has extended its satellite-navigation system by putting another four spacecraft in orbit.

They went up on an Ariane 5 rocket from French Guiana, leaving the ground at 10:06 (13:06 GMT).
It is the first time Europe's premier launch vehicle has been used to loft Galileo satellites. Normally, they go up on a Russian Soyuz, two at a time.
Mission success was declared once the quartet had been safely ejected from Ariane's upper-stage.
Controllers immediately made contact with the satellites and confirmed their solar panels were deployed and generating power.
The flight brings Galileo's in-orbit constellation to 18 spacecraft.
That is six short of the planned number for the full network, but more than enough for Galileo to start an initial service, which it is expected to do in the next few weeks.
When that happens, the very latest smartphones and other types of receivers should start picking up the system's signals - either to get a position fix or to make use of its embedded timing information.
"From a technical standpoint we are ready, and the performance is excellent," said Paul Verhoef, director of navigation programmes at the European Space Agency (Esa).
"There are still some small issues that need to be addressed and some formalities that need to be settled, and one of those is making sure the security is in place so that the system is properly protected when the service starts," he told BBC News.
Europe's Galileo system under construction
A project of the European Commission and the European Space Agency
24 satellites constitute a full system, but it will have six spares in orbit also
Spacecraft have been launched in batches of two, but now go four at a time
Galileo will work alongside the US-owned GPS and Russian Glonass systems
Completed Galileo promises real-time positioning down to a metre or less
It should deepen and extend high-value markets already initiated by GPS
Esa is acting as technical adviser and procurement agent on Galileo, which is formally owned and funded by the European Commission.
The EU is investing billions in the sat-nav project, to both complement and rival the Americans' Global Positioning System (GPS).
Galileo's next-generation technologies are designed to provide users with quicker, more reliable fixes, enabling them to locate their positions with a general error of one metre, compared with the current GPS error of several metres.
The Commission hopes Galileo will bring significant returns to member-state economies in the form of new businesses that can exploit this better precision and the guarantees that will come with the new civilian-run service.
The latest spacecraft were produced by the German-UK consortium of OHB System of Bremen and Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) of Guildford.
OHB made the bus, or chassis, for each satellite; SSTL's role was to assemble the navigation payload - the "brains" of every Galileo spacecraft.
OHB-SSTL have been the primary suppliers of the satellites to date, and by the time their current work order is complete they will have produced 22 of the 26 platforms ordered by the EC and Esa.
The next contract, which could comprise eight or more satellites, will be announced shortly.
A fully operational Galileo system is regarded as a constellation of 24, split across three orbital planes in the sky. But spares are required also, and with one existing satellite already considered close to failure, the EC has to make allowance for near-continuous production.
Certainly, the German-UK pairing want to keep their engineers busy.
"At SSTL, it has a been a fantastic journey for us," said company CEO, Patrick Wood. "If you think back to 2005, we launched the very first satellite, called Giove-A, to claim the frequencies for Galileo; and since then we've worked on 22 satellites and our navigation capability is now recognised to be world-beating. We want to continue that."
These are, though, nervous times in the UK space sector, as it wonders what sort of relationship Britain will have with the EU, post Brexit.
The type of involvement SSTL has in Galileo touches on matters of security, and the company would not be permitted to keep its role if the UK makes a clean break from the Union with no buy-back into the programme.
Other British companies currently working on Galileo are in a similar position.
The EC is in the process of deciding where to place contracts not just for future satellites, but also in the realms of operations, system engineering and ground control.
However, Brussels is obliged for the moment to treat all tenders exactly the same - whether from the UK or from firms based in the 27 remaining EU member states.
Mr Verhoef stressed that nothing changes until Brexit negotiations are complete. There could be no contracts awarded on the basis of politics, he told BBC News.
"It would be illegal; somebody could take us to court and they would win immediately," he said.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


A head teacher has been banned from the profession for falsifying students' progress records.

Simon Pringle, former head of Brinsworth Manor Junior School in Rotherham, was found guilty of "unacceptable professional conduct" by a misconduct panel.
He produced false data that showed pupils attainment was "good" prior to a visit by inspectors in 2014.
Mr Pringle was prohibited from teaching indefinitely, but can appeal.
The school said it suspended the teacher in April 2015. He resigned in September 2015.
More on this and other South Yorkshire stories
The National College for Teaching and Leadership panel heard Mr Pringle had "admitted that he drafted false lesson observation feedback for some teachers" including some "observation feedback for teachers he had never observed".
The report also found that in emails and staff meetings "Mr Pringle gave staff clear encouragement to err on the side of generosity in assessing attainment".
In a statement, Vicky Helliwell the executive head of the school said Mr Pringle had not been in contact with any member of staff or pupils since he was suspended.
"I became aware of issues in the reporting of school data after I took up post as executive head at the school in April 2015," she said.
"I suspended Mr Pringle and reported the issue to the local authority.
"I want to assure parents and carers that there has been no adverse impact on children's education or teaching."


A mother and son who died after getting into difficulty in the sea off Aberdeen have been named by police.

Six-year-old Lucas Walker was paddling in the water when he was swept out to sea. His mother, 37-year-old Julie Walker, tried to save him.
The pair, from Aberdeen, were both taken to hospital but did not survive.
Lucas's 13-year-old brother, Samuel, was also pulled from the water, along with a man and a woman. All three tried to save Ms Walker and her son.
Police Scotland said Samuel was making a "steady recovery" in Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. A 25-year-old woman and 28-year-old man have been discharged.
Four other people have died in separate incidents in the seas around Britain over the weekend, with strong winds and high tides being blamed.
Ch Supt Campbell Thomson said police were continuing to investigate a "very tragic incident", with officers searching the beach and nearby rocks.
"It is clear heroic attempts were made to save Julie and Lucas by both on and off-duty police officers, emergency service personnel and members of the public, facing treacherous sea conditions and high winds during their rescue bid," he said.
"Their brave efforts cannot be overstated.
"I'd like to pay special tribute to Lucas's brother Samuel, who very bravely entered the water in an attempt to rescue his mother and brother."
Ch Supt Thomson urged people to be extremely careful near any body of water as conditions could change rapidly, even during the summer months.
The emergency services were alerted to the incident at about 16:45 Saturday.
One witness described the scene as "absolute chaos" and said she had seen bodies floating in the water.
Another witness, Emma Anderson, told the BBC she had heard sirens and police "frantically" telling people to evacuate the area.
"The whole boulevard was covered in ambulances and police. We overheard there was a body in the water and we saw what seemed to be the body of a small child floating lifelessly in the sea," she said.
"This is something that will forever be in my mind. Not something I ever expected to see on a fun day out with my kids. Heartbreaking for all involved."
Aberdeen City Council Leader, Jenny Laing, said: "The tragic incident at Aberdeen beach has resulted in a mother and young son sadly losing their lives.
"My thoughts are with the family and friends of those affected at this time and those who remain in hospital following yesterday's events. Aberdeen City Council is providing support to the family during this difficult time."
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency said some people had been pulled out of the water by police and others had been rescued by the RNLI inshore lifeboat.


London Irish scrum-half Darren Allinson is to rejoin Premiership club Bath from this summer on a two-year contract.

The 29-year-old had a short-term loan deal at Bath earlier this season but is now back at the Championship outfit.
Wales-born Allinson is a former Cardiff Blues number nine, but joined London Irish in 2010.
"I'm really excited to be returning to Bath next year and looking forward to getting a solid pre-season under my belt," he told Bath's club website.
"There is a great deal of competition and experience in the number nine shirt and that is something that brings the very best out of me as a player."


David Cameron was "wilfully dishonest" when he pledged to cap immigration to the tens of thousands, UKIP leader Nigel Farage has said.

He said the target to cut net migration to the UK could not be achieved as long as Britain remained a member of the EU.
Launching UKIP's campaign poster on immigration, Mr Farage said an "honest debate" on the subject was needed to restore public trust in politics.
The Conservatives said UKIP's immigration policy was in "chaos".
Speaking in Dover, Mr Farage told the gathered media that the other parties were making false promises on immigration during the election campaign.
But he said the only solution to controlling immigration was to leave the EU - which UKIP campaigns for.
The prime minister pledged in 2011 to reduce the number of migrants coming to the UK to levels last seen in the 1990s, about "tens of thousands" each year.
But the target has not been met, with the latest figures showing net migration rose to 298,000 for the year ending in September 2014 - higher than when he came to office.
Nigel Farage swept in and out of a blustery press call in the shadow of the white cliffs of Dover.
The UKIP leader - helped along by a backdrop of party activists - unveiled a poster attacking the Conservatives' record on immigration, in response to which they said UKIP's policy was in "chaos".
An initially well-behaved press pack soon descended into a gentle scrum, with Mr Farage directed towards one camera then another for a series of interviews.
He announced new target immigration figures, was challenged over his views on migrants with long-term illnesses and set an ambitious timeframe to get immigration down.
Then, time for a coffee - not a pint - in a local pub before Mr Farage was whisked away again.
A picturesque media opportunity, but one that revealed little more about UKIP's immigration policy other than the obvious fact it is central to their campaign.
The symbolic location, with the shadow of France on the horizon, was deliberately chosen by Team UKIP to keep Britain's relationship with the continent at the forefront of people's minds. Although - perhaps ironically - it also caused some mobile phones to switch to French networks in order to function.
Downing Street said the rise has been driven in part by Britain's economic success relative to its neighbours in the eurozone. Labour said the government's pledge was "in tatters".
But, unveiling UKIP's campaign advert, Mr Farage said: "When Cameron made that promise he was being wilfully dishonest.
"Because he knew the truth and I think now the British public, five years on, know the truth: that you actually cannot have an immigration policy, you can't set targets of any kind at all, you can't attempt to control who comes into Britain all the while you're members of the European Union."
He issued a call for a "return to normality", saying net immigration - the difference between the number of people leaving the UK and the number coming in - should be brought down to about 30,000 people per year.
Charlie Elphicke, Conservative candidate in Dover, accused Mr Farage's party of performing U-turns on immigration policy.
"All we've seen from UKIP on immigration is chaos and confusion: one minute there's a cap, then there's not. Mark Reckless says certain migrants should be repatriated, then Farage says they're welcome to stay," he said.
I am not sure if it is by design or if he just wants a slow start, but two days in to this general election campaign and UKIP leader Nigel Farage appears to be taking it easy.
Or at least that is how it seems.
This is a candidate who has to win on 7 May. If he fails to become the next MP for South Thanet he has said he will quit as leader.
Yet I have seen no door-knocking. Our cameras have not been told of any public event, yet.
We have had two poster-unveiling ceremonies with impromptu leader interviews. He arrives, he speaks, he answers questions, then he leaves.
Read more from Robin.
The EU, and the UK's place within it, is set to be a major issue in the election campaign.
David Cameron has promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership of the EU and put it to a public vote in 2017, if the Conservatives win in May.
Labour has said it does not support an in/out referendum, while Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg said his party would not "play footsie" with the idea of leaving the EU - although he has refused to say he would block a referendum as part of any coalition deal.
The Financial Times has reported the Lib Dems would only agree to support a poll if the franchise was extended to EU migrants resident in the UK and 16- and 17-year-olds. The party is also said to want to have a say on the wording of the question and the timing of the vote.
In response, UKIP's economic spokesman and campaign chief Patrick O'Flynn accused Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg of preparing to "rig" a referendum if they are in power together again.
He said it would be "profoundly unfair" to allow UK-based EU nationals to participate, and claimed the idea to give younger people a vote was designed to sway the result towards an "in" vote.


One of Japan's biggest pop groups, SMAP, has said it will not be breaking up after the country was gripped by rumours of a split.

During a live broadcast of their weekly variety show on Monday members said they would be sticking together and apologised for causing concern.
The "boy band" is a mainstay of Japan's pop scene and is popular across Asia.
Rumours that they were breaking up over a dispute with management caused widespread concern in Japan last week.
In a sombre announcement  the group confirmed they had been "on the verge" of a break-up, but did not give further details. Dressed in dark suits, they bowed to the camera and asked for fans' continuing support.
"We will keep moving forward, no matter what," said Takuya Kimura, the band's best known member.
The announcement relieved many fans, but others online have criticised the statement, alleging that the management had forced the band to  apologise in public. The band reportedly was negotiating its future with its management agency.
The band, formed in 1988, has built up a huge fanbase in Japan and throughout Asia with members appearing frequently in movies, soap operas, and commercials.


A man who was stabbed in the arms and legs in a street attack drove himself the five miles to hospital, Merseyside Police said.

The 26-year-old man is in a "serious" condition after the assault in Netherton Way, Bootle.
Police were called to Royal Liverpool University Hospital after the man reported driving 20 minutes to casualty.
A number of police cars surrounded the site after the man was admitted.
Witnesses are being sought.
Det Ch Insp Gayle Rooney said: "It appears the victim was specifically targeted by the offenders, who it is believed are known to him, and witnesses have described two Mercedes vehicles being involved."


An 82-year-old man has been found stabbed to death in Stroud.

Gloucestershire Police said a murder investigation has been launched after the man's body was found at an address on Walkley Hill on Friday.
A spokesman said it was "now clear" the man died of stab wounds.
A 47-year-old man from Stroud was arrested in Southsea, Hampshire on Sunday. The coroner has been informed and a post-mortem examination has been completed, the spokesman added.


The New York Times has said that its local printer in Thailand has refused to print its Asia edition because it featured an article on the ailing king.

The paper said the printer found the front-page article "too sensitive". Tuesday's entire newspaper, however, can still be viewed online in Thailand.
King Bhumibol Adulyadej, 87, is currently in a Bangkok hospital.
Thailand has strict lese majeste laws that can result in jail terms for anyone who insults the monarchy.
Critics say the laws are used liberally by the military government to silence discussion about the royal family and the succession to the throne.
The Thai authorities have blocked a number of other news websites, notably the UK-based Daily Mail, after one article last year which included salacious details of Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn's private life. That censorship precedes last year's military coup, although it has increased since the military takeover.
The military has shown itself to be extremely sensitive to any reporting on the royal family, with both the number and harshness of convictions for lese majeste rising sharply after the coup.
As the New York Times details in its article, Thais have been jailed for an overheard conversation in a taxi, a hand gesture, a university play, bathroom graffiti and most recently, two sentences of 28 and 30 years for Facebook posts.
Military ruler Prayuth Chan-ocha has also become visibly more irritated by media criticism of his performance, threatening to tape journalists' mouths shut, and to find other ways of punishing them.
Last weekend prominent journalist Pravit Rojanaphruk was detained, driven blindfolded to a secret military base outside Bangkok, and held for two days in a windowless room while being interrogated over his alleged links to anti-military conspiracies. He says it was made clear to him this was punishment for speaking out.
Thailand's lese majeste laws explained
The International New York Times (INYT) emailed subscribers in Thailand saying that Tuesday's edition was not printed as "it includes an article that our locally contracted printer deemed too sensitive to print".
"This decision was made solely by the printer and is not endorsed by the International New York Times," it said.
The article notes that the king has been in and out of the hospital in recent months and discusses his successors, particularly Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn.
Written by the paper's South East Asia correspondent Thomas Fuller, who is based in Bangkok, it also comments that lese majeste laws have stifled discussion on the issue in Thailand.
The last update on King Bhumibol released by palace authorities was in August when they said he was recovering from hydrocephalus, or excessive build-up of fluid on the brain.
The monarch has had frequent bouts of ill health in recent years. His health is closely watched in Thailand as he is seen as a unifying symbol and pillar of stability in a society that has seen increased political divisions and violence.


When an Irish, self-made millionaire became Peterborough United chairman eight years ago, the corridors of London Road became as blue as their kit.

With a penchant for strong language, a commanding physical presence, and a shoot-from-the-hip swagger, Darragh MacAnthony can often be loved and loathed in equal measure.
"To be not liked by a lot of people in football, I couldn't care less," he told BBC Sport.
"It fuels me and my club to be different. I'm a rebel who wants to change things in football.
"When I came into real estate it was a closed shop. People were telling me to forget about it, 'you've got no chance'.
"When I bought Peterborough United and said we're going to get out of League Two and League One, all the usual people were laughing and sneering at us.
"I like being written off. I like proving them wrong."
All told, the past eight years, the MacAnthony era, have taken in League Two, League One and the Championship - four promotion chases, three relegation battles.
Last season they fell from English football's second tier, courtesy of a last-minute, gut-wrenching sucker punch at Crystal Palace.
A year on and the drama fails to subside. A battle to stay in the League One play-offs is coupled with a trip to Wembley for the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final on Sunday. It is never dull.
"It's like my life in a way. It's what I expect. I wake up and never expect a normal, boring day," said MacAnthony, speaking from his Florida home.
"I do demand a lot. I demand a lot from my family, from my wife, from my business and a hell of a lot from my football club."
Born in Dublin, MacAnthony spent his formative years living in Spain with his family.
A prosperous period developing property abroad saw his worth peak at £150m in 2007.
A Liverpool supporter and football fanatic, MacAnthony needed an outlet.
With then owner and current director of football Barry Fry looking to sell Posh in 2006, MacAnthony took the reins of the League Two club and, with it, all of the debt, before officially taking full ownership a year later.
He became the youngest owner of an English club.
"There are quite a few chairman who look down their nose at me and think 'who is this young whippersnapper, who does he think he is?' It's a bit of the old-school mentality.
"Here I am, a 29-year-old Irish property developer, coming in like I own the place, looking a million dollars. It's tough for some of them to take that.
"Some of them are not into change. I'd like to be involved with the Football League more, but I have enough on my plate.
"There are a lot of cowards who talk a good game but won't vote and change it. There needs to be a little more youth within the Football League and on committees.
"We need to stamp out some of the stuff going on with agents, stuff going on with TV deals.
"We need to stamp out some of the stuff the Premier League shoves down our throats. We need to stand up and be stronger."
"I decided to have fun. When I bought the club I was a complete workaholic," he said.
"I make lists every year of things I want to achieve and things I want to buy. On my yearly list I had a football club: nice car, nice holiday, and a football club at the end of it.
"I flew over, walked out on to the pitch. I loved it and wanted it.
"Do I worry about what fans think of me coming in and playing around with their club as a hobby? No, not really. I'm as good as my word."
As far as hobbies go, it is not exactly stamp collecting.
It has cost MacAnthony £12m, give or take a few million.
"Maybe a little bit more. I've lost track. I've got some of it back. Not all of it. But over time I will get all of it back," he said.
"For the money I've put in, I've enjoyed every minute of it. It's paid for the enjoyment and I hope the fans have enjoyed it too.
"If you love football, love taking risks - the thrills and the highs, the adrenaline of winning. I don't think there's a better way, as a wealthy person, to enjoy your money.
"I've had a few run-ins in board rooms over the fact I don't wear ties. What they fail to understand is I spend my life in a tie. It's not my work, it's my bit of fun."
A hands-on man, Posh became his solace, a constant, particularly when the financial crisis, which was at its most destructive in 2008, threatened to tear down everything else around him.
While MacAnthony was losing money, under boss Darren Ferguson, Posh were winning games and back-to-back promotions that took them to the Championship.
Right now, his side have lost five of their last seven matches and are clinging on to a top-six place in League One.
"The 29-year-old version of me would punish you if you angered me.
"But you'd still work for me and over time you'd know I was punishing you and that could sometimes last a year or two.
"I had a guy who worked for me and my mother died and he upset me by saying something about my mother, which he didn't mean.
"But I sent him to a different country from where his family was and he was there for 15 months.
"I suppose you can call me heartless for that."
"I bought a football club at 29. I was at the peak of my power business-wise, making a lot of money. For me it was the ultimate buzz," he recalled.
"The world collapsed in 2008, 2009. That was the biggest nightmare for me while my businesses were going down the toilet. But the football club probably kept me sane through that.
"But now my team are a bit Jekyll and Hyde. One minute I want to hug them, the next I want to strangle them.
"The highs are always worth it, not so much the lows. I'm definitely improving. I sometimes wish my players hurt as much as I do. Sometimes they don't."
Ferguson remains the only manager to really be able to deliver for MacAnthony.
Across his two spells, the Scot has come good on three promotions, two of those from League One.
"We're very close. I've got his back. He's got mine," said MacAnthony.
"When we lost 13 of the first 17 Championship games last season, 99% of chairman would have given him the bullet.
"This year, the mandate was to win the league and the JPT. We spent £3m on transfer fees this year. Any other chairman would have fired him by now for being in sixth place."
Promotion of course is still very much possible, albeit through the play-offs.
But the issue of lifting the Johnstone's Paint Trophy becomes very genuine on Sunday, when Peterborough face Chesterfield in the final at Wembley.
It is a competition that is often dismissed as irrelevant, sometimes an inconvenience.
"I don't understand why it's maligned, I don't understand why people treat it like the black plague," MacAnthony said.
"For me it's simple. We've got the FA Cup of the lower leagues. Why wouldn't you want to win that? And you can earn up to £500,000 - that could be another six players the following year."
Posh expect to take in excess of 18,000 supporters to the capital, three times as many as regularly attend London Road.
It remains a mystery to MacAnthony why a city with a population of 200,000 people struggles to get behind its football team.
He admits, when he arrived eight years ago, that he bought into the Field of Dreams mentality. He built success, but they did not come.
"Probably my biggest mistake was thinking that," he said.
"With the size of our city, we should be a 12,000-a-week club. If we were, we'd be knocking on the door of the Premier League.
"If I can get us back to the Championship, keep us there for three or four years, I can get us over 10,000. Then we can kick on as a city.
"Peterborough getting into the Premier League would allow us to kick on for the next 50 years."
If progress was measured by sheer force of character alone, MacAnthony's Posh would be World Cup winners in 2018. It would be a brave man who tells the bolshie Irishman that not everything is possible.


Large variations in the amount of caffeine present in coffees sold on the high street means our daily caffeine intake may be higher than we think.

But is this a problem? How much caffeine is it actually safe to drink?
The caffeine content of a cup of coffee depends on how big the cup is, how finely the coffee is ground, how dark the roast, the brewing method used, how much coffee is used to make the drink and the type of coffee bean used.
A cup of instant coffee will be different from a mug of brewed coffee, a home-made cappuccino different from a large latte bought in a coffee shop.
Caffeine is also found in tea, chocolate, some soft drinks, and certain medicines.
People are affected by caffeine in different ways too. Some people are more sensitive to its properties than others and have to adjust their intake as a result.
When it comes to pregnant women this is particularly important.
Their daily recommended maximum is 200mg of caffeine, equivalent to two mugs or four cups of coffee.
This advice was issued in 2008 by the Food Standards Agency, which warns that too much caffeine could result in miscarriage or a baby with lower birth weight.
Too much caffeine while pregnant could also increase the risk of some health conditions in later life, the FSA says.
The agency had previously recommended a maximum daily intake of 300mg. However, research published in the British Medical Journal, suggested that a lower limit per would help to reduce this low risk even further.
• 1 mug of instant coffee: 100mg
• 1 mug of filter coffee: 140mg
• 1 mug of tea: 75mg
• 1 can of cola: 40mg
• 1 can of 'energy' drink: up to 80mg
• 1 x 50g bar of plain chocolate: up to 50mg
• 1 x 50g bar of milk chocolate: up to 25mg
So if you eat...
• one bar of plain chocolate and one mug of filter coffee
• two mugs of tea and one can of cola, or
• one mug of instant coffee and one can of energy drink
...you have reached almost 200mg of caffeine.
Source: Department of Health
The research found that caffeine was rapidly absorbed into the body of pregnant women and crossed the placenta freely, circulating in the unborn baby.
Too much caffeine intake interfered with blood flow in the placenta and affected foetal growth.
Professor Janet Cade, co-author of the study from the University of Leeds, said: "Everyone wants the best for their baby. Limiting daily caffeine intake is one way which you can ensure your baby has the best start in life."
The Department of Health's Pregnancy Book suggests trying to vary the liquids drunk while pregnant, although they say there is no need to cut out caffeine completely.
"Try decaffeinated tea and coffee, fruit juice or water and limit the amount of 'energy' drinks, which may be high in caffeine.
"Don't worry if you occasionally have more than this, because the risks are quite small."
For everyone else, the advice is much less clear-cut.
Coffee can have health benefits. It is thought to increase alertness, performance and mental ability by stimulating the central nervous system.
A large US study found that women who drank two or more cups of coffee a day were less likely to get depressed.
Recent research suggests that coffee could be linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer and breast cancer and another study said it could protect against the onset of Alzheimer's.
But it can also be addictive, seriously so.
Gaynor Bussell, registered dietician with the British Dietetic Association, says we should all try to drink coffee in moderation while paying attention to our our own bodies.
"Different people have different tolerances. Some people react strongly to caffeine, some don't. It's a question of knowing your own limit and knowing your own body.
"If you enjoy a cappuccino in the morning then that's fine, but if you start to get palpitations, you're running to the toilet or noticing an increase in nervousness and sleeplessness, you should probably cut back your caffeine intake."
The general advice is that four or five cups of coffee a day is safe, around 400mg of caffeine.
The Food Standards Agency says there is no limit set for healthy individuals. They recommend a balance of drinks and a sensible, moderate approach to coffee-drinking.


South Africa bowling all-rounder Vernon Philander has said playing for Nottinghamshire is a "great opportunity".

Philander will feature in six County Championship and three T20 Blast matches before being replaced by Australian seamer Ben Hilfenhaus.
The 29-year-old last played county cricket for Kent in 2014, and has also had spells with Middlesex and Somerset.
"I've always enjoyed playing county cricket," he told BBC Radio Nottingham.
"It's a format that I love, and I think having this opportunity at the front of the season gives me a great opportunity to come out and exploit these conditions.
"I'm just looking forward to it."
Philander also said that he is fully recovered from the hamstring injury that forced him to miss three matches of South Africa's run to the World Cup semi-final.
He had previously missed the triangular series with Zimbabwe and Australia in August and September 2014 with a similar injury .
"I'm all good now," he added.
"I've done all the rehab and fitness work to get to where I am today, so I'm ready to go again."


Stoke MP Tristram Hunt demanded an apology from Lord Digby Jones after being accused of lying about immigration during an EU debate.

13 June 2016 Last updated at 08:43 BST
Labour's Mr Hunt, for Remain, told the West Midlands EU referendum debate in Birmingham that in order to trade with the EU, the UK would "have to accept the free movement of labour".
However, Lord Jones said no-one knew the conditions of any future trade deals.
The Leave campaigner, who served as a trade minister in Gordon Brown's Labour government, told the MP: "There's a very good BBC word for this; it's called disingenuous, which means you're lying."


They are among the most sensational fossils to be found in Africa in recent years, and visitors to London's Natural History Museum can see what all the fuss is about on Friday.

3D prints of the remains of Homo naledi will be on display at the NHM's Science Uncovered event.
They were given to the institution by the Johannesburg discovery team.
Bones from perhaps 15 of the human-like creatures were recovered from a cave complex not far from the city.
It is the biggest haul of fossil hominin remains ever identified on the African continent.
The researchers - led by Lee Berger of Wits University - have scanned the bones to make faithful copies, and these have now been shared with the London museum.
At Science Uncovered, Dr Louise Humphrey will be explaining their significance and what they could tell us about human origins.
"I think the effect on the field is transformative," she told BBC News, "not just because the morphology indicates a new species, but because there are so many unanswered questions.
"We don't yet know how old these fossils are. We don't know yet whether there will be full bodies in this chamber, or nearby chambers.
"The number of finds from a single fossil locality is unprecedented. There are apparently three small babies and three small children, some older children as well as some adults."
NHM visitors will get to see a model of a skull. There are also examples of a hand, a foot, and some jaws.
They are all small because, even as adults, naledi is diminutive, perhaps standing no taller than about 1.5m (5ft).
Wits University has previously shared casts of other fossils it is working on, including those of a more ancient creature called Australopithecus sediba, which was also found in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in Gauteng province. These too will be available on Friday to compare and contrast.
There are probably two major unanswered questions surrounding H. naledi at the moment.
One concerns the age of the fossils. If any dating technique has been used to try to establish this, the results have not been released.
Currently, it is being assumed they are very ancient - maybe a couple of million years old - purely on the basis that some features seen in the bones look very primitive.
The second major question centres on what the remains were doing in the Rising Star cave complex.
The Wits team has mooted the possibility that naledi may have disposed of its dead there deliberately. That is a remarkable proposition if the creature is as old as has been suggested.
But it is perplexing to think how so many individuals could navigate their way into such a deep cave.
The scientists found the remains in an opening at the bottom of a very narrow chute. But even to get to the chute, the researchers had to crawl through other narrow gaps and make some steep climbs.
How naledi managed this is inexplicable. It is unlikely this creature had access to torches; controlled use of fire came much later in history.
Already, some furious arguments have surfaced over the interpretations put forward by the Wits team.
Rival researchers have even questioned whether the fossil haul actually represents two or more different species, or just a slightly different version of a species we have seen before.
"Not everyone is going to agree with Lee Berger's team. But all credit to them - they've put the material out," commented Prof Chris Stringer from the NHM.
"If you don't like their interpretation of the fossils, you can download the files and print your own. You can draw your own conclusions," Prof Stringer told the BBC.
Science Uncovered is a free event. It is open to everyone, but is most suitable for adults. It starts at 18:00 BST.
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


A 34-year-old Cardiff man has become the first person in the UK to be prosecuted under forced marriage laws introduced a year ago.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was jailed for 16 years after admitting making a 25-year-old woman marry him under duress last year.
He also pleaded guilty to charges of rape, bigamy and voyeurism at Merthyr Crown Court.
The court heard he threatened to kill her father unless she married him.
He was sentenced to four years for the forced marriage, 12 months for bigamy and 12 months for voyeurism to run concurrently with the 16-year rape sentence.
The court heard he became obsessed with the woman, a devout Muslim, and threatened to reveal videos he had secretly filmed of her in the shower and kill members of her family if she told anyone.
Last year the Forced Marriages Unit (FMU), run jointly by the Home Office and the Foreign Office, gave advice and support in 1,267 cases of possible forced marriages. So why are there so few prosecutions?
Many say the problem lies in deep-rooted cultural traditions and that young people are reluctant to come forward to the authorities.
The code of family honour and shame can run very deep in families with strong roots on the Indian Subcontinent.
Some parents claim to believe they are doing the best for their child in arranging their marriage and that they are helping  them to secure a good future.
Why so few forced marriage prosecutions?
Judge Daniel Williams described the defendant as an "arrogant, manipulative and devious man".
He had pleaded guilty on the second day of his trial, with the judge saying: "To the bitter end you sought to exert control over her, no doubt in the hope she would not go through with her allegations."
The judge said the offences began when the woman became engaged last year and in March 2014 he took her to his house under the pretence of having a meal with his wife.
"Your house was empty, you locked the front door and drew the curtains, you ignored her pleas to let her go and threw her mobile phone away and bound and gagged her with scarves belonging to your wife," he said.
"You tied her hands behind her back, she was bruised by the ties and she couldn't breathe. She almost passed out and then you raped her.
"She was a virgin, something which you knew and something which you used to ensure her silence. You took her innocence to ensure her silence."
The court heard he later pretended to be her fiancÃ© on Facebook and when she disclosed the rape online, sought to persuade her to take the matter no further.
Less than a month later, he contacted her asking her forgiveness and then raped her.
The judge said he told her she was to be his wife and took her to a mosque, continuing his threats to kill members of her family and reveal the videos if she did not comply.
After the hearing, Det Supt Lian Penhale from South Wales Police praised the woman's "courage and strength" to come forward.
Iwan Jenkins, head of CPS Wales Rape and Serious Sexual Offences Unit, said: "Forced marriage wrecks lives and destroys families.
"We hope that today's sentence sends a strong message that forced marriage will not be tolerated in today's Britain."


Danny Mayor's second-half brace handed Bury a last-gasp victory at home to Shrewsbury.

Each side finished with 10 men as Bury striker James Vaughan and Shrewsbury centre-half Adam El-Abd were sent off either side of the break with the score still goalless.
Mayor then broke the deadlock with a 65th minute strike and although Ivan Toney levelled with a quarter of an hour remaining, Mayor struck again at the start of stoppage time to make it back-to-back home wins for the Shakers.
Bury had the better of the opening stages, with Zeli Ismail jinking down the right before cutting back for Mayor, who sidefooted just wide.
Ismail then played a one-two with Jacob Mellis and cut back for Vaughan, whose goalbound effort was blocked by Jack Grimmer.
Vaughan and El-Abd then clashed on 39 minutes, with both players being booked, and just two minutes later Vaughan caught El-Abd late, resulting in a second yellow card.
El-Abd followed him off on 52 minutes after bundling over Mayor for a second yellow, and shortly after the latter cut in from the left before firing into the top corner.
Shrewsbury replied as Joe Riley crossed for Toney to beat goalkeeper Ben Williams in the air and head home, but Mayor pounced from close range to seal victory at the death.
Reports supplied by the Press Association.
Match ends, Bury 2, Shrewsbury Town 1.
Second Half ends, Bury 2, Shrewsbury Town 1.
Hallam Hope (Bury) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Ryan McGivern (Shrewsbury Town).
Attempt missed. Kean Bryan (Bury) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
Substitution, Bury. Kean Bryan replaces Jacob Mellis.
Hallam Hope (Bury) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Ryan McGivern (Shrewsbury Town).
Attempt saved. Andy Mangan (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Andy Mangan replaces Mat Sadler.
Goal!  Bury 2, Shrewsbury Town 1. Danny Mayor (Bury) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the high centre of the goal. Assisted by Tom Pope.
Corner,  Bury. Conceded by Shaun Whalley.
Attempt blocked. Danny Mayor (Bury) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Foul by Tom Pope (Bury).
Jack Grimmer (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick on the left wing.
Attempt missed. Ivan Toney (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top right corner.
Attempt missed. Hallam Hope (Bury) right footed shot from the right side of the box misses to the right.
Attempt missed. Jacob Mellis (Bury) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the left.
Attempt saved. Hallam Hope (Bury) right footed shot from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Leon Barnett.
Substitution, Bury. Hallam Hope replaces Zeli Ismail.
Goal!  Bury 1, Shrewsbury Town 1. Ivan Toney (Shrewsbury Town) header from the left side of the six yard box to the top left corner. Assisted by Joe Riley.
Attempt missed. Abu Ogogo (Shrewsbury Town) left footed shot from the centre of the box misses to the right.
Corner,  Shrewsbury Town. Conceded by Craig Jones.
Attempt blocked. Shaun Whalley (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Corner,  Bury. Conceded by Moha.
Goal!  Bury 1, Shrewsbury Town 0. Danny Mayor (Bury) right footed shot from outside the box to the top right corner.
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Moha replaces Louis Dodds.
Foul by Danny Mayor (Bury).
Ryan McGivern (Shrewsbury Town) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Attempt blocked. Leon Barnett (Bury) right footed shot from very close range is blocked.
Attempt saved. Danny Mayor (Bury) right footed shot from very close range is saved in the centre of the goal.
Corner,  Bury. Conceded by Ryan McGivern.
Tom Pope (Bury) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Jack Grimmer (Shrewsbury Town).
Attempt saved. Joe Riley (Shrewsbury Town) right footed shot from long range on the right is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution, Shrewsbury Town. Shaun Whalley replaces Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.
Corner,  Bury. Conceded by Ryan McGivern.
Attempt blocked. Tom Pope (Bury) right footed shot from a difficult angle on the right is blocked.
Substitution, Bury. Craig Jones replaces Niall Maher.


Pregnant women who live in areas with significant air pollution risk having babies of low birth weight, the largest study to date suggests.

The study, in Environmental Health Perspectives, looked at more than three million births in nine nations.
The effect was small and individuals should not be alarmed, but there was a notable impact on the population as a whole, the researchers said.
Low birth weight babies have a higher risk of health problems and death.
The majority survive but have an increased risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and heart disease as adults.
The International Collaboration on Air Pollution and Pregnancy Outcomes (ICAPPO), by Prof Tracey Woodruff and colleagues at the University California, San Francisco, focused on airborne particulate matter small enough to penetrate the human respiratory tract.
The findings indicated the relationship between birth weight and pollution was dose related - the higher the exposure, the lower the average birth weight.
Prof Woodruff said: "What's significant is that these are air pollution levels to which practically everyone in the world is commonly exposed."
Prof Kevin McConway, a statistician at the Open University said, based on the findings, if Newcastle were to halve its current particulate air pollution level it would lead to two or three fewer low weight babies out of the total 3,500 or so born in the city each year.
He said: "That sort of reduction might well be worth having, but it's not something that pregnant mothers should lose sleep over, I'd say."
Dr Tony Fletcher, senior lecturer in Environmental Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "The study is of excellent quality and the conclusions are clear. While the average effect on each baby is small and so should not alarm individual prospective parents, for the whole population these small risks add up across millions of people."
The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said even though air quality in the UK is "generally good, more needs to be done, especially in the cities, to reduce the harmful effects of air pollution".


NHS hospitals in England are so full that a shortage of beds is putting patients at an increased risk of infection, according to a report.

An analysis of bed occupancy rates by the Nuffield Trust reveals that more than 95% of beds in hospitals were used every day last winter.
Hospitals try not to exceed 85% so they can deal with sudden admissions rises.
NHS England has written to hospitals urging them to stop routine surgery over the Christmas and New Year period.
It is standard practice for the NHS to cut back on elective surgery over the holiday period to free up more beds for emergency admissions.
But this year the message has been "strengthened" and is more detailed, the BBC has discovered.
Previous research has linked a shortage of beds to long delays in emergency departments and higher infection rates.
Hospitals aim to avoid high bed occupancy rates to ensure that emergency patients can be admitted quickly.
They also don't want patients to be moved around or placed on inappropriate wards to make room for other patients, and they need to have some slack in the system when numbers of admissions rise very quickly.
Controlling infections and keeping everything clean can also be a problem if hospitals are too full.
The Nuffield Trust analysis of hospitals in England shows that last winter the pressures on the system made sticking to a target of 85% of beds occupied almost impossible.
On average, more than 95% of beds were occupied every day.
On the single busiest day, more than 4,300 extra beds - which are used when the system is under intense pressure - were opened, equivalent to more than seven extra hospitals.
One factor was the number of patients who were medically well enough to leave hospital, but couldn't be discharged because of delays in setting up ongoing care.
The report also found that on one day in January 2016:
Professor John Appleby, chief economist at the Nuffield Trust said: "With such high levels of bed occupancy linked to higher infection rates and longer waits in A&E, these pressures pose a real threat to the smooth running of hospitals and, ultimately, to patient safety.
"What's more, the NHS is going into this winter in an even worse position than it was a year ago, with record deficits, worse performance against the A&E target, far more trolley waits, record delayed discharges from hospital, and fewer people getting the help they need with social care.
"When you add into that mix the sort of intense pressure on beds we've demonstrated hospitals experienced last winter, patients' care is bound to suffer."
An NHS England spokesman said: "This report looking back to last year points to the steps the NHS takes each winter to maximise bed availability, and plans are well in hand for this winter too."
Chris Hopson of NHS Providers, representing trusts, said trusts were caught between a rock and a hard place - "the rock of coping with ever rising emergency demand and the hard place of meeting the referral to treatment elective surgery target and financial control totals where elective income is key.
"Trusts chief executives tell us it's increasingly difficult to deliver both."


Thousands of people are attending St Patrick's Day parades and festivities in towns and cities across Northern Ireland.

The Belfast parade departed from city hall at noon and is making its way to Custom House Square for a free concert.
Parades and celebrations are also being held in Londonderry, Armagh, Newry, Enniskillen, Omagh and Downpatrick.
The largest parade in the Republic of Ireland is in Dublin.
There will be some disruption to traffic between 11:45 GMT and 13:30 GMT during the Belfast parade in the area of City Hall, Royal Avenue, Donegall Street, Waring Street, Victoria Street, Custom House Square.
Arterial routes remain open and alternative routes are available.
In Derry, thousands are expected to line the route of the carnival parade. This year's theme is "Land of the Little People".


A director who admitted involuntary manslaughter over a fatal train crash on the set of a biopic about Gregg Allman has been released from jail.

Camera assistant Sarah Jones, 27, died after being hit by a freight train on the first day of filming Midnight Rider in Georgia in February 2014.
Randall Miller, 53, who also pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing, had spent a year in county jail.
He was released halfway through his sentence, for good behaviour.
Six other crew members were injured in the accident that killed Jones.
She was struck by the train after the crew had placed a hospital bed on a railway bridge across the Altamah River in Doctortown, south east Georgia, to shoot a dream sequence.
The train, which was travelling at 55 mph, shattered the bed, sending a shower of debris that injured other crew members.
Filming was suspended and actor William Hurt, who was due to play Allman, pulled out of the production. Allman himself had also called for the project to be axed following the death.
An investigation found that CSX Transportation, which owned the train trestle on which filming was taking place, had refused permission to film on the tracks.
Miller was jailed on 9 March 2015 after pleading guilty as part of a plea deal, which saw criminal charges dropped against his wife Jody Savin. He could have been jailed for 11 years if convicted by a jury.
He was freed shortly after making a court appearance on Wednesday.
Don Samuel, one of Miller's defence lawyers, said: "He was still in shackles when I last saw him, but he was very glad the sentence was behind him. He's moving on and he's going to be on an overnight flight to California."
His defence team had been arguing that Miller should be freed early because of his good behaviour and also because of concerns for his health.
Sarah Jones's parents had told Superior Court Judge Anthony Harrison they opposed Miller's early release.
Speaking after the hearing, her father, Richard Jones, said: "The message we did not want to send is that because you may be a movie director, you may be getting off lightly.
"Sarah's dead for heaven sakes. These were just blatant decisions that put these people in danger unnecessarily."
Miller will spend the next nine years on probation and is banned from directing any films during that period.


It's popular with university students, it has quirky hoops and it's not as mainstream as some other ball court games, but why would you play Korfball?

We asked Ben King, who just happens to be captaining the England team at the 2015 World championships in Belgium, to give us his top 5 reasons to get into Korfball and this is what he said...
In a world where gender inequality is a big topic of debate, korfball acts as a beacon because it is always and only a mixed-gender sport. All korfball teams must have 4 male and 4 female players with teamwork between genders being absolutely crucial to a team's success.
Unlike in most sports, there are no set positions in korfball. At any given moment you will either be attacking or defending but after 2 goals are scored you will change ends meaning that attackers become defenders and defenders become attackers. This means that players get the chance to learn all elements of the game from shooting to passing to defending.
As a team sport, korfball naturally creates an air of camaraderie and comradeship.  Everyone who plays is friendly and welcoming and in the summer, there are big outdoor tournaments where you will get opportunities to meet even more people. This korfball community extends across the globe and as the sport is played in around 60 countries you'll soon build up an international network.
Korfball is a dynamic, high-energy game that will get your heart pumping and your blood flowing. The cost of joining most clubs around the UK is also often cheaper than a gym membership meaning that playing korfball is a sound investment for both your body and your bank account.
I have played korfball for 12 years now and never has telling someone about korfball for the first time failed to start an interesting conversation. People are fascinated by the unfamiliar and their initial reactions will tell you a lot about their personality. It has also come up in many of my job interviews and certainly helped me in a few of them!
There is korfball available for all skill levels in the UK but for the more ambitious it is not inconceivable that you could one day play for your country with the right level of commitment and coaching. There have, in fact, been some recent examples of players who have gone from beginners to international players in 4 or 5 years.
Convinced to try it out? We hoped you'd say that. Take a look at our guide to getting into Korfball to find out how to start playing near you.


A Swansea firm owned by Nev Wilshire, of BBC Three's The Call Centre, has been fined £500,000 after a pensioner died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

HIS Energy Ltd carried out free cavity wall insulation on Joyce Moore's house after her son was cold called by a sister company.
But workers blocked the flue on her gas boiler and did not warn against using it, Manchester Crown Court heard.
Hours later, the 83-year-old, from Middleton, Greater Manchester, died.
HIS Energy was found guilty of a single breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
The court heard HIS Energy employees visited the property on 9 October 2012 to install the cavity wall insulation but they had blocked the flue.
An employee noticed what had happened but did not switch off the boiler or warn about the consequences.
That evening, after the heating was switched on, Mrs Moore died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Mrs Moore's son and two paramedics were also taken to hospital after tests found high levels of carbon monoxide in their blood.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution. The firm is now in liquidation.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Lisa Bailey said: "The company knew about the risks from its work but its safety standards fell well below the legal minimum.
"As a result, an elderly woman has lost her life."


A man has been found guilty of sharing terrorist propaganda via WhatsApp and YouTube.

Taha Hussain, 21, from Slough, used a phone emblazoned with so-called Islamic State's black flag to post videos and audio to social media.
The Old Bailey heard he sent "extremist" material on WhatsApp and had a YouTube channel which showed Islamist militants in battle.
He was convicted of seven counts of disseminating terrorist publications.
Hussain was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on 11 September.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East said Hussain encouraged others to "prepare or commit acts of terror" over a two-year period before his arrest in August 2016.
Officers found he had shared videos of himself driving outside army barracks listening to jihadi chants following terrorist attacks in Paris and Orlando, the court heard.
Police said he also promoted that "no-one should feel sorry for the deaths of non-Muslims and the wrong kind of Muslims".
Det Ch Supt Kath Barnes, head of CTP South East, said: "Extremist posts like the ones Hussain posted and shared have the power to influence other people and particularly those who may be young and impressionable or vulnerable for a variety of reasons.
"This could lead to those influenced individuals committing acts of terror."


Smoking could be banned on Brighton beach under plans being considered by the city council.

The authority has said residents could be asked for their views on the proposals, which could also be extended to the city's parks.
A "voluntary" smoke-free scheme already exists in 42 of the city's children's playgrounds.
Brighton and Hove City Council is set to meet on Tuesday to decide whether the public consultation should proceed.
If agreed, it will run from the following day for 12 weeks.


If you think fidget spinners can be dangerous toys, wait until you come across a kid playing with a toothpick crossbow - and then take cover.

The new gadget toy appears to be selling like hotcakes in China - much to the horror of concerned parents across the country.
The tiny crossbows fire toothpicks powerful enough to break cardboard, apples or even soda cans.
Some cities worried the toys can cause serious injury have now banned them.
According to Chinese media, cities like Chengdu, Kunming and Harbin have already banned sales of the toy, while parents in Hong Kong are also raising concerns.
The small crossbows come as a cheap plastic version for about four yuan (Â£0.5; $0.6) while the metal versions of the mini weapon cost around 10 yuan.
They are sold in shops and on the streets near schools and are also available online.
Reacting to criticism from parents, the country's leading online platforms JD.com and Taobao.com have said they won't allow the toys to be sold any more.
While they are indeed no longer available on those two online shops, they can still be found on other websites like 1688.com, which like Taobao belongs to online retail giant Alibaba.
According to Chinese media, police are also cracking down on shops near schools selling the dangerous gadgets.
Videos on social media showing the crossbows in action have them breaking into cardboard, apples or raw meat.
If the toothpick is replaced with a metal needle, it can even crack through a can of soda.
While the toys do come with a note saying they should not be aimed at people or animals, the packaging of one product claims it can even fight cockroaches, which many might say is no bad thing.


The mother of a seriously ill 19-week-old girl has spoken of the "terrifying" wait for a donor heart.

Marnie Brace was born on 10 May with a "very severe" heart problem which doctors believe may be due to a rare genetic condition.
Her parents have been told her only hope is a heart transplant, a complex and risky procedure with no guarantees.
The thought of the operation "scares me to death", her mother Amy told the BBC.
She said "the call" often comes at night and that "it is such a serious, major operation... it could be our last moments with her."
Marnie was born in at the Evelina children's hospital in London after scans revealed a problem with her heart.
She was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a thickening of the heart walls, and is suspected of having a genetic condition called Noonan's syndrome.
After the birth, she struggled to gain weight and had to be fed through a tube.
Then at 14 weeks, her heart failed and it was confirmed she needed a transplant.
The family have been told she would be only the second baby with her condition to undergo the procedure.
"We are living one day at a time," Amy said. "We are very positive people but we have our down moments when we struggle."
Amy and her husband Nick, from Eastbourne, are living close to the hospital in Ronald McDonald accommodation with their son Jonah, 20 months.
"Without their support, I really don't know how we would have coped," Amy said.
Family friend Sarah Barton has started a Just Giving page to raise funds for the family while they support Marnie.
She said: "The doctors have told them to anticipate a wait of about 12 months - that's if she lasts that long."
She added: "Another baby has to die, that's the tragedy of it. It's so traumatic losing a child and people aren't prepared for it.
"Parents don't think about putting their baby on the organ donor register.
Amy wants people to "have a conversation about organ donation" before they find themselves in that situation.
"One of those people could end up saving Marnie," she said.


India's Supreme Court has stopped the sale of firecrackers in the capital, Delhi, after concerned parents filed a petition on behalf of their babies.

The parents argued their children's lungs were not yet developed enough to handle the increasing pollution in the city.
Delhi, with 16 million people, is one of the world's most polluted cities.
In recent years it has got noticeably worse around Diwali, when huge quantities of fireworks are set off.
On Friday, the Supreme Court suspended the "possession, stocking and selling" of fireworks in Delhi and its neighbouring suburbs "until further orders".
The court also directed pollution control authorities to "study harmful effects of materials used in firecrackers in three months".
Diwali fireworks 'worsen Delhi pollution'
Diwali fireworks choke Delhi, angering Indians
Diwali in Delhi: A colourful night turns smoggy grey
The ban has been welcomed by Gopal Sankaranarayanan, the lawyer representing the three sets of parents, who pointed to the rise in pollution following October's celebration.
"This year, shortly after Diwali season was over, we had the worst instance of pollution in 20 years," he told the BBC. "It was pretty bad in the 10 days to two weeks following Diwali."
In fact, pollution in Delhi increased to nearly 10 times the safe level after Diwali, the most important Hindu festival in north India. causing panic and outrage.
Residents awoke from a night of colourful fireworks to find the city covered in a thick grey blanket of smog.
There have been several campaigns in the past asking people to use fewer fireworks during the festival, but these have not met with much success.
Despite the victory, Mr Sankaranarayanan was critical of the government's response to date, pointing out that other countries have tackled the pollution issue head-on.
"The first step in any of this is a source apportionment study over a 12-month period so you know exactly what is causing the highest levels of pollution over the year," he said.
"China did it when it was facing problems, Indonesia did it, Dubai does it - but we don't. And still to date, despite [Delhi] being called the most polluted city in the world, the government has not commissioned a source appointment study."


Italy needed a 91st-minute winner from Ciro Immobile to snatch victory over Macedonia in World Cup qualifying.

The Lazio striker headed home his second goal of the game in injury time having earlier equalised against the team ranked 146th in the world.
Ilija Nestorovski and Ferhan Hasani had given Macedonia a 2-1 lead following Andrea Belotti's opener for Italy.
Italy are joint top of their group on seven points with Spain, who were 2-0 winners over Albania.
In another Group G match, Israel beat Liechtenstein 2-1, with Brighton striker Tomer Hemed scoring both goals for the hosts.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic scored twice, and Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic netted the winner, as Serbia beat Austria 3-2.
Serbia lead Group D ahead of the Republic of Ireland and Wales.
Croatia top Group I after Juventus striker Mario Mandzukic gave them a 1-0 win in Finland.
Iceland are second following a 2-0 victory over Turkey while, in the same group, Ukraine beat Kosovo 3-0.
Match ends, Macedonia 2, Italy 3.
Second Half ends, Macedonia 2, Italy 3.
Milovan Petrovic (Macedonia) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Éder (Italy) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Milovan Petrovic (Macedonia).
Foul by Marco Parolo (Italy).
Goran Pandev (Macedonia) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
Foul by Éder (Italy).
Vance Sikov (Macedonia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Nicola Sansone (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Stefan Ristovski (Macedonia).
Goal!  Macedonia 2, Italy 3. Ciro Immobile (Italy) header from very close range to the top left corner. Assisted by Antonio Candreva with a cross.
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
Delay in match Martin Bogatinov (Macedonia) because of an injury.
Offside, Italy. Marco Verratti tries a through ball, but Marco Parolo is caught offside.
Marco Verratti (Italy) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Milovan Petrovic (Macedonia).
Attempt saved. Nicola Sansone (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner. Assisted by Marco Parolo.
Attempt saved. Marco Parolo (Italy) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Antonio Candreva with a cross.
Substitution, Italy. Éder replaces Andrea Belotti.
Substitution, Macedonia. Dusko Trajcevski replaces Ferhan Hasani.
Corner,  Italy. Conceded by Martin Bogatinov.
Attempt saved. Antonio Candreva (Italy) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Marco Verratti.
Attempt blocked. Leonardo Bonucci (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
Attempt blocked. Nicola Sansone (Italy) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Marco Verratti.
Attempt blocked. Ciro Immobile (Italy) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Andrea Belotti.
Foul by Andrea Belotti (Italy).
Daniel Mojsov (Macedonia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Goal!  Macedonia 2, Italy 2. Ciro Immobile (Italy) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Antonio Candreva.
Corner,  Italy. Conceded by Daniel Mojsov.
Attempt saved. Ezgjan Alioski (Macedonia) left footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Besart Ibraimi.
Corner,  Macedonia. Conceded by Andrea Barzagli.
Corner,  Macedonia. Conceded by Andrea Barzagli.
Attempt saved. Daniel Mojsov (Macedonia) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Besart Ibraimi with a cross.
Marco Parolo (Italy) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
Foul by Marco Parolo (Italy).
Ferhan Hasani (Macedonia) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Attempt blocked. Besart Ibraimi (Macedonia) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Milovan Petrovic.
Substitution, Macedonia. Milovan Petrovic replaces Ilija Nestorovski.
Attempt missed. Antonio Candreva (Italy) right footed shot from outside the box is too high from a direct free kick.


Production at Honda's factory in Wiltshire will go ahead "as normal," following a fire which left two workers needing hospital treatment.

Fire crews were called to the Swindon site on Saturday morning.
Four fire engines and an aerial unit dealt with a fire in the die cast facility which was evacuated.
A spokesman for the firm said: "A small equipment fire occurred...while routine weekend maintenance work was taking place.
"Two associates were taken to hospital as a precautionary measure."
He added: "There will be no adverse impact to production which will continue as normal on Monday morning."
The Japanese firm employs about 2,500 workers in Swindon, which is described as the "global hub" for Honda's five-door Civic model.


A new type of high-quality apprenticeship is to be introduced in England, with apprentices being awarded different grades according to ability.

These tougher apprenticeships were unveiled by Prime Minister David Cameron on a visit to BMW's Mini car plant in Oxford.
They will be offered by 60 firms from next year and will run in parallel with existing apprenticeships.
Mr Cameron promised the "best apprenticeships in the world".
The new apprenticeships are designed to raise the quality of the schemes and make them more straightforward for employers.
They are being brought in as a response to the Richard Review last year which called for the status and quality of apprenticeships to be much more clearly defined.
Apprentices completing their training will be graded as either pass, merit or distinction, giving a clearer impression of their level of achievement, rather than a simple pass or fail.
The new apprenticeships will be based on "rigorous independent assessment", with at least two thirds of the assessment taking place at the end of the training.
Training will have to last at least one year and must include at least 20% time away from where the apprentice is working.
There are also plans for apprentices to have English and maths at a level equivalent to a good GCSE.
The new system, beginning from the end of 2014, will be shaped around the needs of employers in specific sectors.
These will be aerospace, automotive, digital industries, electro-technical, energy, financial services, food and drink, and life and industrial sciences.
Among the firms supporting the plans are Airbus, Rolls Royce, BMW, Ford, Toyota, Microsoft, British Gas, Barclays, Unilever and GSK.
"The reforms we're announcing today will put employers in the driving seat and ensure that we deliver rigorous training that supports you and our economy for years to come," said Mr Cameron.
"I think apprenticeships can be a big part not just of tackling unemployment but also in making sure our recovery is for all.
"We've seen 1.5 million people start apprenticeships under this government, I want to make sure the apprenticeships are good quality so we are announcing new rules today to make sure that happens."
But Labour's shadow skills minister, Liam Byrne, said the proposals "don't go far enough".
"The number of apprenticeship starts is falling at a time when youth unemployment stands at nearly a million. According to the government's own research, one in five apprentices report receiving neither on- or off-the-job training as part of their apprenticeship, and 29% of apprentices receive less pay than they are legally entitled to," said Mr Byrne.
The national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, John Allan, said: "These schemes should be recognised as vital introductions to careers that can take an individual all the way to the top in the business.
"We hope the reforms announced today will strengthen and protect the image of apprenticeships which, over the years, has been damaged by constant change."
The reforms were welcomed by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development as a step towards making such vocational training becoming "as equally an attractive prospect to young people and their parents as a university education".
Adam Marshall, policy director at the British Chambers of Commerce said: "Empowering employers to set standards for apprenticeships is a positive step forward."
But while welcoming an increased emphasis on quality, Dr Marshall warned that a "one-size-fits-all approach will not work".
The Association of Employment and Learning Providers warned that the changes might work better for large employers and warned that the grading system was not "appropriate" and could create too much bureaucracy.


Safety concerns have been raised over a stretch of road in Gwynedd where two people have died in recent weeks.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas, AM for Dwyfor Meirionnydd, has written to Transport Minister Edwina Hart regarding fears over the A470 Dolgellau bypass.
The letter comes days after a motorcyclist was killed and weeks after a fatal crash between a car and a refuse lorry.
On Friday, three people were injured following another crash.
It is understood the incident, which happened at the junction of the A470 and A494 just after 13:15 BST, involved people laying flowers in tribute to motorcyclist Kevin Haddock, 56, from Birmingham, who died at the weekend.
In May, John Roach, 83, of Irlam, near Manchester, died after his car collided with a refuse truck.
On Friday, the road was closed in both directions at the junction of the A470 and A494 and one woman was taken to Ysbyty Bronglais hospital, Aberystwyth.
In his letter, Lord Thomas suggested extending the 50mph speed limit and introducing roundabouts at the A494 and A493 junctions.
A Welsh government spokesperson said: "A police investigation is currently under way into the accident on the A470/A494 junction last weekend and we are working with all concerned to assist the investigation.
"We are aware of an incident earlier today and are considering whether additional measures on this stretch of road are appropriate.
"We are committed to making Wales' roads safer and continuously monitor the situation across the network, including this stretch of road."


AP McCoy missed out on a winner but was saluted by a sell-out crowd as the 20-time champion jockey ended his racing career at Sandown.

Media playback is not supported on this device
The Northern Irishman came third on 5-2 favourite Box Office in his final race, won by 9-1 shot Brother Tedd.
McCoy, 40, had earlier finished third on Mr Mole behind winner Special Tiara in the AP McCoy Celebration Chase.
An emotional McCoy said: "It's amazing. I've been so lucky all my life. I'll never forget this day."
McCoy, who has ridden more than 4,300 career winners, added: "I want to thank everyone for coming. All my family were here and it's very special. An unbelievable day I'll never forget.
"There were tears coming back on Box Office. There were nearly tears going out on Box Office.
"I feel very lucky I have ended my career in one piece."
Discussing his record-breaking career, he added: "Someone's going to ride more winners than me. All records get broken. I hope I'm dead, though."
Jockeys formed a guard of honour amid huge cheers as the rider was honoured at the Surrey track.
Colleagues lifted the Arsenal supporter as he collected the champion jockey's trophy for a 20th and final time, from former Gunners striker Ian Wright.
The terraces around the parade ring were packed as a capacity crowd of more than 18,000 gathered, and a rendition of "For he's a jolly good fellow" rang around the stands.
Wright paid tribute, adding: "AP McCoy is made of something else altogether. For 20 years he has been at the top of his game, riding winners, week in, week out. I can think of no other sportsman or woman who can match his record."
McCoy has ridden in more than 16,000 races and suffered an estimated 1,000 falls in a remarkable career.
He did not compete in the feature race, the Bet365 Gold Cup, which was won by 17-year-old jockey Sean Bowen on Just A Par.
Bowen, tipped as a potential future champion, was completing a double on the day after victory on Lil Rockerfeller in the opener.
But there was a sad note to the afternoon for Just A Par's trainer Paul Nicholls when Rolling Aces died following the second race after collapsing on the walkway when returning afterwards.


Music streamed on sites like Spotify and Deezer will count towards the UK album charts from March, the Official Charts Company has announced.

The change comes after music streaming doubled in 2014, with 14.8 billion individual tracks streamed in the UK.
Audio streams were successfully added to the singles chart in July, when Ariana Grande scored the first combined sales and streaming number one.
Streams will be included in the album chart using a similar methodology.
Data will be counted from 23 February, and the first chart to include streams will be published on Sunday 1 March.
"It won't make a significant impact initially," said chart company boss Martin Talbot, adding streams would account for "an uplift of about 10% in the Top 40".
Instead, the move is intended to future-proof the chart "so it's ready to reflect changing consumption habits", he told the BBC.
Sales of CDs dropped by 8% in 2014, while streaming now accounts for 12.6% of all the music consumed in the UK - a figure that is set to rise again this year, with 1.5 billion tracks streamed in January alone.
Music streamed on eight different services (see table below) will now be counted towards the album chart, with the notable exception of YouTube.
Talbot said negotiations with Google's video streaming service were ongoing.
The BBC understands YouTube's data causes problems for chart compilers because it does not separate official, record label-sanctioned streams from user-generated videos.
However, the launch of YouTube's new music subscription service, Music Key, later this year could change that.
The move comes with the backing of the music industry, despite several high-profile artists expressing concerns over the royalty rates paid by streaming services.
Taylor Swift removed her music from Spotify last year, saying: "I'm not willing to contribute my life's work to an experiment that I don't feel fairly compensates the writers, producers, artists, and creators of this music."
Ed Sheeran took the opposite view, telling the BBC he "owed his career" to streaming services.
"I think Spotify are paying the right amount," he said. "We're just not seeing it, because the labels aren't making as much as they used to, so they want to keep a lot of the money that Spotify give them, and not pay it out to us. Which is the truth. It is the truth."
Adding streaming data to the singles chart has proved relatively straightforward - with 100 streams of a song counting as the equivalent of one purchase.
But turning streams into albums-related data is trickier.
In the US, the Billboard chart equates 1,500 streams of any song from an album to one sale.
However, that leads to situations where the popularity of one song pushes the entire album up the chart.
For instance, Mark Ronson's recent album Uptown Special sold 9,800 copies over the counter in its first week of release, but it made the top 10 of the US Billboard 200 with a final tally of 48,582 sales, propelled by streams and downloads of the hit single Uptown Funk.
The Official Chart Company says it will weight its data to avoid similar situations.
It will look at the 12 most-streamed tracks from each album, then down-weight the two most popular in line with the average of the next 10.
These streams will then be added together and divided by 1,000. This "stream factor" will then be added to the physical/digital sales of the album, to produce an overall "sales figure" that determines an album's position in the countdown.
"We're trying to do it the right way and make sure the album chart doesn't become a reflection of the popularity of Blurred Lines and Uptown Funk and tracks like that," said Talbot.
The BPI, which represents the music industry, welcomed the makeover.
"The Official Charts are the definitive measure of an artist's popularity in the UK, so it's crucial they keep pace with the different ways that fans enjoy music," said chief executive Geoff Taylor.
"The album is the ultimate expression of an artist's creativity, so we're delighted that fans listening to albums on streaming services will now be contributing to the Official Albums Chart."
"Reports of the death of the album have been exaggerated," added Spotify's Kevin Brown. "Indeed the majority of streams in the UK come from albums".
"We are delighted to see the consumption of albums by the millions of music fans on Spotify in the UK now being reflected in the Official Album Chart."


Tennessee officials on Friday raised the death toll caused by wildfires to 13, including a missing couple who were on a family holiday.

Jon and Janet Summers, both 61, died and their three adult sons were severely injured as they fled the fire.
The Memphis couple had been in the resort area for a birthday celebration.
Residents and business owners were being allowed to return to the city of Gatlinburg, where fires have raged all week.
Wildfires- Why they start and how they can be stopped
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters also announced during a Friday news conference that one victim appeared to have suffered a heart attack while fleeing the flames due to smoke inhalation.
"I can't describe to you the feelings we have over this tragedy," the mayor told reporters and politicians who had gathered for the press conference.
Authorities have also increased to 1,000 their estimate of how many structures have been damaged in the region.
Officials say at least 85 people have been treated in hospital, mostly for burns.
Bowing to pressure from home and business owners on Friday, city officials began to allow some people to return to the city.
Gatlinburg City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle says residents have to pass through checkpoints and show proof of ownership or residency.
She adds that the city has not been deemed safe, as power lines are still down and other dangers still lurk among the rubble.
Family members have also confirmed the death of Alice Hagler, who had been missing from Chalet Village, a neighbourhood of rental cabins.
John Tegler, 71, and Janet Tegler, 70, also died in Chalet Village, a medical examiner told the Tennessean newspaper.
The National Park Service has said the blaze was "human-caused" and probably began in the Great Smoky Mountains, American's most visited national park.
Most of the fires are now extinguished, due to heavy rains, but officials warn that sporadic flames can still be seen, and that the rain does not make up for the drought conditions that plagued the region all summer.
More than 14,000 people were forced to evacuate the resort city of Gatlinburg earlier in the week.
Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, home of country music star Dolly Parton's Dollywood resort, receive about 11 million visitors annually.
Dollywood, which was threatened by the flames but ultimately spared, was also reopening on Friday.
Ms Parton said she was "heartbroken" by the fires and that she was "praying for all the families affected".
She has set up a charity to help those displaced by the fires.


Eurostar has reported a fall in passengers using the high-speed rail service, saying travellers "remain cautious" in the wake of the Brussels terror attacks.

Passenger numbers fell to 2.2 million in the three months to the end of March from 2.3 million a year earlier.
Eurostar said "demand is dampened" and there had been a particular slowdown in travellers from the US and Asia.
Revenues also fell to Â£201m, down 6% from a year earlier.
However, Eurostar said it had seen a surge in ticket sales in recent weeks ahead of the Euro 2016 football tournament, with the opening day of the competition - 10 June - proving to be the busiest day as the hosts France take on Romania in Paris.
The company said it expected nearly 500,000 passengers to make the trip to the main host cities in France, including Lille, Paris, Lyon and Marseille, throughout June.
Eurostar chief executive Nicolas Petrovic told the BBC's Today programme travellers "remain cautious" following the terrorist attacks in Brussels in March.
While the number of people coming from the UK rebounded "quite quickly" after the attacks, those travelling from further afield still have not.
"People coming form North America and South East Asia, particularly Japan, are fearful of coming to Europe at all. They don't really understand what's going on and would rather go elsewhere altogether," he said.
Past experience suggested it would take 12 months for numbers to get back to normal after the attacks on the Belgian and French capitals, he added.
"Hopefully next year international visitors will come back,"
Eurostar's new route between London and Amsterdam, describe by Mr Petrovic as key to Eurostar's future growth plans, saw its new e320 train tested on the Dutch rail network for the first time last month. Services are expected to start at the end of 2017.


A man who absconded from Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee two weeks ago has been arrested in Glasgow.

Mark Chung, who officers had advised the public not to approach, was detained on Tuesday afternoon after a police operation in the north of the city.
He had been reported missing from Castle Huntly at 10:00 on 3 October.
The 41-year-old is being held in police custody and is expected to appear at Perth Sheriff Court on Wednesday.


Businesses in receipt of subsidies under the controversial Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) scheme have been given until early January to decide if they will allow their names to be published.

If they agree, both the company name and the name of its owner would be put on the public record.
Information about the accredited boilers and the amount of subsidy being generated could also be given out.
The Department of the Economy has sent a letter to businesses.
It said the step was being taken in the "interests of openness and transparency".
The department said it was "minded to publish the list of beneficiaries of the scheme".
Poor governance of the overgenerous green energy scheme has led to a potential overspend of Â£400m over the next 20 years.
It has resulted in huge political fallout.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has called on First Minister Arlene Foster to stand down pending an investigation.
Ms Foster has said she will not step aside.
She was the minister in charge at the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment when the scheme was set up in 2012.
A former DUP minister, Jonathan Bell, who took over the department claimed senior DUP officials interfered to keep it open in 2015 open despite mounting concern about its costs.
That allegation has been denied.
It was eventually shut in the February 2016 following a huge spike in applications in the autumn of the previous year as businesses rushed to beat a change in the subsidy rate.
In its letter to businesses, the department says the request for permission to publish the names of beneficiaries "does not of course suggest or imply any wrongdoing on your part in relation to the scheme".
The assembly meets on Monday to discuss the fallout from the scheme. Plans to limit future spending on the scheme which guaranteed companies generous subsidies for a 20 year term are expected to be outlined.
These will include measures to address any fraud that is identified.


Labour MPs have been accused of deliberately undermining leader Jeremy Corbyn by refusing to cheer him at Prime Minister's Questions.

Owen Smith - who is challenging for the party leadership - told The Guardian Mr Corbyn had let new PM Theresa May off the hook at Wednesday's session.
But Jeremy Corbyn ally Diane Abbott blamed Labour MPs.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme they had "sat on their hands" and sulked instead of getting behind him.
"If Owen Smith wants Jeremy to score over Theresa May in Prime Minister's Questions, he needs to talk to his colleagues," said the shadow health secretary.
"They refuse to cheer, they sit on their hands, they sulk, they chat among themselves, and some of these Labour MPs need to understand, it's not about supporting Jeremy as a person, it's about going into the chamber for Prime Minister's Questions and supporting your party.
"When Theresa May came in she got huge cheers from the Tory benches. When Jeremy came in there was silence."
She added: "If your own side isn't behind you it's really difficult to hit your stride. I thought he did fine but if Owen Smith is worried, first and foremost, talk to Labour MPs and get them to support Jeremy in the chamber."
Mr Smith told The Guardian he was "furious" about Mr Corbyn's "useless" performance at Wednesday's big set-piece event, which saw Mrs May make her debut at Prime Minister's Questions.
"Jeremy is just not up to the job of taking them on at the dispatch box. I don't think he enjoys it; I don't think he's robust enough at arguing Labour's case," he said.
Mr Smith said that instead of putting together a credible government in waiting, Mr Corbyn had made Labour a "laughing stock".


South African scrum-half Ruan Pienaar has joined French Top 14 side Montpellier on a three-year deal.

Pienaar spent seven seasons with Ulster and had been keen to extend his stay with the Belfast club.
But the Irish RFU told Ulster they could not retain the 33-year-old, claiming he was blocking the development of Irish-qualified players.
Pienaar has said he would like to return to Ulster in a coaching capacity at some stage.
On Tuesday Montpellier announced Pienaar had agreed a deal taking him up to 2020.
They have also captured French number eight Louis Picamoles from Northampton and New Zealand fly-half Aaron Cruden.