A new image has been created of the wreck of a Scottish ship used in the American Civil War.

Confederate forces acquired hundreds of Clyde-built boats because they were fast, making them ideal for evading Union ships blockading Southern ports.
The shipwreck off Oak Island, North Carolina, is a blockade runner called Agnes E Fry.
The image, called a sonar mosaic, was made following work by divers, sonar experts and archaeologists.
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has also released photographs of a deck light and what is thought to be the handle of a homemade knife recovered from the wreck.
The sonar mosaic will help archaeologists plan for further exploration of the wreck site.
Specialist divers from the Charlotte Fire Department and sonar experts from Nautilus Marine Group assisted archaeologists with the department of natural and cultural resources and the International Institute of Maritime Research to record the entire wreck site with a digital, sector-scanning sonar.
Agnes E Fry was launched on the Clyde under a different name, Fox.
It sank after running aground on 27 December 1864. Confederate soldiers defending the entrance of the nearby Cape Fear River were not thought to have salvaged the ship's cargo.
Union forces blockaded Confederate ports in an effort to keep supplies from reaching the South, and to prevent the Confederacy from exporting cotton and other marketable items.
Other Clyde-built ships acquired for blockade running included the Iona I.
It operated on a Glasgow to the Highlands passenger route before it was purchased by Confederate agents.
But it never reached the war as it sank in the Clyde near Gourock following a collision with another ship in 1862.


Some of the last remaining Jews in war-torn Yemen have been brought to Israel in a secret mission.

The Jewish Agency, which is responsible for Jewish immigration to Israel, said 19 people had arrived in recent days, among them a rabbi carrying a 500-year-old Torah scroll.
The non-profit organisation said some 50 Jews had chosen to stay in Yemen.
Since 1948, 51,000 Jews have emigrated to Israel from Yemen, which has one of the world's oldest Jewish communities.
Almost all of them were brought to Israel as part of Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 and 1950.
In recent years, some 200 Jews have left as attacks against the Jewish community have increased and the country has descended into war.
The Jewish Agency announced on Monday that the group landed in Israel on Sunday night following a "complex covert operation".
"Nineteen individuals arrived in Israel in recent days, including 14 from the town of Raydah and a family of five from Sanaa," a statement said.
"The group from Raydah included the community's rabbi, who brought a Torah scroll believed to be between 500 and 600 years old."
The Jewish Agency said attacks against Jews in Yemen had risen sharply since 2008, when Jewish teacher Moshe Yaish Nahari was murdered in Raydah.
In 2012, Aharon Zindani - whose son and four other relatives were on board Sunday's flight to Israel - was murdered in Sanaa and a young Jewish woman was abducted, forced to convert to Islam, and forcibly wed to a Muslim man, it added.
After the conflict between the Yemeni government and the rebel Houthi movement escalated a year ago, when a Saudi-led coalition intervened militarily, the Jewish community found itself increasingly imperilled and covert operations to spirit Jews out of Yemen were stepped up.
The Jewish Agency said some 50 Jews remain in Yemen, including approximately 40 in Sanaa, where they live in a closed compound adjacent to the US embassy and enjoy the protection of Yemeni authorities.
Both the capital and Raydah are controlled by the Zaidi Shia Houthi movement, whose slogan is: "God is great. Death to America. Death to Israel. A curse on the Jews. Victory to Islam."
Sunni jihadist militants from al-Qaeda and Islamic State (IS) have also gained ground by taking advantage of the unrest.
The Chairman of the Executive of the Jewish Agency, Natan Sharansky, said the arrival of the final group of Jewish immigrants from Yemen was "a highly significant moment in the history of Israel".
"From Operation Magic Carpet in 1949 until the present day, the Jewish Agency has helped bring Yemenite Jewry home to Israel. Today we bring that historic mission to a close."
"This chapter in the history of one of the world's oldest Jewish communities is coming to an end, but Yemenite Jewry's unique, 2,000-year-old contribution to the Jewish people will continue in the State of Israel."


Prosecutors have rejected a complaint from a church in the Dutch city of Tilburg after two actors were filmed having sex in the confessional box.

The video was posted on a Dutch porn website earlier this year.
Dutch authorities said the pornographic film was offensive but there was no longer a law in the Netherlands against blasphemy.
The priest at Saint Joseph's Catholic Church, Fr Jan van Noorwegen, said he was unhappy with their decision.
Another church official complained that there was something deeply wrong with the legal system.
The film appeared on Dutch porn star Kim Holland's website in January. She apologised and said the video had been made by an external producer and would no longer appear on her site, according to local broadcaster Omroep Brabant.
Fr Van Noorwegen then held a Sunday Mass seeking forgiveness for the desecration of his church. The church authorities took the case to the public prosecutor, which has now explained its decision not to take the matter further.
"We find it offensive and disrespectful, but we had a good look at the legal code and do not really see a criminal offence. Blasphemy is not a crime and there's no question here of anyone trespassing," said a spokesperson.
It is now up to the church to decide whether to take out a civil case over the video. While that is unlikely, one senior official at the church, Harrie de Swart, was astounded by the prosecutor's decision, arguing that the film-makers would clearly have had to climb over a fence to reach the confessional box.
"The justice ministry said we should have hung a no-entry sign on the church entrance. Then we could prosecute people who do this sort of thing. But it's absurd to stick that sort of sign on the door of a church," he told Omroep Brabant.
Fr Van Noorwegen was also worried about a precedent being set. "Just imagine, if it happens now in a church, a town hall or restaurant, clearly it can happen anywhere," he was quoted as saying.


E-cigarettes are likely to be much less harmful than conventional cigarettes, an analysis of current scientific research suggests.

Scientists argue replacing conventional cigarettes with electronic ones could reduce smoking-related deaths even though long-term effects are unknown.
In the journal Addiction, researchers suggest e-cigarettes should face less stringent regulations than tobacco.
But experts warn encouraging their use without robust evidence is "reckless".
Instead of inhaling tobacco smoke, e-cigarette users breathe in vaporised liquid nicotine.
About two million people use electronic cigarettes in the UK, and their popularity is growing worldwide.
The World Health Organization and national authorities are considering policies to restrict their sales, advertising and use.
An international team examined 81 studies, looking at:
Scientists say risks to users and passive bystanders are far less than those posed by cigarette smoke, but caution that the effects on people with respiratory conditions are not fully understood
And they say electronic cigarettes contain a few of the toxins seen in tobacco smoke, but at much lower levels.
They report there is no current evidence that children move from experimenting with e-cigarettes to regular use, and conclude the products do not encourage young people to go on to conventional smoking habits.
And their analysis suggests switching to e-cigarettes can help tobacco smokers quit or reduce cigarette consumption.
Prof Peter Hajek, of Queen Mary University in London, an author on the paper, told the BBC: "This is not the final list of risks, others may emerge.
"But regulators need to be mindful of crippling the e-cigarette market and by doing so failing to give smokers access to these safer products that could save their lives.
"If harsh regulations are put in place now, we will damage public health on a big scale."
Researchers conclude there should be more long-term studies comparing the health of smokers with e-cigarette users.
Prof Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who was not involved in this analysis, told the BBC: "Health professionals are deeply divided on e-cigarettes.
"Those who treat smokers with severe nicotine addiction see them as offering a safer alternative to cigarettes.
"In marked contrast, many others, such as the 129 health experts who recently wrote to the World Health Organization, are extremely worried given the serious concerns that remain about their safety, the absence of evidence that they help smokers quit, and the way they are being exploited by the tobacco industry to target children.
"This report concedes there are huge gaps in our knowledge - yet, incredibly, encourages use of these products. This seems little short of reckless."
Martin Dockrell, at Public Health England, said: "Increasing numbers of smokers are turning to these devices as an aid to quitting and there is emerging evidence that they are effective for this purpose.
"In order to maximise the benefits to public health while managing the risks, regulation of e-cigarettes needs to be proportionate and designed to ensure the availability of safe and effective products, and to prevent the marketing of e-cigarettes to young people and non-smokers."


A hospital trust "abdicated its responsibility" in finding out why a baby died six hours after her birth, an independent review has found.

Kate Stanton-Davies died after delays transferring her from Ludlow Community Hospital, in Shropshire, to a doctor-led maternity unit in March 2009.
Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) "failed to establish facts and accountability", the review said.
Chief executive Simon Wright apologised "unreservedly" for the shortcomings.
Kate, who had anaemia, was born "pale and floppy" and died after being taken by air ambulance to Birmingham's Heartlands Hospital.
Repeated signs the pregnancy was not low-risk were not picked up and her death was avoidable, an earlier NHS England-led review found.
Serious concerns about the fitness to practise of two midwives were also raised.
The purpose of the current review was to determine whether the trust fulfilled its responsibility to establish the facts about why the death occurred.
In conclusion, it stated the trust had not carried out a "robust managerial investigation", failed to hold staff to account and failed to address concerns raised by Kate's parents, Richard Stanton and Rhiannon Davies.
Without the couple's tenacity in seeking the truth of the circumstances, vital lessons would not have been learnt, the report said.
"For this, the trust is indebted to Ms Davies and Mr Stanton," it stated.
"The trust should work in partnership with Kate's parents to establish a fitting acknowledgement of the contribution they have made to the safety and quality of maternity services at SaTH."
Mr Wright from the trust said: "We fully acknowledge the failings identified in this report and the harm they have caused to Richard and Rhiannon."
Ms Davies told BBC News they felt they have had the answers for "a long time", but have been battling to get the hospital to accept them.
"Over the years, they have constantly been telling us to go away and that our concerns were unfounded," she said.


China's economy grew by 6.9% in the first quarter of 2017, according to official figures.

The growth rate, which compares expansion with the same three months in the previous year, was slightly higher than many economists had forecast.
State-led infrastructure spending and demand for new property helped drive the world's second-largest economy.
Last month China cut its growth target for this year to 6.5% from 6.7% in 2016.
China's National Bureau of Statistics said the economy maintained momentum from the second half of last year, "getting off to a good start in 2017 and laying a solid foundation for accomplishing the whole-year growth target".
Another set of data also suggests a rise in domestic consumption. February retail sales jumped 10.9% from the previous year.
While we should always remain sceptical of the Chinese government's GDP data, these figures suggest that growth is stabilising.
However, they also demonstrate that Beijing is relying on the same old tricks to drive its economy.
Government spending on infrastructure, a booming property market and taking on debt were all things China's leadership has pledged to move away from in the transition towards a new, modern, open economy.
Yet all three factors are still evident in this data, suggesting that the "old" model of growth that relies so much on the state is alive and well.
Debt is a particular concern. China's total and private debt is now worth more than 250% of GDP and looks set to grow. Analysts are divided about just how equipped China is to handle that much debt, but even the government has said the situation is not ideal and must be addressed.
The question is just how much political appetite there will be to accept a less-than-glamorous growth rate in a year when President Xi Jinping has arguably his most important party congress coming up.
China is a key driver of the global economy and its performance is closely watched by investors around the world. Its 2016 growth was its slowest in 26 years.
Hidenobu Tokuda of the Mizuho Research Institute in Tokyo said China should be trying to slow its growth rate in the long term, though "uncertainties remain high" about how that slowdown would happen.
Meanwhile Brian Jackson of IHS Global Insight predicted both industrial output and the property sector would slow.


Councils across England and Wales have called on the government to introduce a ban on the sale of legal highs.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said current legislation was "not fit" for tackling the growing numbers of deaths linked to the substances.
It wants the policy to be included in next week's Queen's Speech at the opening of Parliament.
A Conservative spokesman declined to comment but said a blanket ban featured in the party's manifesto.
Legal highs, described officially as new psychoactive substances (NPS), have been linked to a number of deaths from misuse.
They are not controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act, although individual substances, such as mephedrone, have been outlawed.
The LGA, which represents more than 400 local authorities, called on the Home Office to follow legislation introduced in the Republic of Ireland which bans the sale of all psychoactive drugs.
The association's Ann Lucas said legal highs were "untested, unpredictable and a potential death sentence".
"Nobody can be sure of their contents or the effects that they could have.
"At the moment, as soon as one is outlawed, another one with a slightly different chemical composition appears.
"We can't allow this to continue."
Several deaths in the UK have been linked to legal highs.
Earlier this month, an inquest found that father-of-three Thaker Hafid, from Cardiff, died after taking a legal high bought online from China that was five times stronger than heroin.
Legal highs are commonly sold online and in the high street in "head shops", where drug-taking paraphernalia is sold alongside legal high powders, pills and liquids.
Asked whether it would be more dangerous to put these products in the hands of criminals, Councillor Peter Fleming, of the LGA, said people were dying and getting serious mental health problems from them
"These are not safe drugs and should not be sold on the high street," he told BBC Radio Four's Today programme.
The LGA said councils spend Â£830m a year on tackling drug and alcohol misuse, with legal highs seen as a growing problem.
What are legal highs?
Legal highs are psychoactive drugs which contain various chemical ingredients, some of which are illegal and others which are not.
They cannot be sold for human consumption, so are often marketed as incense, salts or plant food.
Normally sold as powders, pills, smoking mixtures, liquids, capsules, or perforated tabs, they are designed to mimic the effects of illegal drugs such as cocaine and ecstasy.
Legal highs: The view from Brighton
In 2010, Ireland made it an offence to advertise, sell, supply, import or export a psychoactive substance, in an attempt to tackle a proliferation of "head shops".
Legal substances which affect the brain's chemistry, including caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and prescription medicines, had to be exempted.
Lincoln became the first local authority in England to ban people from taking legal highs in public within the city centre, a move recently followed by Taunton Deane, Somerset.
Both obtained public spaces protection orders under recent anti-social behaviour laws which allow councils to ban certain "undesirable" activities.
Other councils, such as Newcastle, have used licensing powers or trading standards regulations to restrict sales.
However, legalisation campaigners have previously argued further enforcement does not deter people from taking drugs.
A 2014 Home Office report found "no obvious link" between tougher laws and levels of drug use - although the prime minister said the research did not offer "specific conclusions".


There will be a fresh wave of strikes across the NHS in England in new year, it has been announced.

NHS workers, including nurses and porters, will strike for 12 hours on 29 January and again on 25 February.
Staff from 12 unions have already taken strike action in October and November this year as part of a long-running dispute over pay.
Meanwhile, ambulance staff in England and Northern Ireland are considering a two-day walk out on 29-30 January.
Ministers in England have awarded NHS staff a 1% increase, but only for those without automatic progression-in-the-job rises.
Automatic pay rises are given to about half of all staff. They are designed to reward professional development and are worth 3% a year on average.
An independent pay review board had said the 1% increase should be across the board.
Unison announced that its NHS members in England will walk out for 12 hours from 09:00 GMT on 29 January.
They will then work-to-rule between 30 January and 24 February during which they will work only their contracted hours, take all breaks and do no unpaid overtime.
Unison said this would be followed by a 24-hour strike on 25 February.
Christina McAnea, head of health at Unison, said: "Our members' pay has been frozen or held down for the past five years and there is no end in sight. On average, they have lost around 10% in the value of their pay over the life of this parliament.
"We now have no option but to escalate and plan for longer strikes."
The GMB says it is holding urgent talks to consider a two-day strike in the ambulance service in England and Northern Ireland on 29 and 30 January.
Rehana Azam, the NHS national officer for the GMB, said: "It is regrettable that GMB has no alternative but to escalate the strike action in the NHS.
"The Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, is acting irresponsibly with a continued entrenched position by not engaging in any meaningful talks with the health unions.
"Further stoppages across the NHS are inevitable should Jeremy Hunt continue to refuse to hold discussions to settle the pay dispute, a dispute created by him when he dismissed an independent pay review body's recommendation for NHS staff pay."
A spokesperson from the Department of Health spokesperson said the news of forthcoming strikes was disappointing.
"NHS staff are our greatest asset and we want to make the current pay system fairer - which is why we have put forward proposals that would guarantee all staff would get at least a 1% pay rise this year and next, but these have been rejected by the unions.
"We have taken tough decisions to increase the NHS budget, but we can't afford a consolidated pay rise in addition to increments without risking 10,000 frontline jobs."


Plymouth Raiders forward John Barber Jr says they aim to "do the impossible" by defeating heavy favourites Leicester Riders in the BBL Trophy final.

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Current holders Riders are on a 15-game winning run and have won the last 15 meetings between the sides.
Raiders are in transition, searching for their first silverware since winning the competition in 2007.
"Of course they're going to feel the pressure - they know what they're up against," Barber Jr told BBC Sport.
Find out how to get into basketball with our special guide.
"We're hungry. I like being the underdog - it's fine, it's perfect."
Though Plymouth have a wretched record against their opponents, American Barber Jr, 31, had success against Leicester last season for former club Sheffield, who beat them to the 2015-16 BBL Championship.
"I feel people are trying to make UK basketball bigger, like with the BBC Sport coverage - I think that's huge," added Barber Jr.
"I'm here to do the impossible. I see what we're doing mentally and I feel that us believing it and knowing we could win, is what's going to help us win."
The final is being held in Glasgow on Sunday alongside the women's equivalent, which Riders are also competing in, with both games being shown live on the BBC Sport website.
Leicester have lifted silverware in three of the past four seasons and sit top of the league table, while Raiders are down in sixth.
"We have played 28 games this season so far and have won 25," said Riders head coach Rob Paternostro.
"It will be a little different when we get there with the bright lights and atmosphere, but when the ball is tipped it will be pretty similar.
"We have a lot of guys who have played in these type of games before in our league and around the world. It's all about the day, and who comes up big when the lights are on."


A council beach sign sparked a few chuckles after stating dogs were banned until September 31, despite the month only having 30 days.

Thanet District Council has a dog ban on part of the beach in Walpole Bay for the duration of the summer.
The error, spotted by a couple of regular dog walkers on Wednesday, was made by the contractors who painted it on the ground, the council said.
It confirmed the mistake had now been corrected.
Dog walker Sally Waterfall said: "I was with a friend at the time and walked down to use the dog bin, and that's when I saw the sign. We just thought it was funny.
"It's been done in the past couple of days."
The original beach signs painted last August were starting to fade, and at least two were repainted with the incorrect date.
It caused a stir when Miss Waterfall uploaded a picture to the local Thanet Animal Lovers Chat Facebook group, and others soon commented, laughed and added snaps of their own.
"People initially asked me if it was Photoshopped because it actually looks fake," she added.


On Friday evening, residents of Cockermouth watched in disbelief and horror as floodwater once again returned to the streets of the Cumbrian town.

They hoped they had seen the back of the unwelcomed intruder that devastated hundreds of homes and businesses in 2009. They hoped the construction in 2013 of a Â£4.4m scheme - including the UK's first self-closing flood barriers - would have prevented such scenes from being repeated in their lifetime.
It did not. Why?
"The defences worked but the amount of rain, and the water in the river, overtopped them," explained Environment Agency director of flood and coastal risk, Alison Baptiste.
"Whenever we build defences, we build them to a certain height but that does not mean that will prevent flooding because you can always get water levels higher than that, in which case it will go over the top."
That is what has happened in Cockermouth, Carlisle and Keswick, she told BBC News.
Ms Baptiste explained the height of a flood defence was determined by a number of factors: "We aim to provide the best possible protection for a community that can be justified technically and economically and actually fits within the community.
"You could build walls higher and higher but that would effectively cut the community off from the river, meaning people would not be able to enjoy the river and the environment in which they live, which - most of the time - is flood-free."
When designing flood defences and their location, she said the agency used complex evidence-based computer modelling to help them understand how floods in an area would behave.
Once at-risk communities have been identified, the Environment Agency then has to prioritise where to build the defences.
"Through our modelling and our mapping, we identify the communities that are at risk. Those that are at highest risk are the ones we prioritise first," she explained.
As well as considering the number of homes and the economic activity in an at-risk area, the agency also considers the type of flooding - for example those in 2004 in Boscastle, Cornwall.
"It is a tiny community but the flooding was very deep and there was significant risk to life, so we also take that into account. It is not just the number of houses and the economic activity in an area, but also the impact on infrastructure and the risk to life."
The impact of Storm Desmond was exacerbated because the "exceptional" levels of rain fell on to already saturated land, the Met Office explained.
It said Honister in the Lake District, Cumbria, recorded 13.4 in (341.4 mm) of rain in just 24 hours, a record amount for the UK, beating the previous record set in November 2009.
This resulted in a vast volume of water running off the surrounding hills into the area's river systems, overwhelming communities' flood defences, even those recently improved after damaging floods less than a decade ago.
Royal Academy of Engineering fellow Prof Jim Hall said this was a reason for concern.
"The worrying aspect of these floods is that they are causing such severe damage even after major steps had been taken to improve the flood defences in Carlisle and Cockermouth and to improve the resilience of the nation's electricity infrastructure," he said.
"We know that there is always a chance that flood defences can be exceeded in the most extreme floods.  Storm Desmond means that we will have to re-evaluate standards of flood defence and then think again about what needs to be done to reduce the risk of major damage and disruption to flood-prone communities."
One method being explored is natural flood management. This approach is designed to reduce the flow of rainwater from surrounding hills into river systems, easing the pressure on defences further downstream.
The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 encouraged local authorities and land owners to consider this novel approach.
"With increasing changes in weather patterns and more frequent severe storms, we need to look at bigger opportunities to create more water storage further up our river catchments," said Roger Falconer, professor of water management at Cardiff University.
"These might include small dams in the headlands or working with farmers to build embankments around fields to store water during the winter months when cattle are housed indoors."
In urban areas, large areas - such as roofs, roads and driveways - are impermeable to water. The 2010 Act recognised the need for developers to landscape areas in a way that this water is absorbed into open ground rather than overwhelming drainage systems.
David Wilkes, global flood resilience leader at Arup, a built-environment consultancy, said that even with the best defences, it was not possible to stop all floods.
"It would be almost impossible and disproportionately expensive to build flood defences to protect against every conceivable storm," he told BBC News.
"But we can reduce and manage the risks and create resilient towns and cities, even if they are not completely resistant to flooding. Adaptations such as flood relief channels, hinged boardwalks that rise and fall with the water level, or even elevated housing with floors that "float up" to allow floodwater in and out quickly without causing structural damage.
"These may seem extreme but may be strategies we need to adopt to protect against climate change, because the impact is devastating for those affected as it disrupts our homes and way of life."
For businesses and homeowners in at-risk areas, the Environment Agency - via the gov.uk website - offers practical advice on how people can protect their homes and businesses from flooding, including an interactive guide on ways to reduce flood damage.
It also offers advice on how to develop a "flood plan" and what you and your neighbours need to do once a flood warning has been issued for your area.
The National Flood Forum, a charity that is dedicated to representing people living in areas at risk from flooding, has produced the "blue pages", which is an independent directory of flood protection products.


Sale Sharks forward Mark Easter has announced he will retire at the end of the season to take up a teaching role.

The 33-year-old, who is the younger brother of Harlequins number eight Nick, joined Sale in 2011 after six years at Northampton.
Easter won the European Challenge Cup and reached the Champions Cup final at Saints after joining from Nottingham.
"I've enjoyed my time at Sale, I didn't really want to go anywhere else," said the back-row forward.
"It was the right time to leave on my own terms, which not many people do.
"I've had the chance for these last few games just to enjoy and savour them and I've been really lucky."
He will now take up his teaching position at Wrekin College in Shropshire after the final game of the season at Newcastle on Saturday.
"The last few years, I've been tailoring my career towards teaching, so taking a few courses, getting into schools, teaching and coaching," he added.
"The opportunity just came up at the right time. It felt like the right time for me and my family."


If you were to survey followers of Spanish football on their player of the season so far, there is a good chance they would vote overwhelmingly in favour of one name.

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Not Ronaldo, Messi, Bale or Neymar but Luka Modric.
Pose the same question 12 months previously and Modric would not even be in with a whisper.
"Gareth is a a great player. He has everything necessary to be one of the best players in the world. It's all on him if he will reach that level. Today, Ronaldo is the best player. It's really difficult to reach his level, but Gareth has all the qualities. He is strong, powerful, quick and he has improved his shooting a lot."
Recruited by Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur for £33m in August 2012, the Croatia midfielder was in danger of being harshly written off as a high-profile, big-money flop.
Appearances were irregular under Jose Mourinho and some Real fans wanted him sold, with readers of the newspaper Marca voting Modric the worst signing of the year.
Fast forward to the present day and he is indispensable to Carlo Ancelotti, the hard-to-please Bernabeu crowd are chanting his name - they want Modric to wear the prestigious number 10 shirt instead of 19 - and the queue of suitors is growing. They could be waiting a long time.
Many, including former Real sporting director Predrag Mijatovic, believe the 28-year-old is now on a par with Cristiano Ronaldo as the club's most important player.
"I never considered leaving Real Madrid or that it was a mistake to come here," Modric, with a look of unbreakable self-belief, tells BBC Sport. "It was my dream come true when I signed for Real Madrid. I want to stay here for as many years as possible and, if it's possible, finish my career here.
"I really enjoy my life in Spain. Madrid is a big and beautiful city with great parks where I like to walk. There are a lot of squares and museums, historic monuments. But I'm more a home guy, I feel most comfortable there with my wife and kids. We play, watch cartoons, like all families do."
Modric has never been one to court publicity - "I don't like to speak much, I rather speak on the field; apart from Real Madrid TV this is my first big interview" - but when we meet at the club's Valdebebas training complex he could hardly be more relaxed and welcoming.
"It's good for the championship that more teams are involved for the title. Atletico Madrid are having a great season. Everyone is expecting them to fall down but they keep going. There are still a lot of games until the end and we have to continue playing like we're playing at the moment. It will be interesting. I think this March will be crucial for La Liga. It's always nice to have more teams fighting for titles."
His ripped jeans, shaggy hair and cheeky smile reflect a laid-back, unpretentious, likeable character who is quiet yet bubbly, private yet warm; a gentle Galactico with a kind, conscientious, intelligent personality that endears him to family, friends and the public alike.
But underneath lies an unmistakeable sense of grit and determination, a fierce desire to confound and triumph, all of which stems from a life of hurdles and challenges.
Modric was aged just six when his family were forced to flee their home in war-torn Croatia in 1991, moving into an army-owned hotel in the coastal city of Zadar. His father joined the military and his grandfather was killed. Money and food were in short supply.
With grenades falling on the local football pitches, Modric honed his skills in the hotel parking lot and there began his journey to the top, starting at NK Zadar and moving on to Dinamo Zagreb via loan spells with Zrinjski Mostar in Bosnia and Inter Zapresic back in Croatia.
His progress at Dinamo preceded a £16.5m transfer to Tottenham in 2008, although injuries and questions about his physical stature had to be overcome before he really began to shine.
"I have great memories of Tottenham," he says. "I spent four great years there with a lot of emotions, with a lot of love from the club and the fans. I enjoyed every moment with Tottenham. But in one moment you feel you need to take a step forward, to go to a higher level.
"I think it was the right time for me to go, but I will always be thankful to Tottenham for everything they did for me. I became a better player there and they pushed me to this level where I am at the moment. I will always be a fan, I follow them a lot when I can."
Modric politely asks if we can avoid discussing memories of his youth, but the emotion is still evident when he explains what it means to represent Real Madrid.
"I think 'unique' is the best word to describe your feelings to play for such a special club," he says. "From the first moment I arrived here - my presentation walking into the trophy hall at the Bernabeu and seeing trophies and pictures of the legends of Real Madrid, it showed me where I've come.
"I feel so proud of where I've come. All I dreamed of when I became a footballer was to play for a club as big as Real Madrid. It's maybe the most famous and best club in the history of football."
Not a bad move, then, for a 5ft 9ins midfielder who it was claimed during his time in the Premier League might be too "lightweight" to become one of the very best.
"People like to judge and make their own conclusions," Modric says. "I never cared what other people were saying about me - I had my aims, I believed in myself and never stopped. I've been through many difficulties in my life, but all these things made me a stronger and better person.
"All these critics push you forward to show people they are wrong. Maybe I look lightweight but I am a really strong person mentally and physically, and I never had any problems with my size."
This is a point illustrated by the fact Modric has made more tackles (56) than any other Real Madrid player in La Liga this season and his average number of tackles per league game (2.86) is currently higher than he recorded at the end of any campaign since leaving Dinamo.
And it is not only his tackling that has improved; since Ancelotti succeeded Mourinho as head coach last summer, Modric has developed a formidable central midfield partnership with Xabi Alonso and Angel di Maria, statistically improving virtually every facet of his game in the process.
Most notable is his passing, with the 878 Modric has completed in the opposition half of the pitch in La Liga easily the highest of any Real player (Di Maria is next with 650).
His passing accuracy in the league (90%) is the highest it has been since leaving Dinamo and the highest of any midfielder in Europe's top five leagues who have five or more assists this season. Modric's six assists already equals his highest for a league campaign since leaving Dinamo.
"I had some difficulties at the beginning," he admits. "I didn't have a complete pre-season - I trained on my own in London, I came later here and you need time for everything to get settled.
"That [Marca survey] didn't affect me at all. I knew sooner or later I would show my quality and show to everyone why I'm here, why Real made such an effort to bring me here.
"I had a lot of support from the ex-coach [Mourinho] - he did everything to bring me here and I'm grateful for that. At the beginning he was very helpful to ease my adaptation. By the time I was fit enough I started playing better and better. His tactics were never a problem for me."
If one moment of Modric's Real Madrid career to date resonates above all others, it must be his display after coming off the bench at Manchester United in the Champions League last 16.
"When I came on I changed the game, I scored that goal and after we scored another to win 2-1," he recalls. "That was the turning point for me and my career at Real Madrid. From that game, people started seeing why I'm here and my career at Real Madrid was all the time going up.
"I think both leagues are great. For me, maybe Spain is more technical and the Premier League is more fast and furious. From the beginning to the end of the game, the rhythm is really high, it's up and down and very quick and aggressive football.
"In La Liga it's more technical, but I heard a lot of stories that you have a lot of space, you can play easily - but it's not the case. There is not much space, especially when you are playing away from home and you have to be also strong not only technically but physically to play good in La Liga. It's not an easy league. But for me they are both quality, I can't say one or the other is better."
"I have big trust and big confidence from the coach [Ancelotti]. From the beginning he was clear with what he wanted from me and how important I am for the team. That helped me a lot and I could show my quality on the pitch.
"Last season I played some good games but our results were not following and that's why maybe people didn't appreciate my performance. This season, I am at the peak of my game and we have good results. We are fighting for all three trophies and I feel really, really good."
Real are level on points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, will face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final after becoming the first team in history to get there without conceding a goal, and face Schalke in the Champions League last 16.
Modric feels his team have the quality to win all three trophies but makes special mention of the Champions League - Real are desperately chasing 'La Decima', a 10th European Cup - and he is also itching to end the wait for a first major trophy of his career.
Not that the hard work would stop there.
"I'm living a very special time at the moment but this will only push me to give more, to not relax," he says. "Because this is the club where you can't relax. What was yesterday does not work for tomorrow, always you have to improve yourself because the crowd and the club are so demanding.
"I don't think any club is like here. They ask so much from you and that forces you to always be at the top of your game. The pressure is huge here. But I've never had a problem with pressure, I like pressure, pressure pushes me to be better."
Watch the full interview with Luka Modric on Saturday's Football Focus, 12:15 GMT on BBC One and this website.


Criminal justice experts have strongly criticised Scottish government proposals to reform the rules governing the automatic release of prisoners.

They claimed ministers had changed "beyond recognition" a bill which is currently before MSPs.
Initially it sought to end automatic early release for those serving sentences of more than 10 years and sex offenders serving more than four years.
Ministers now want to end it for all those jailed for more than four years.
Prisoners are currently eligible to apply for parole after serving half of their sentence.
They are released automatically after two-thirds of their jail term.
But in February ministers said all long-term prisoners should serve their full term and be supervised in the community on release.
They argued that the proposed changes to the Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill would punish serious crime and protect the public.
At the time, experts raised concerns about prisoners being released "cold" after serving all of their sentence in prison, rather than spending some of it supervised on licence in the community.
In a briefing to MSPs ahead of a final vote on the legislation this week, a group of academics and criminal justice charities claimed that there had been insufficient time to examine the new proposals.
They also criticised the "mechanistic" approach of reducing supervised release to just six months for all long-term prisoners, arguing that the fixed term was "arbitrary and not based on empirical evidence".
The critics, who include senior academics, Howard League Scotland and the Scottish Association of Social Workers, argued the proposals were likely to jeopardise public safety, as "rehabilitation and reintegration take time, especially where someone has been incarcerated for many years".
They wrote: "Proponents of the bill have failed to explain how moving from a compulsory supervision period that is proportionate to the length of the original sentence to a blanket six-month period for all long-term prisoners, regardless of sentence length, better serves the interests of public safety."
In conclusion, they said: "We can only draw the conclusion that this bill does not achieve its originally stated aims."
They said it would not reduce reoffending and would not improve public safety.
"Indeed it is likely to jeopardise both public safety and reintegration," they said.
"Furthermore, the bill misses the opportunity to better clarify sentencing and release policy.
"It may well be possible to combine the virtues of public safety with clarity in sentencing, but unfortunately this bill appears to achieve neither."
A Scottish government spokesman said: "The Scottish government has listened and responded to views during the passage of the bill.
"The Prisoners (Control of Release) (Scotland) Bill will, if approved by parliament, end automatic early release for all long-term prisoners with an extended sentence, and restrict automatic early release to the last six months of sentence for other long-term prisoners.
"This will help protect the public while ensuring a period of supervision in the community for all long-term prisoners leaving custody.
"The aims of the bill are in line with the recommendations of the Scottish Prisons Commission (2008), to 'target the use of prison where it can be most effective - in punishing serious crime and protecting the public'."


Aer Lingus lost up to 44m euros (£32m) from having a base at Belfast International Airport (BIA), its chief executive has told a court.

Stephen Kavanagh also said the airline only entered into a pricing arrangement for flying out of the airport.
BIA is suing Aer Lingus for £20m in damages over the switch to George Best Belfast City Airport in 2012.
Proceedings centre on a dispute over the terms of a deal said to have been reached back in June 2007.
It followed months of negotiations as the airline sought to establish a base outside the Republic of Ireland.
Issues under discussion were said to include charging rates and £900,000 in launch support for the three Airbus A320s over the first three years.
According to BIA, the airline then moved its Belfast operation in breach of a binding 10-year contract.
But giving evidence at the hearing on Thursday, Mr Kavanagh rejected that assessment.
Asked about claims his company was under an obligation to stay at Belfast International for 10 years, he replied: "Aer Lingus saw a pricing proposal, based on an initial three aircraft base.
"That was what informed our business case development and analysis, and that is the basis upon which we operated from December 2007 until we left Aldergrove.
"The pricing was adhered to and paid in full."
A barrister for Aer Lingus, further questioned him on a dispute over whether the airline suffered financially from its time at BIA.
"I can be absolute and categorical that Aer Lingus lost a significant amount of money in its operation at Belfast Aldergrove," he responded.
"In terms of our profit, the negative was 44m [euros]. In terms of those costs which directly applied to the operation of the base it was 21m [euros]."
The difference between the two figures was partly based on corporate overheads, he said.
"Without hesitation the operation was loss-making," he said.
"The objective was not just to avoid losses, the objective was to generate a positive return on invested capital.
"So, not only were we far short of breaking even, but we were very much failing in our investment proposition."
The judge was told the situation was in "stark contrast" to other Aer Lingus bases effectively subsidising losses in Belfast.
The airline chief said BIA was made aware of what was happening.
Out of nine routes launched at the airport, five were ultimately cancelled due to the losses, the court heard.
Mr Kavanagh described Aer Lingus's relationship with BIA during the initial years as a partnership both sides were trying to make work.
Referring to talks back in 2007, he said: "The discussions were based on pricing proposals [for] an initial three aircraft base."
The case continues.


Campaigners are calling for the introduction of "baby hatches" across the UK where desperate mothers can leave their babies in safety.

The call comes after a baby girl was found abandoned on a park bench in Edinburgh on Thursday.
Alley Lofthouse, who was herself was a foundling, said hospitals and medical units should be fitted with baby boxes like those used in Europe.
However, under current UK law it is illegal to abandon a child.
As many as 50 babies are abandoned in the UK each year, with some dying from cold or exposure before they are discovered.
'Secure and warm'
Ms Lofthouse, who runs the campaign group A Foundling, was abandoned on a doorstep in Grangemouth in 1967.
"I had no blanket, I was in a pillow case and I was literally hours old," she said.
"I had mild hypothermia. If I hadn't been found when I was, another hour or so and I would have been a statistic."
She said the baby hatches, built as a separate entrance in to a hospital or public building, would provide a secure way for mothers to leave babies safely and in secret.
"They are almost like an incubator in that they are heated and the mother can go in and put the baby in a secure and warm, padded incubator and close the door up," she said.
"It sets an alarm off, and on the other side a nurse or a clinician would come and take the baby away."
Baby hatches are widely used in European countries, since 1999 when they were first used in Germany.
Today there are around 100 of them in Germany, as well as in Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy.
Abandoning a child is against the law across Europe, but some countries have introduced amendments to protect mothers who use a baby hatch.
In Hungary, for example, the law was changed so that leaving a baby in an official baby box was deemed to be a legal act amounting to consent to adoption, while dumping a child anywhere else remains a crime.
Ms Lofthouse says the UK law should also be updated to make the hatches legal.
"In many cases, the police stress when they are appealing for a mother to come forward that she's not in any trouble, but they want her to seek medical attention," she said.
Also exist in Austria, Japan and the US
Source: UN Committee on the Rights of the Child
"I guess the police also maybe realise that the law is outdated and that people who abandon their children have a real need and a desperate need to do something like this."
However, one of the arguments made by those who condemn the system is that it may be men who are giving the baby away.
The critics say that baby boxes may be used by unscrupulous fathers or even controllers of prostitutes to put pressure on mothers to dispose of an unwanted baby.
Psychologist Kevin Browne of Nottingham University previously told the BBC: "Studies in Hungary show that it's not necessarily mothers who place babies in these boxes - that it's relatives, pimps, step-fathers, fathers.
"Therefore, the big question is: are these baby boxes upholding women's rights, and has the mother of that child consented to the baby being placed in the baby box?"
Professor Browne continued: "The baby hatch is so anonymous, and so removed from the availability of counselling, that it creates a damage and a danger to the mother and child."
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, has also previously expressed concerns about the idea.
It says that baby boxes are a throwback to the past when the medieval church had what were called "foundling wheels" - round windows through which unwanted babies could be passed.
Critics have also raised concerns that the baby hatches may encourage more mothers to abandon their children.
But Ms Lofthouse says she does not believe that it would have any impact.
"I can't see anybody being encouraged to abandon a child," she said.
"You have to be at the end of a very long tether to be in a situation where you abandon a child."


An 82-year-old woman was the victim of a daylight sex attack in Buckinghamshire described by police as "horrendous".

The woman was assaulted as she walked on a pathway near Buckingham Road, Bletchley, at about 13:00 BST on Friday.
A man pushed her to the ground and attacked her before walking off.
The suspect is described as white and in his early to mid-20s, with a large build.
He was wearing a black beanie hat, black jacket and black trousers. He was carrying a black rucksack over both shoulders.
Police have appealed for witnesses.


A holidaymaker shot in the head in Antigua could return home in the next two days after a £90,000 fundraising target was reached.

Christopher Tester, 37, from Torquay in Devon, was wounded during a robbery at his parents' restaurant on Christmas Day.
His sister, Vicky Tester, said he was still in an induced coma.
The crowdfunding campaign was set up as Mr Tester did not have travel insurance.
The fund is still accepting donations with a new target of £110,000 to pay for ongoing specialist care.
Mr Tester had being flown to the neighbouring island of Guadeloupe for specialist treatment.
Ms Tester said: "I really hope within the next 24 to 48 hours he will be back on the plane to the UK.
"It's absolutely critical he gets back to the UK. He's stable, he's extremely lucky to be alive, but he needs some urgent treatment.
"He's still in an induced coma now. They brought him out of the induced coma to see how he responded. He did say a few words to my mum and dad.
"I can't comprehend what my parents are going through. It's been extremely difficult for them. They're tough, I'm really proud of them."
Ms Tester said her brother had planned to spend three weeks with his parents on the Caribbean island.


Dustin Johnson held off the challenge of England's Paul Casey to win the BMW Championship in Carmel, Indiana.

American Johnson recovered from letting slip his three-shot overnight lead to card a five-under-par 67 and finish on 23 under.
Casey, who also went round in 67, was three shots back, with American Roberto Castro third on 17 under.
Defending champion and world number one Jason Day withdrew after eight holes with a lower back injury.
Scotland's Russell Knox, who shot a 71, finished tied for 17th on eight under and England's Justin Rose tied for 25th on six under after a 68.
Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell went round in level par to finish joint 42nd on three under.
Johnson's victory lifted him to the top of the FedEx Cup standings with one event to go.
It was the US Open champion's third win in his past eight tournaments and his 12th PGA title since 2008. Only Tiger Woods (18) has won more in that period, while Rory McIlroy has also claimed 12.
"I've got a lot of confidence in every part of my game - especially all the work I've put in on my wedges, which has really paid off this year - and this week a new putter that really worked," said Johnson.
After a second successive runner-up finish, Casey said he "ran into a buzz saw" against Johnson, who made six birdies and an eagle in his final round.
The top 30 players in the standings will now fight it out at the Tour Championship in Atlanta on 22-25 September for the $10m (£7.54m) winner's prize.


"Make no mistake, this is a crisis," said Labour's Angela Rayner, as MPs debated warnings that schools in England faced deep funding problems.

The shadow education secretary accused the government of failing in its pledge to protect school spending.
There were also calls from Conservative MPs for a re-think on proposed changes to funding.
But Education Secretary Justine Greening said schools were already receiving record levels of funding.
She told MPs that she accepted there were "cost pressures" but that schools had "significant scope for efficiencies".
But Ms Rayner called on the education secretary to tell schools how they should reduce spending.
"So what is your plan? Do you want schools to cut subjects, increase class sizes or make parents foot the bill?" she asked.
Labour MP Andrew Slaughter accused the education secretary of showing an "extraordinary degree of complacency".
Opposition MPs highlighted a National Audit Office report that schools faced £3bn in spending cuts and a forecast from the Institute for Fiscal Studies of an 8% real-term cut.
Ms Greening also faced some tough questions from her own backbenches.
They focused on the proposed National Funding Formula, which will overhaul how school spending is allocated, with calls for a "radical" re-think in how it should be calculated.
The new funding formula is intended to resolve longstanding anomalies in levels of funding.
"We know that parents and families see this unfairness playing out and it is simply untenable, I believe, to now stand up and say that these historical imbalances and differences in how we are funding our children across the country are ones that we should accept," said Ms Greening.
She said funding levels needed to keep up with changing needs - and gentrification in London meant that the number of pupils eligible for free meals had reduced.
But she heard dissatisfaction with the outcomes from a series of Conservative MPs, who had expected their local schools to receive a higher level of funding.
They called for changes to the plans, which are still under consultation.
And there warnings from the Tory backbenches that the current plans would mean teacher job cuts or even the closure of schools.
Neil Carmichael, who chairs of the Education Select Committee, suggested there needed to be a mechanism for a more substantial increase for schools in areas that had a long problem with underfunding.
But there were other Tory MPs who supported the revised funding levels.
Michael Tomlinson said the current allocations had no consistency or link to need but were based on "historical anomalies and that is why I wholeheartedly support the principle of fairer funding".
James Berry said the existing funding system was not fair - and that "whenever there is a reorganisation of a funding formula there will be winners and losers, unless we have a massive increase in funding to level up rather than level down".
There were complaints about the funding re-distribution from MPs with inner-city constituencies, which stand to lose.
Stephen Twigg, MP for Liverpool West Derby, said that 80% of schools in Liverpool were set to have budget cuts.
Labour's Angela Rayner described the changes as "robbing Peterborough to pay for Poole".
But the Department for Education said that in practice both Peterborough and Poole would be beneficiaries from the changes.
The dispute over school funding has been escalating - with head teachers threatening that they could have to start cutting hours or operating four-day weeks.
The Grammar School Heads' Association warned on Wednesday that they could have to ask parents for payments.


Spanish leaders Real Madrid returned to winning ways with a routine home victory over Espanyol, despite playing for almost 40 minutes with 10 men.

Following back-to-back defeats against Valencia and Atletico Madrid, Real responded quickly as £71m signing James Rodriguez stroked in from 15 yards.
Gareth Bale curled in a 20-yard free-kick, off the post, to double the lead.
Left-back Fabio Coentrao was sent off for a sliding tackle but it mattered little as Nacho slotted in the third.
Carlo Ancelotti's side are four points clear of nearest rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, with at least one of those sides poised to drop points when they meet in Catalonia on Sunday.
Real, who will have played a match fewer than their title rivals after the Nou Camp clash, have taken control of La Liga on the back of 12 successive wins.
Last Sunday's 2-1 defeat at fourth-placed Valencia ended their Spanish record run of 22 victories in all competitions, before they tumbled to another loss at neighbours Atletico in the Copa del Rey.
However, Italian boss Ancelotti insisted there was no cause for concern - and so it proved against mid-table Espanyol.
Rodriguez finished a classy move which saw Cristiano Ronaldo instantly pull back Bale's sublime cross-field pass into the Colombia midfielder's path.
Espanyol keeper Kiko Casilla was rooted to his spot as Bale whipped in the second, before Portugal defender Coentrao was harshly shown a red card after lunging into a 50-50 tackle.
But Espanyol could not take advantage of their extra man, with Spain defender Nacho drilling in Alvaro Arbeloa's left-wing cross at the far post for the third.


A blaze at an historic mansion on the outskirts of Dumfries is being treated as suspicious.

The flames engulfed an annex of the derelict Carnsalloch House at about 23:00 on Tuesday.
Three fire appliances were deployed to the scene, with water drawn from the nearby River Nith used to douse the flames.
Police said they are investigating the incident at the 18th century building.
Carnsalloch House owner Ian Foster said he was still seeking information about the blaze which had affected his property.
"Ever since we bought the house we have had problems with vandalism," he said.
"If it is the lower house annex then it is OK but if it has affected the house it will be a huge problem."
The incident comes with plans to re-develop the historic mansion at the centre of a planning deadlock.
The A-listed property is on the national Buildings at Risk Register, but planners have so far refused permission for a scheme to save it which involves converting the house into flats and building additional houses in the grounds.
The proposals are set to go before a local authority review committee next week.
Follow the latest in this story on our South of Scotland live page updated regularly between 9am and 5pm.


A £5m research centre which it is claimed will help Wales lead the genetic fight against cancer is being opened in Cardiff.

The Cancer Genetics Building, based at the University Hospital of Wales, provides extra space for the Institute of Medical Genetics.
The institute's work has already identified genes linked to bowel cancer and Huntingdon's Disease.
The new facility has two laboratory floors for diagnosis and treatment.
It is aimed at enabling further research into conditions like Tuberous Sclerosis Complex (TSC), a condition causing tumours in the brain, heart and kidneys which leads to epilepsy, autism and severe learning disabilities.
A team from the Institute of Medial Genetics was part of a group which first identified TSC genes, allowing trials for potential treatments.
Among those who hope to benefit from the centre is Trystan James, 24, from Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, who was diagnosed with TSC when he was eight months old.
His mother, Marie, said: "To learn that one's child has a serious genetic disorder, with all its implications, is a shock.
"To learn that the condition can be fatal, will probably result in learning disabilities, with the almost certain prospect of epilepsy, plus the prospect of severe facial skin problems, marring appearance for life is, to say the least, frightening.
"The course of the condition cannot be predicted.  There is as yet no cure. We can but cope from day to day to watch, care, hope and wait."
Trystan and his family have been invited to the opening ceremony on Thursday.
His mother added: "The advancement in research that the Cardiff team have developed is something we didn't dare hope would come in Trystan's lifetime."
Professor Julian Sampson, Head of the Institute of Medical Genetics, said: "The new cancer genetics building offers a real boost for our research and helps enhance our work unravelling the genetic changes and mechanisms that lead to cancer."
One of the centre's main aims will be linking two areas of research - genetic research that identifies DNA changes associated with cancer, and examining the effects of genetic changes on proteins within cancer cells.
Professor Ray Waters, of Cardiff University's School of Medicine, said: "Every day the body experiences millions of DNA damaging events within the cells that make up the body.
"We can repair much of this damage, but the precise details of how this happens is still unknown. If DNA damage is not repaired it can cause mutation and cancer."
The research centre is to be officially opened by First Minister Carwyn Jones.


Unbeaten Sussex held on for a comfortable draw against Kent in Division Two after being made to follow on at the start of day four.

Sussex had conceded a 242-run deficit and survival was their only objective on the final day at Tunbridge Wells.
First-innings centurion Ross Taylor (68) and Harry Finch (66) helped them to 255-5 before a draw was agreed.
Sussex have drawn eight of their nine Championship games in 2016, while Kent have eight draws in 11 outings.
Taylor, who added another half-century to the 142 not out he made in the first innings, is departing Sussex to join up with New Zealand on their tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.


Scotland's national shinty team are in confident mood as they prepare to defend their Marine Harvest title.

The shinty/hurling fixture is reverting to a one-off clash, which head coach Ronald Ross believes offers his men a chance to retain the winner's quaich.
"The first game we tend to do better because they've got to adjust as catching a ball is a big part of their game, kicking the ball too," he said.
"But Ireland get used to the rules, so it's more competitive in the second."
The Scots claimed a 24-14 victory in the first outing in Inverness last year, but late points at Croke Park four weeks later saw them lose the second leg while still winning on aggregate.
"Last year at home, we played really well at the Bught Park" explained the former Kingussie forward, who said confidence was key to them losing by such a narrow margin.
"It was really pleasing because normally, when it's a two-legged affair, the second leg we've really struggled."
He added: "We got the goals, we got the points and we had a good lead going into the second half but kind of tailed off a wee bit.
"These things tend to happen, you build up all that momentum and the second half is an anti-climax."
Ross believes his squad this year boasts a good mix and gives him plenty of options when it comes to team selection.
"There's competition for places up there, so if guys aren't performing and playing to their capabilities, we can make changes and that's important in shinty/hurling, because those 80 minutes are intense."
Some of the freshness will come from the new additions - including Newtonmore's Andy Mackintosh, Thomas Borthwick from Kingussie and Lorne Dickie, a Camanachd Cup finalist with Oban.
It is not often two sports can be combined so smoothly.
For this hybrid meeting, each team has 14 players and it is played for 40 minutes each half. You throw in, not up. Scoring varies from three points for a goal, two scoring off the ground from a free or sideline hit and a point for over the bar. And, for hurlers, there is no handling and no kicking the ball.
"The way they play, they attack the ball as they've got like a tennis racquet, so any balls played up they go and win in the air where normally a defender stands behind a forward on a Saturday, so our forwards have to adjust slightly," said Ross.
"We know it's going to be a difficult challenge."
Just as well they are coached by the man nicknamed "Ronaldo of the Glens".
Scotland's senior women's team will this year take the Bught Park field against Dublin's camogie team - the hurling equivalent played by women.
Head coach Stuart Reid explains this will be their biggest test to date "by a mile".
"Every year, we've played we've gone up the levels; we started off played Dublin's junior A team, year after that Down premier/junior, last year Kildare, who are intermediate and this year Dublin are bringing a mixture of their junior A team and their senior team, which is the top level," Glenurquhart player Reid said.
"The ultimate aim is to get an Ireland team to get over, but if we can prove ourselves at a senior level, that's all we can do.
"It'll be a massive test for them, it'll be the highest level they can face, but I'm pretty confident if we prepare them well, they'll be alright."
Kathleen "Missy" Cameron will lead the side in her third appearance for Scotland.  The Lochaber stalwart admits it will be tough, but the continued growth of the women's game means they have more strength in depth this year.
"We're expecting a hard, fast and physical game, as always with the Irish," she said.
"We played Dublin a couple of years ago and had a good start then they adapted to the game back and came back against us, so we'll be watching for that happening again."
Having put in a lot of work in training on their fitness, Cameron says their speed should work in their favour when it comes to the game, although she admits their Celtic counterparts will not make it easy for them.
"The defenders are going to have a hard time keeping up with their forwards, but we've got banks and banks of defence, so we should do alright," she added.
Scotland's men's under-21 side will also take on Ireland in a Shinty/Hurling International.


A man and woman have been remanded in custody charged with murdering a man whose body was found in a wheelie bin.

Police said "frail and vulnerable" Lurgan man Owen Creaney, 40, died after a "serious and sustained attack".
Stephen Hughes, 27, of Moyraverty Court, Craigavon, and Shauneen Boyle, 23, of Edenderry Park, Banbridge, appeared in court on Tuesday.
The court heard that, during police interviews, each claimed the other was responsible for the killing.
The attack happened on Wednesday night, but his body was not found until Saturday evening.
The bin containing Mr Creaney's body was found at the porch of Mr Hughes' home.
A detective told the court that officers had initially failed to find Mr Creaney's body after receiving a tip-off on Saturday around lunchtime.
Police later returned and looked in the bin after being given information by Ms Boyle, the detective said.
The judge refused bail, and both were remanded in custody to appear in court again later this month.


A man who threatened to kill a Labour MP in a two-minute answerphone rant has been spared jailed.

Geoffrey Farquharson admitted leaving the message on the phone of Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw the day before Labour's Jo Cox was shot and stabbed in June.
The call to his Westminster office, that ended with Farquharson warning "I will kill you", also included a homophobic remark about Mr Bradshaw.
The 37-year-old from Exeter was jailed for 12 weeks, suspended for two years.
Sentencing at Exeter Magistrates' Court, District Judge Stephen Nichols also gave Farquharson a restraining order that bans him from contacting the MP and visiting his Exeter office.
Judge Nichols delivered the sentence after considering psychological reports and hearing Farquharson described as "very vulnerable and lonely" by his defence.
Farquharson, who admitted sending a communication of an indecent or offensive nature, had introduced himself on the call giving his name and full address.
At an earlier hearing, his lawyer Sue Snow, said her client sounded "unbalanced and upset" as he made the call.  During it he can be heard calling Muslims "a problem" and making derogatory remarks about Mr Bradshaw's sexuality.
Speaking for the defence, Rob Jacobs said Farquharson had too much time on his hands to think and ruminate on his political views.
Mr Bradshaw said the death threat had been "a culmination of increasingly aggressive and threatening" emails, telephone calls and visits from Farquharson.
The MP thanked Devon and Cornwall Police for the "quick and efficient" way in which they dealt with the matter, but said he had received death threats and homophobic abuse before and had not been unduly worried.
He said while security was an important issue and sensible precautions had to be taken, he did not believe "100% security" was either possible or realistic for MPs.
"We wouldn't want that, because we want to be out and about in our constituencies, among the public, meeting people," he added.


The UN Security Council's Taliban sanctions committee has added the Pakistan-based Haqqani network, accused of attacks in Afghanistan, to its blacklist.

The network's Abdul Rauf Zakir, who has planned many suicide attacks, was also added to the sanctions list.
A travel ban, arms embargo and asset freezing are part of the sanctions.
It comes after the US said it had decided to designate the group a terror network, subjecting it to sanctions.
The UN said it was responsible for many of the highest-profile attacks in Afghanistan, including killing eight people in a hotel Kabul in 2008, and the attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul in June 2011, which killed 11 Afghan civilians and two Afghan policemen.
The Haqqani network was also responsible for the September 2011 attack against the US Embassy and the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul. Sixteen Afghans were killed in the 19-hour attack, including at least six children, the UN said in its listing.
The Haqqani Network has also been involved in a number of kidnappings, and has co-operated with the Taliban and other militant organisations in Afghanistan, it added.
The Haqqanis hold numerous Western, Pakistani and Afghan hostages, among them US army sergeant Bowe Bergdahl, 25, who has been held prisoner for more than three years.
Abdul Rauf Zakir is in charge of all operations in Kabul, Takhar, Kunduz and Baghlan provinces in Afghanistan, the UN said.
It said he was responsible for training recruits in basic small arms, heavy weapons, and basic improvised explosive device construction.


Look closely, and you might be able to see this new 'invisible' train, unveiled in Japan.

The train was designed by architect Kazuyo Sejima and has semi-transparent and mirrored surfaces to help it blend into the background.
The company who make the trains said that they wanted the carriages to feel like a living room, so that passengers can feel relaxed.
It's expected to be rolled out in 2018.
Japan often uses the latest technology on its trains, which are considered some of the best and quickest in the world.


A moped gang armed with knives and an axe has been intercepted by police in a "terrifying" attempt to rob a luxury watch store in central London.

Four officers were injured when the Met's Flying Squad swooped on the men in Piccadilly at 11:25 BST.
A Taser was discharged several times and the policemen were hurt as the men tried to escape on mopeds.
Four men have been arrested and are being held at London police stations.
A Met Police spokesman said three officers suffered minor injuries and the fourth is in hospital in a serious condition.
Store owner Avi Reed said the gang smashed a glass cabinet, causing more than Â£300,000 of damage,
Mr Reed said police contacted them at the Chronext store earlier to warn them that there might be a robbery, and the shop was closed to protect customers.
He said: "At about 11:30 we saw three guys, they had helmets on. One tried to smash the door with a hammer. The glass didn't break as it's protected but he managed to get in.
"Another guy had an axe and managed to smash a cabinet, while the other stayed on the motorbike. They caused enormous damage."
Mr Reed praised the actions of the "amazing" police.
Det Supt Craig Turner, said: "Our officers are absolutely committed to keeping London safe and target the criminals who pose a danger to Londoners and our city businesses day in, day out.
"They know that this work carries with it very real risks and dangers but take this in their stride as part of serving the public.
"However, today's events highlight how the reckless behaviour of those determined to evade justice, heedless of the consequences, can have a real impact on all those involved."
Piccadilly was closed eastbound at Hyde Park Corner for about six hours while investigations were carried out.


Ivorian fashion designer Loza Maleombho is in the spotlight after one of her designs was spotted in Beyonce's latest music video.

24 February 2016 Last updated at 08:56 GMT
The outfit is worn by a dancer in the video for the US singer's song Formation.
Ms Maleombho started her fashion brand in New York, but later relocated production to Ivory Coast.
Her designs are now stocked in Nigeria, the UK and the US.
Women of Africa is a BBC season recognising inspiring women across the continent. The second series, Africa's New Businesswomen, introduces eight female entrepreneurs who are finding success in their country - and beyond.
Read more here.


Tests for cancer diagnosis are under threat as labs struggle to cope with rising demand, a charity says.

Without more staff to meet the demand, long waits for test results could become the norm, says Cancer Research UK.
One in two of us will have cancer at some point, and getting it diagnosed early is vital.
The government says it is investing in cancer services, which includes having the right number and mix of staff.
According to the report:
Cancer Research UK says that in the next five to 10 years there will be a shortage of consultants across all areas of pathology.
It says the same problem applies to other cancer diagnosis services such as scans and endoscopies.
Prof Manuel Salto-Tellez, a Cancer Research UK pathology expert, said: "We need to act now before this situation gets worse. It's vital that patients are diagnosed at an early stage when treatment is more likely to be successful and pathology plays a crucial role in this.
"The number of cancer cases diagnosed each year is set to rise and the already stretched pathology services won't cope unless we ensure more people are trained and employed in pathology. We must also make sure that existing staff have the support they need to do their job."
Dr Suzy Lishman, president of the Royal College of Pathologists, said: "Having the right staff with the right skills will make sure people referred for cancer tests are diagnosed as quickly and accurately as possible."
There were around 352,000 new cancer diagnoses in the UK in 2013. Cancer Research UK estimates this will rise to 500,000 a year by 2035.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: "Early and fast diagnosis is crucial in improving patient outcomes and experience. Getting pathology test results to patients quickly is a key part of this. That's why we have invested over Â£2.5bn on efficient and robust pathology services across the NHS."


Doncaster Rovers Belles have signed Liverpool and England Under-19 defender Maz Pacheco on loan until the end of the Women's Super League season.

Pacheco, 17, has made three appearances this season for Liverpool, who are fifth in the WSL One table.
Doncaster are currently bottom of the league, having failed to pick up a point from their opening four games.
"She's an extremely exciting and talented young player," Belles manager Emma Coates told the club website.


Over 3,000 lives are lost to stillbirth a day across the world - most of which are preventable, according to studies published by The Lancet.

Two-thirds of last year's 2.6 million stillbirths were in Africa.
Half of stillbirths happen during labour as a result of preventable conditions, notably syphilis and malaria, they add.
The studies argue stillbirths are preventable through high-quality antenatal care.
The studies say there is a widespread belief that stillbirths are due to birth defects and are unavoidable.
However, it points out that this only accounts for 7.3% of stillbirths after 28 weeks.
They ranked the three countries with the highest rates of still births as Pakistan, followed by Nigeria and Chad.
A notable exception is Rwanda, which the studies point out was able to reduce the number of stillbirths.
Source: The Lancet


The BBC's fifth Price of Football survey will come as encouraging news to the many fans who have grown used to the price of their loyalty consistently rising.

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The fact the cost of watching football in Britain has mostly remained the same or even become cheaper, suggests pressure from supporters and government has finally had an impact after the ticket price inflation of recent seasons, along with clubs becoming more prepared to pass on more of their ever-increasing broadcast rights revenues to their customers.
However, it appears the sport is still becoming more expensive for the poorest fans who want to go and watch occasional matches.
The average price of the cheapest match-day ticket has gone through the £30 barrier for the first time in the Premier League, a rise of 6.5%. Across the top five leagues of English football the cost is £22. And while inflation seems to have eased for season tickets, fans still face increasing expense when it comes to official merchandise.
Last year, the then sports minister Helen Grant told me she was "cross and concerned" about ticket prices, and asked clubs to review their customer strategy after it was revealed the average price of the cheapest tickets had risen at almost twice the rate of inflation since 2011.
That led to fears that clubs had lost touch with some fans, and ran the risk of pricing some traditional supporters out of the game, along with younger fans. It looks like that message has partially got through, because we now learn that 70% of tickets (two-thirds in the Premier League) have been frozen or even reduced this year.
Click here to play with the Price of Football calculator and see what your support is costing you.
The Premier League has grown increasingly frustrated with surveys focusing on ticket prices, believing they are too simplistic and fail to take into account the complexities of pricing structure, along with various initiatives.
They also point to the fact that crowds are as healthy as ever, with record 96% occupancy at stadiums and that 40% of those attending are aged 18-34.
Hence, the Premier League recently published its own research, showing that season ticket holders - who make up two-thirds of top-flight crowds - paid an average of £32.50 for adults and just £10 for juniors.
The Football League also says it rewards loyalty with average price paid per spectator as low as £14 across the 72 member clubs.
Some clubs do more than others, of course. At Everton for example, the average price for a season ticket has fallen in real terms by 23% over the last 10 years, with under-11s paying just £5 per game.
Some will see that all this as decent value for one of the most compelling leagues in the world, comparing favourably with other sporting events and entertainment.
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Others, however, will argue that in a period of almost zero inflation, and after the Premier League announced the biggest TV deal in football history in February, worth some £5.136 billion (a 70% increase), freezing ticket prices is the least they should be doing.
This all comes at a time of continued anger by some fans at the prices they are expected to pay. In 2013, Man City supporters protested at being charged £62 for tickets at Emirates Stadium, and there have been a number of demonstrations and marches at spiralling costs ever since.
The Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) has been calling for more affordable tickets with its 'Twenty's Plenty' campaign, designed to lobby clubs to cap prices for away fans at £20.
Swansea City already caps away tickets for their supporters at £22, with other clubs committing to a range of reciprocal deals over certain fixtures. The FSF says if each club contributed £1m per season, its £20 price target could be met for all away fans. It also says that the Premier League clubs should use some of the £24m they saved on unpaid parachute payments to Norwich City, after the club bounced back to the Premier League following relegation.
To be fair, the Premier League has listened. This is the third season of its Away Fans Fund, which sees each club set aside £200,000 every year to help subsidise tickets and transport costs for travelling supporters.
The FSF says it is pleasantly surprised by the way the clubs have engaged, and £738,000 has now been saved for the country's 70,000 Premier League regular away fans through the scheme. That works out at about £10 for each supporter.
However, at a time when some top players get paid £200,000 for around five days work, and when the cost of watching live football on TV is more expensive than anywhere else in Europe, the FSF now wants the Premier League to go much further.
It makes the point that the additional revenue from the £5bn domestic television deal alone (with the forthcoming overseas TV deal expected to result in an another £3bn) equates to £46 for every fan at every game.
There is mounting evidence, however, that the Premier League is willing to redistribute more of its wealth and play a greater role in society.
Although some want more, clubs have committed to share £1bn over the three years of the new TV deal, with 'fan engagement' one of five areas set to benefit.
Clubs have already promised to pay the living wage for their staff, improve facilities for disabled fans, and have agreed to expand a school sport programme to every primary school in England and Wales. I'm told the clubs intend to do more to help with ticket affordability but want to wait to see how much is generated from their overseas TV rights deal, and the result of an Ofcom investigation into how those TV rights are sold.
But the price of football is about more than just tickets.
The BBC study found that the 20 Premier League clubs brought out 50 new strips this season - 10 clubs putting new third kits on sale.
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All the teams now change their strips each year. The average cost of an adult shirt in the Premier League is now almost £50 thanks to a 4.82% increase in the average price this season, with 10 clubs putting their prices up. A full adult strip at Manchester United would set you back £118 (a junior kit is £103).
The clubs say this is driven by consumer demand, but others believe supporters are being taken advantage of.
The top clubs have to compete with wealthy European rivals like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris St-Germain for the world's best playing talent, and after another season of disappointing Champions League performances by English representatives, the need to maximise match-day revenue to sustain on-field performance is a persuasive one. After all, the clubs are businesses, geared to providing the best football competition, not charities.
On the other hand, critics can point to the £115m that clubs paid in agents' fees last year alone, and are entitled to ask whether ticket prices are still too expensive, especially when compared to some leagues abroad, including Germany and Spain - where a season ticket at Barcelona can be picked up for as little as £78 (on top of an annual membership fee).
Many feel that football is unlike any other business and fans should be treated as more than mere customers. If you have been brought up as a loyal follower of a club, it is not easy to just switch allegiance to an alternative football provider. Some think the clubs need to remember that.
Prepare for the protests to continue, regardless of the price freezes that this year's fifth BBC annual study has revealed.
You can download the full results for 2015 here (pdf 536 KB).


A Dumfries school for children with severe and complex needs could be relocated to a new "learning campus" under new council plans.

The existing Langlands School building, which is based at Loreburn Park, is in a poor condition, according to the education department.
They have proposed moving it to a new joint campus serving the north-west of the town.
It is part of a wider scheme known as a the Dumfries Learning Town project.
According to a report to Dumfries and Galloway Council's education committee, the school for secondary age pupils would be known as New Langlands School.
It would be part of a campus at Alloway Road which would also incorporate Maxwelltown High School, and Lochside and St Ninian's primaries.
Officers have recommended a formal consultation on the plan.
They said parents and staff have reacted positively to the proposal during initial informal discussions.


Lord Grabiner has become the second peer in recent days to resign the Labour whip in the Lords.

The barrister and master of Clare College Cambridge will remain a party member but will sit as a crossbencher.
He told the Times Jeremy Corbyn's proposals were "terribly damaging".
It comes five days after former junior health minister Lord Warner resigned the Labour whip, saying the party did not have a "hope in hell" of winning power under its new leader.
Lord Grabiner said Labour was now in "disarray" and that he could not "square [staying] with my conscience".
He added: "I have nothing in common whatever with Mr Corbyn and I don't believe we are ever going to win an election."
He also said he was particularly concerned about John McDonnell's appointment as shadow chancellor.
"I am concerned with the economic stuff. I am really concerned with the shadow chancellor," he declared.
Former Labour cabinet minister Lord Mandelson has also criticised Mr Corbyn. Speaking on the BBC's Week in Westminster programme, he said the Labour leader was not "growing into the job at all".
Mr Corbyn was not showing "any professionalism in his leadership of the Labour party", and had made poor choices in his appointment of senior staff in his team, he said.
A Labour spokesman said of the peer: "We welcome Tony's continued membership and support of the party.
"We know he has been increasingly busy and less able to attend the Lords to participate in House business and we of course understand his decision to relinquish the Labour whip".
The spokesman also said Lord Grabiner had not voted in the Lords since 2013.


Four men have admitted involvement in a major disturbance which erupted as a protest against the Gaza conflict passed by people drinking in Cardiff.

Bar stools and glasses were thrown as 1,500 people opposed to Israel's military action took part in a march.
Nicholas Carter, 31, and John James Williams, 32, both of Bargoed, and Ahsan Malik, 56, of Aberdare, pleaded guilty to violent disorder .
Daniel Smout, 25, of Oswestry, Shropshire, admitted affray.
Prosecutor Huw Evans told Cardiff Crown Court it would be alleged that Smout started off the incident on 26 July by throwing a glass near the Mill Lane area.
Four other men pleaded not guilty to violent disorder and will go on trial in June.
Smout, Carter, Malik and Williams were told they would be sentenced at the end of that trial.
A ninth man was not asked to enter a plea and will make a separate court appearance in May.


Four special £5 notes, engraved with a tiny portrait of author Jane Austen, are being put into circulation and could be worth more than £20,000.

The first of four notes featuring art by specialist micro-engraver Graham Short was spent in Kelso in the Scottish Borders on Monday.
Three more notes will be spent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland this week.
Mr Short's last work, a portrait of the Queen on a pinhead, sold for £100,000.
The artist came up with the idea of engraving a 5mm portrait of Pride and Prejudice author Jane Austen on the transparent part of the new plastic Bank of England £5 notes, to mark the 200th anniversary of Austen's death next year.
He has included a different quote around each one, ensuring that each note is unique.
Anyone finding one of the notes has been advised to contact the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery in Kelso, which launched the project.
Mr Huggins-Haig told BBC Scotland that the notes could be worth tens of thousands of pounds at auction.
He said: "All of Graham's work has an insurance valuation of about £50,000 at the moment. It's a reasonable estimate."
The artist and the gallery owner decided that rather than auction the notes globally, they would simply hand them out secretly and - after launching new art collections in Kelso at the weekend - the first one was spent in a nearby shop.
"I do know that the place that it was spent in haven't got a clue that it was spent in there," said Mr Huggins-Haig.
"It was spent somewhere where everybody goes in. It is not a chain, it was a local business."
He has sold Mr Short's work for some time and said they came up with the idea in an effort to take art out to a wider audience.
"Only 5% of people ever visit an art gallery," he said.
"How do we get art out and make it accessible to all?
"These notes are spent everywhere, so anyone has a chance of winning."
He said if someone with a special note contacted the gallery they would provide advice on how to put the artwork up for auction.
The owner of the note could also hold on to it in the hope it increased in value.
"It is very much the Willy Wonka golden ticket," said Mr Huggins-Haig.
"I would like them to keep it, because it is a work of art, but it is up to them.
"They could sell it or they could hold on to it - they own it when they find it."
The Birmingham-born artist said he was always looking to do "something different" and as soon as he saw the new £5 notes he was keen to engrave something on one.
"I didn't know what but then I found out it was going to be the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death and her image is also going on the new £10 note, so it ties in nicely with that," said Mr Short.
"The beauty of this is that you can't see the engraving at all, but when you turn the note and the light comes at a different angle it appears. I call it invisible engraving."
The four notes have the serial numbers AM32 885551, AM32 885552, AM32 885553 and AM32 885554.
The Bank of England's website states that it is illegal to deface bank notes under the Currency & Banknotes Act 1928.
It says it is against the law to "deface our banknotes (by printing, writing or impressing upon them words, letters or figures, etc.), although the question of whether or not to prosecute in individual cases is up to the police and the courts".
In a statement, the gallery said it had contacted the Bank of England, which informed them that the notes were still legal tender.
It went on: "When it comes to the idea that this is currency defacement, it may well be in the eyes of the Bank of England, but to Graham and us at the gallery, we haven't done this maliciously, we've joined together for this event to bring goodwill to those lucky enough to find the notes."
They said their only motive was to spread "good faith and happiness" through the country.


Reports from the Championship as Newcastle secure their first win of the season against Reading while Barnsley seal a late win over QPR.

Barnsley 3-2 Queens Park Rangers
Cardiff City 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Newcastle United 4-1 Reading
Aston Villa 1-1 Huddersfield Town
Brentford 1-0 Nottingham Forest
Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 Rotherham United
Burton Albion 3-1 Sheffield Wednesday
Leeds United 1-1 Fulham
Norwich City 1-0 Bristol City
Preston North End 0-1 Derby County
Wigan Athletic 1-1 Birmingham City
Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Ipswich Town
Midweek reports for League One,League Two and the National League


Worcester Warriors director of rugby Dean Ryan has expressed his concerns over reports linking Premiership side Wasps with a move to the Midlands.

After 12 years at Adams Park, the near-century old rugby club are understood to have considered a move to Coventry's Ricoh Arena, where they once played a Heineken Cup game in 2007.
"I don't know how feasible the story is," Ryan said.
"To plonk a Premiership club in there would create enormous challenges."
Having failed to find a new home close to their current base, sharing with Wycombe Wanderers, Wasps are also reported to have looked at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium - primarily an athletics venue.
Both grounds would be in Worcester's catchment area, from the point of view of both spectators and future rugby players. And that would also, argues Ryan, be a concern for Premiership sides Leicester and Northampton, who also target the Coventry and Warwickshire area from the east side of the Midlands.
"I can't imagine we're the loudest voice," Ryan told BBC Hereford & Worcester.
"There'd be two major players on the other side of Warwickshire with louder voices than us, who won't be over the moon about it either.
"We're investing a lot of money in the region. We've got an academy. We're all working for the same thing. We have support that comes from that area and kids who come from that area. Warwickshire has been over the years a productive source for us.
"I can't quite see the merits of this, other than purely commercial for Wasps' first team.
"If it was to be a realistic story, there would have to be an opportunity to talk about how that's been allowed, why it's been allowed or whether it would be allowed.
"There are other considerations that need to be made."
A club statement, released by Wasps last week, said: "Wasps are aware of media reports in recent days linking the club to a number of possible new stadiums.
"Wasps has made no secret of a desire to find a permanent home which reflects the ambitions of the club. We can confirm that search for a permanent home is continuing. However, all discussions are subject to confidentiality requirements and are therefore commercially sensitive.
"We appreciate speculation may be unsettling for our supporters and assure them we are working hard behind the scenes to secure the long-term success of the club and finding a new home we can all be proud of."
Ryan added: "Wasps seem to have struggled to find a home for a long time.
"Going back to my day, you'd need to be a very enthusiastic Wasps supporter to keep wandering around and following them."


Wales' record international try-scorer Shane Williams has completed a U-turn on his rugby retirement and will play for a Japanese side next season.

The 35-year-old wing has signed for the Mitsubishi Dynaboars in Division Two of the Japanese League on a one-year deal.
Williams scored twice in his final competitive game as Ospreys .
"It was a last-minute offer that I had to give great thought to in a short space of time," Williams told Twitter.
"Really looking forward to this exciting venture."
Williams announced his  in February after he turned down Ospreys' offer to extend his playing career with the Welsh region to a 10th season.
The 2008 International Rugby Board player of the year  in December, with 58 tries in 87 games for his country and two in four Tests for the British and Irish Lions.
Williams signed off from the international stage in typical fashion, scoring a last-gasp try in the  in Cardiff on 3 December.
The double-Grand Slam winner was also Ospreys' record try-scorer, with 57 touchdowns in 141 matches, and scored late on in his last game for both club and country.
But Williams' final appearance in Europe was for the Barbarians in their  in Cardiff on 2 June.
He was expected to continue his association with the Ospreys next season by  with the Liberty Stadium club but the Welsh region have released him for this "once in a lifetime" opportunity.
An Ospreys statement said: "Taking into account his fantastic service to the Ospreys, we understand that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Shane and his family to experience a new culture and life in a new country and will not stand in his way.
"We wish them the best of luck in Japan and look forward to welcoming Shane back to Ospreylia upon completion of his playing commitments, when he will continue to represent the region with distinction off the field."
Williams is second in international rugby's all-time try-scoring list behind Australian wing David Campese.
And the legendary wing follows former Ospreys team-mates Jerry Collins and Filo Tiatia, who joined Yamaha Jubilo and Toyota Verblitz respectively in 2011, to Japan.


Seven people have been killed and 15 wounded in a bomb attack on the offices of an Iranian Kurdish opposition party in northern Iraq, security sources say.

A parked motorcycle and an explosive device were detonated late on Tuesday next to the headquarters of the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDK) in Koy Sanjaq, east of Irbil.
The attack took place as party members celebrated the winter solstice.
The PDK alleged that Iranian forces were behind the blasts.
There was no immediate comment from Iranian authorities but PDK members have in the past been involved in armed clashes with Iran's Revolutionary Guards.
The PDK is striving for autonomy for predominantly Kurdish areas in north-western Iran.
Jihadist militants from so-called Islamic State (IS), whom Kurdish forces are battling in northern Iraq, have carried out similar attacks in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region.
Correction 22 December 2016: The attack targeted the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (PDK), not the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) as stated in a previous version of this story.