West Antarctica continues to lose ice to the ocean and this loss appears to be accelerating, according to new data from Europe's Cryosat spacecraft.

The dedicated polar mission finds the region now to be dumping over 150 cubic km of ice into the sea every year.
It equates to a 15% increase in West Antarctica's contribution to global sea level rise.
Cryosat was launched in 2010 with a radar specifically designed to measure the shape of ice surfaces.
And the instrument's novel design, scientists believe, is enabling the European Space Agency satellite to observe features beyond the capability of previous missions.
The new study, presented here in San Francisco to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, confirms the usual suspects to be involved in the increased ice loss.
They are Pine Island, Thwaites and Smith Glaciers.
These major glaciers and their associated tributaries drain the interior of West Antarctica, taking its mass into the Amundsen Sea.
The ice near to their grounding lines - the places where the ice streams lift up off the land and begin to float out over the ocean - is now thinning by between four and eight metres per year.
"Interestingly, Smith Glacier is thinning fastest," said study leader Dr Malcolm McMillan from the UK's Nerc Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling (CPOM).
"It's smaller but its thinning rate is roughly double that of Pine Island or Thwaites, which tend to get all the headlines because they have such huge catchments," he told BBC News.
In a recent major review of all satellite data, scientists concluded that ice losses from West Antarctica pushed up global sea levels by some 0.28mm a year between 2005 and 2010.
The new Cryosat data picks up from the end of that period, and suggests the contribution has risen still further.
However, the mission's researchers caution that some of the increase may simply be the result of Cryosat's exceptional radar vision.
With two antennas slightly offset from each other, the spacecraft's instrument is tuned to sense not just the height of the ice but the shape of its slopes and ridges.
This interferometric observing mode, as it is known, makes Cryosat much more sensitive to details at the edges of the ice sheet - the locations where thinning is most pronounced.
"Cryosat's new mode was designed with the express purpose of detecting changes in coastal regions of the polar ice sheets and, although this first glimpse confirms the design is a roaring success, sadly, it reveals also that there has been no let-up in the rate of ice loss from West Antarctica," added Prof Andy Shepherd of Leeds University, a co-author on the study.
"Nevertheless, it's important to take care when interpreting these measurements.
"Although some of the changes are due to increased ice thinning, others are related to Cryosat's capacity to observe previously unseen terrain and, of course, three years is a very short period for detecting trends.
"The longer we are able to fly this exceptional mission, the more certain we will be about making comparisons to the past."
Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos


Israel's Supreme Court has backed a prisoner swap with Hamas, rejecting petitions against freeing more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit.

Families of victims of attacks by militants wanted a 48-hour delay on the swap, which is due to begin on Tuesday.
The court had allowed Sgt Shalit's parents to argue in favour of the deal.
They have cautioned against any delay, saying it could endanger the terms of their son's release.
"Nobody knows what the impact of any delay, or any change, even the smallest, in the terms would be," they wrote in a letter to the court.
The court ruled that the decision to exchange prisoners rested with the government, Israeli military radio reported. Correspondents said the court was always unlikely to intervene in what it considers a political and security issue.
On Sunday, Israel published the names of 477 Palestinian prisoners due to be released on Tuesday in the first phase of the deal.
A further 550 prisoners are to be released after Sgt Shalit returns home.
The Supreme Court heard four petitions filed by the Almagor Terror Victims' Association and relatives of Israelis killed in Palestinian attacks. They said more time was needed to review all the names on the prisoner list.
"I understand the difficulty in accepting that the vile people who committed the heinous crimes against your loved ones will not pay the full price they deserve," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote in a letter to bereaved Israeli families.
Israeli President Shimon Peres has also urged support for the families.
"Friends and colleagues, let us all embrace the families who lost their loved ones in the war of terror, who carry a grief they cannot escape and still continue to love their nation with dignity and nobility," he said.
A recent opinion poll in the Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth found that 79% of the public supported the deal, agreed last week by Israel and the militant Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Hamas is preparing a hero's welcome in the Gaza Strip in anticipation of the release of the prisoners.
Earlier, Ron Kehrmann, whose daughter was one of 17 people killed in a 2003 bus suicide bombing in Haifa, said he was asking the Supreme Court to stop the release of three Palestinians linked to the attack.
However, he told Israeli Army Radio he was not hopeful, adding: "This whole fiasco - it's fixed."
Israel has already transferred the 477 Palestinians to two holding facilities. On Tuesday, some will be taken to Egypt's Sinai desert where the exchange for Sgt Shalit will take place.
The second stage of the deal is expected to happen in about two months, correspondents say.
Sgt Shalit was snatched in 2006, aged 19, in a cross-border raid by Hamas militants who tunnelled from Gaza into Israel.


Four scientists have been awarded the 2016 World Food Prize for enriching sweet potatoes, which resulted in health benefits for millions of people.

They won the prize for the single most successful example of biofortification, resulting in Vitamin A-boosted crops.
Since 1986, the World Food Prize aims to recognise efforts to increase the quality and quantity of available food.
The researchers received their US $250,000 (Â£203,000) prize at a ceremony in Iowa, US, on Thursday.
Three of the 2016 laureates - Drs Maria Andrade, Robert Mwanga and Jan Low from the CGIAR International Potato Center - have been recognised for their work developing the vitamin-enriched orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP).
The fourth winner, Dr Howard Bouis who founded HarvestPlus at the International Food Policy Research Institute, has been honoured for his work over 25 years to ensure biofortification was developed into an international plant breeding strategy across more than 40 countries.
Announcing this year's winners, USAID administrator Gayle Smith said: "These four extraordinary World Food Prize Laureates have proven that science matters, and that when matched with dedication, it can change people's lives."
Vitamin A deficiency (VAD) is considered to be one of the most harmful forms of malnutrition in the developing world. It can cause blindness, limits growth, weakens immunity and increases mortality.
The condition affects more than 140 million pre-school children in 118 nations, and more than seven million pregnant women. It is said to be the leading cause of child blindness in developing countries.
The World Health Organization describes biofortification as the process "by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology".
It observes: "Biofortification may therefore present a way to reach populations where supplementation and conventional fortification activities may be difficult to implement."
The World Food Prize ceremony will take place during the the Borlaug Dialogue International Symposium, a three-day gathering in Des Moines, Iowa, named after Nobel Peace Prize winner Norman Borlaug.
Dr Borlaug, often called the father of the Green Revolution, established the World Food Prize 30 years ago to recognise "exceptionally significant" achievements by individuals. In 1970, Dr Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his contribution to world peace through his work to increase global food supplies.
A report published at the Borlaug Dialogue warned that growth in global agricultural productivity (GAP), for the third year in a row, was not advancing at the rate required to meet future demand for food.
The Global Harvest Initiative's (GHI) seventh annual GAP report warned that unless this emerging trend was reversed, the "world may not be able to sustainably provide the food, feed, fibre and biofuels needed for a booming global population".
According to the GHI, GAP needed to increase by at least 1.75% each year. However, its latest figures showed that the current rate was only 1.73%.
The authors observed that productive techniques and technology were "essential for producers of all scales as climate change and extreme weather events threaten the sustainability of agricultural value chains".
GHI executive director Dr Margaret Zeigler said the agriculture sector had the potential to be a "climate change mitigation powerhouse".
She added: "Private sector investment, investment and scale will help more farmers, ranchers and forest managers access tools and practices that contribute to a low-carbon agricultural system."
Another factor that was affecting regions' ability to produce food was conflict and civil unrest. One of the topics at the 2016 Borlaug Dialogue is the issue of national security and food security in affected regions.
Kenneth Quinn, former US ambassador to Cambodia and president of the World Food Prize Foundation, told BBC News:
"Just as factors like climate volatility, water scarcity, inferior infrastructure and post harvest loss can affect farmers' yields and food reaching urban centres, so too can military conflict and political instability disrupt markets, impede distribution of new technologies and innovations to farmers and halt new rural investment."
He added: "Throughout my diplomatic career, I have seen the incredible transformative power of agricultural development to undercut the allure and recruiting ability of radical terrorist organisations in remote areas."
One scientist who had first-hand experience of the impact of war on agricultural research was Mohmoud Solh, director-general of the International Center for Agricultural Research in Dry Areas (Icarda).
He explained how the Syrian civil war ripping the country apart had forced his team of researchers to leave the country.
Also left behind was Icarda's seed bank in Aleppo, which contained a vast array of samples from many species of staple food crops' wild relatives, which may hold the genes required to produce future generations of climate-proof crops. Most of which were collected from the "fertile crescent", which is widely considered to be the birthplace of modern agriculture.
However, Dr Solh told BBC News that the team was now continuing its work in Morocco and Lebanon.
But he added that he would have a clear message in his speech to delegates at the Borlaug Dialogue.
"You can see the importance of supporting before they reach that stage, the point I want to say is that the upheaval is not just political - it is because of poverty, lack of jobs and food insecurity.
"Many of the migrants are not just because they are leaving security hotspots, it is because there are few or no opportunities for them or their families.
Dr Solh added: "Sustainable development is needed. Proper investment is needed to ensure people have jobs and a future, otherwise the problems will mushroom."
On Tuesday, the publishers of the Global Hunger Index warned that the international community was not making enough progress to end world hunger by 2030, which is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
"The world has made progress in the fight against hunger but it has so far been too slow," observed Rose Caldwell, executive director of humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide UK.
"Hunger continues to waste lives and limit potential - we need urgent action from the global community to wipe it out for good."
The latest Index in the ongoing series - produced by Concern Worldwide, the International Food Policy Research Institute and German NGO Welthungerhilfe - suggested that if the decline in global hunger rates continued to decline at the rates recorded since the early 1990 then at least 45 nations, including Pakistan, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan, would still have "moderate" to "alarming" hunger scores in 2030.
Follow Mark on Twitter.


A 19-year-old Labour councillor has become the youngest mayor in the UK.

Terence Smith, who was Goole's deputy mayor, was voted in for a 12-month term at the council's annual meeting on Thursday.
Mr Smith, who was elected as a councillor in the East Yorkshire town in 2015, said: "I feel like I'm giving my bit back to the community."
Goole Town Council oversees a population of about 18,500 as part of the East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
The town council provides additional local services.
Mr Smith said: "When the A-level results came out last year, my friends were out partying. I was in a council meeting."
Councillor Keith Moore said: "It feels extremely pleasant to bring fresh views into the council chamber.
"He's really grabbed the bull by the horns and has performed excellently in his ward."
Mr Smith represents Goole North East.
Tony Smith, his father said: "I'm very proud of him. Next stop Number 10!"
The youngest MP in the UK is Mhairi Black of the SNP, who was 20 when she made her maiden speech in the House of Commons in July 2015.
Tom Watson MP, Labour's deputy leader, tweeted: "Well done to my pal @TerenceSmith14 - the youngest mayor in the world (probably)."


Hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of MH17 air disaster victim Liam Sweeney in Newcastle.

The service at the city's St Mary's Cathedral was told the 28-year-old was a "family man and a gentle giant".
Family and friends of the Newcastle United supporter were joined by club manager Alan Pardew and team captain Fabricio Coloccini.
Mr Sweeney and fellow Newcastle fan John Alder, 63, were killed when the flight crashed in Ukraine on 17 July.
A Newcastle scarf and shirt was placed on his coffin as a sign of his commitment to the team.
The hour-long service was told Mr Sweeney loved reading, especially Lord Of The Rings and Animal Farm.
The pews of St Mary's Cathedral were packed for the funeral service - a celebration of Liam Sweeney's life as it said on the front of the order of service.
Some wore badges with a photo of Liam alongside Newcastle United's badge and others T-shirts bearing the message - RIP Sweeney and Alder.
It was Liam's passion for the football club and Geordie pride which ran through the service.
His coffin was brought in to the sounds of Local Hero. A poem read by friends Malcolm Pegg and Amanda-Jade Fowler told of how fervently he had followed his team.
We also heard of Liam's love of reading, music and The Simpsons.
Canon Robert Spence described him as "a gentle young boy who became a giant gentleman" and said he "deserves a place in Geordie mythology".
There were plenty of thoughts too for the family of John Alder, the fellow fan whose body has not yet been found.
Rachel Kerr, BBC News, at St Mary's Cathedral
Prayers were also said for the family of Mr Alder during the service.
A tearful rendition of a poem was read out in the cathedral, which included the words: "If the Toon were playing you were there, win or lose through bad and good, Newcastle United were in your blood."
Pictures inside the order of service showed Mr Sweeney when he was a boy in his Newcastle kit.
A collection of floral tributes were placed outside the catholic cathedral.
Representatives from Malaysian Airlines and supermarket chain Morrisons, where Mr Sweeney worked, also attended the service.
Prince Charles wrote to the family to express his sympathy following the "unimaginable tragedy".
Mr Sweeney was a well-known Newcastle United fan and the cortege stopped outside St James' Park, before making its way to West Road Cemetery.
Mr Sweeney and Mr Alder had been travelling to watch the club on a pre-season tour of New Zealand.
All 298 people on board the plane died.
Mr Sweeney's father said: "We're going to celebrate his life, not his death.
"Him and John Alder have become legends.
"If the world can become a better place because of what happened to Liam and John that'll be great. People have got to stop fighting.
"I don't want to get involved in politics or religion, I just want to ensure the two lads didn't die in vain."
The letter from Prince Charles to Mr Sweeney read: "My wife and I just wanted you to know how very much our hearts go out to you following the truly unimaginable tragedy of the loss of your son, Liam.
"All we can do is hold you in our most special thoughts and prayers at such an agonising time."
A minute's silence was observed by fans at St James' Park on Sunday as they paid tribute to Mr Sweeney and Mr Alder during United's opening home game of the Premier League season.
Fans then clapped throughout the 17th minute in reference to the plane's flight code.


The English Football Association has been urged to lobby Uefa for a European boycott of the next World Cup - unless Fifa implements meaningful reform.

Media playback is not supported on this device
Former FA chairman David Bernstein said it was time for drastic action against football's world governing body.
"England on its own cannot influence this," he said. "If we tried something like that, we'd be laughed at."
He says a World Cup would be weakened without Europe's top teams and that a boycott would have public backing.
"If I was at the FA now, I would do everything I could to encourage other nations within Uefa - and there are some who would definitely be on side, others may be not - to take this line," he added.
"At some stage, you have to walk the walk, stop talking and do something."
Bernstein said he also wanted Fifa president Sepp Blatter to step down but described him as "formidable, very shrewd, very smart", conceding it would "not be easy" to bring his reign to an end.
In an exclusive interview, the 71-year-old also said:
Bernstein chose to speak out after a report into the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups cleared Russia and Qatar of wrongdoing but was critical of England, accusing the FA of flouting bid rules in its attempt to win the right to stage the 2018 event.
Yet less than four hours of the document's release, it was questioned by Michael Garcia, the man who conducted the two-year investigation into corruption claims.
The furore surrounding the report is the latest controversy to hit football's world governing body, which has been riddled with allegations of corruption in recent times.
Now Bernstein, who led the FA for three years from January 2011, wants Fifa to change its ways or face a challenge it finds impossible to ignore.
When asked again if he was calling for the FA to unite with Uefa to boycott Fifa and the World Cup, he replied: "Unless it (Fifa) could achieve the reforms that would bring Fifa back into the respectable world community, yes I would.
"It sounds drastic, but, frankly, this has gone on for years now. It's not improving, it's going from bad to worse to worse."
He said there were 54 countries within Uefa and described Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Holland as "all powerful".
He added: "You can't hold a serious World Cup without them. They have the power to influence if they have the will."
Similar views have been expressed by German Football League president Reinhard Rauball, who suggested Uefa could leave Fifa if the findings of the two-year investigation into corruption claims are not published in full.
As for criticism of England by the Fifa report, Bernstein accused football's world governing body of trying to deflect attention from its own failings.
"I don't think much to these accusations," he said. "I don't think we should get away from the real issue. The real issue is Fifa governance and trying to achieve real change. But it won't happen easily."
"Fifa is sort of a totalitarian set-up. Bits of it remind me of the old Soviet empire. People don't speak out and if they do they get quashed."
Media playback is not supported on this device
Bernstein also described the decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, where blistering summer temperatures means the event could be switched to winter, "as one of the most ludicrous decisions in the history of sport".
He added: "You might as well have chosen Iceland in the winter. It was like an Alice in Wonderland sort of decision. The attempt to change the timing is also absolutely wrong."
He felt the decision to choose Qatar as 2022 hosts could come under further scrutiny.
"There's also a background of political, social and employment issues that keep emerging and I think there's a danger that Fifa and football might be embarrassed by what emerges in the coming years," said the former Manchester City chairman.
"It's certainly not sour grapes. England didn't lose to Qatar, we lost to Russia. Qatar is clearly a totally unsuitable place to hold a World Cup."
Bernstein also revealed he has quit Fifa's anti-discrimination taskforce He described it as "ineffectual" and wishes to end his ties with Fifa.
Explaining his decision to leave the taskforce, which was introduced in 2013, Bernstein said: "I've resigned for two reasons.
"Firstly, the body has been pretty ineffectual. I've been on it for more than a year and we only had one meeting. Secondly, because frankly I don't wish to be personally associated with Fifa any further.
"Fifa sets up these things - and we've seen it with their regulation - that look good in theory but don't seem to do very much in practice."


The Conservative defence secretary has warned a Labour minority UK government, or "cobbled together" coalition involving Plaid Cymru and the SNP, would put economic recovery at risk.

Election campaigning in Cardiff, Michael Fallon said such a government would mean "chaos and instability".
Hearing the Welsh Tory leader had not read his party's UK manifesto, Mr Fallon said it was "well worth a read".
Labour said the Conservatives had not ruled out a "dangerous pact with UKIP".
Mr Fallon told BBC Wales said there was a "threat of instability, of putting our economic recovery at risk, if you end up with a minority government".
"It's becoming clear that Labour can't form a government on their own and a cobbled together coalition or minority government, depending day after day on the support of other parties, is simply a recipe for chaos and instability.
"The only way to have a sure, certain government that would continue the recovery and the 50,000 new jobs in Wales is to vote Conservative."
Responding, a Welsh Labour spokesman said: "The Tories have consistently not ruled out a dangerous pact with UKIP, that would risk the tens of thousands of jobs dependent on Britain's place at the heart of the EU."
The spokesman added: "The IFS [Institute for Fiscal Studies] lifted the lid on the Tories extreme spending plans today, which would be disastrous for Wales."
Liberal Democrat candidate Roger Williams said no party would win a majority and an "unstable government....pulled sharply to left or right" would "cost us all dear".
"This is why we need the Liberal Democrats in government, providing a stable government that can build both a stronger economy and a fairer society."


A UKIP MEP will be sued for libel over remarks she made about the Rotherham abuse scandal after her attempt to get immunity from prosecution failed.

Jane Collins, who represents Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire, claimed three MPs knew about child exploitation in the town but did nothing to intervene.
The MPs in question - Sir Kevin Barron, John Healey and Sarah Champion - sued for slander and libel.
The European Parliament ruled there were no grounds for granting immunity.
Sir Kevin, MP for Rother Valley, Mr Healey, who represents Wentworth and Dearne, and Ms Champion, MP for Rotherham, complained about a speech given by Mrs Collins at a UKIP conference in September 2014.
Live updates on this story and others in South Yorkshire
It came a month after a report found about 1,400 children in the area had been abused between 1997 and 2013.
The libel case was halted in May after the MEP applied for immunity from prosecution.
Now it has been refused it is expected she will be ordered to pay what are expected to be substantial damages by the British High Court.
Ms Collins said the ruling was "one lost battle in a war of words I'm determined to win".
"There may be grounds to challenge the EU itself for failing to uphold its treaty obligations to member states", she said.
Ms Collins added she believed there were grounds for an appeal and was determined to fight the decision to make the "voices of Rotherham sexual exploitation survivors and their families heard".
In a joint statement, the MPs said: "We welcome the decision of the European Parliament and hope this matter can at long last now be brought to a conclusion in the High Court.
"This has gone on for over two years and she has tried every delaying tactic she can - including the absurd irony of a UKIP Euro MP trying to claim immunity from the European Parliament to avoid facing justice in the British courts."


Three people, including two police officers, have been shot dead and another wounded after a domestic row in Portugal, media and officials say.

The incident took place in Quinta do Conde, 30km (18 miles) south of the capital Lisbon.
A 77-year-old man is said to have opened fire after a row over a barking dog.
He reportedly tried to take his own life with a hunting rifle and was arrested and taken to hospital.
A plainclothes officer who lived in the area was shot dead as he ran to investigate the row, and a patrol officer then called to the scene was shot in the head and killed.
The third victim was reportedly the son of the plainclothes officer who was trying to help his father.
The son was seriously injured in crossfire and died of his wounds in hospital.
One neighbour told the Lusa news agency the gunman had threatened to kill a neighbour if the dog did not stop barking "but it never crossed our mind he would try to do it".


President Barack Obama has told his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah al Sisi, that the US will resume full military aid to Egypt.

In a phone call on Tuesday, Mr Obama informed Mr al-Sisi that F-16 fighter jets, missiles and M1A1 tank kits would be delivered.
The aid was put on hold in the wake of a military coup in 2013.
Egypt is part of an Arab offensive against Houthi rebels in Yemen, and also fighting Islamic State in Libya.
In October 2013, the Obama Administration said it would halt the delivery of some large military systems to the Egyptian government until it saw advances towards democracy.
But on Tuesday, the president said the jets, missiles and tank kits will resume. Apache helicopter deliveries restarted in December.
He also assured the Egyptian leader that he would continue to support the $1.3b (??876.8m) in aid that the US government gives to Egypt annually.
"The president explained that these and other steps will help refine our military assistance relationship so that it is better positioned to address the shared challenges to US and Egyptian interests in an unstable region, consistent with the longstanding strategic partnership between our two countries," the White House said in a statement detailing the call between the two leaders.
The statement went on to say that Mr Obama expressed his concerns about human rights abuses in Egypt.
The aid comes as Egypt has tried to take a leading role in forming an Arab military alliance to fight terrorism in the Middle East.


Raith Rovers stole the advantage in the Premiership play-off quarter-final after frustrating then overcoming Hibs.

Substitutes Louis Longridge and Harry Panayiotou combined for the latter to score with a thumping second-half header.
The goal was against the run of play, as Hibs dominated much of the game and created a slew of chances.
Jason Cummings spurned the best of them, when he shot over when clean through on goal in the first half.
The task is now win or bust for the play-off sides, and that delivered a frantic opening. Once the visitors brought some order to their play, though, and John McGinn asserted himself, they began to create half-chances.
Cummings and Marvin Bartley with shots and Anthony Stokes with a header all asked questions of Raith goalkeeper Kevin Cuthbert. Cummings never found his range, though. Even when sent clean through on goal by a superb McGinn pass over the top, the striker lifted the ball high over the bar with only Cuthbert to beat.
Hibs began to look accomplished amidst the hurly burly of the game.
They could afford to commit their wing-backs forward, since Ryan Hardie was a forlorn figure up front on his own for Raith. The home side's only chance in the first half came when James Craigen swept a first-time half-volley over the bar from the corner of the penalty area.
By the interval, though, the sense was a Hibs breakthrough was inevitable. For Raith, the only comfort was their doggedness and refusal to concede any competitive ground. The visitors recognised that, which is why the creative figures of Dylan McGeouch and Liam Henderson started the game on the bench and Bartley brought steel and physical presence to central midfield.
The decisions seemed sound by Alan Stubbs, not least because his side continued to look the more threatening after the break. Twice Stokes delivered free-kicks from the left that generated a sense of alarm in the Raith penalty area. The first was clawed away by Cuthbert, the second headed just wide by David Gray.
Cummings, too, headed over from close range, and frustrations were growing for Hibs. Stubbs was furious with the officials when he felt a penalty should have been awarded for handball, and his mood only worsened moments later when Raith broke upfield to score.
The home side had been out of sorts in an attacking sense, prompting Ray McKinnon to bring on Panayiotou and Longridge. They combined for the goal, with the latter delivering the corner kick that Panayiotou converted with a stooping header at the near post.
Having been subdued for much of the game, Raith were suddenly alive with confidence and intent. They broke with a sense of purpose, but could not create another clear chance.
Hibs threw on attacking midfielders McGeouch and Henderson, but the visitors had to make do with a narrow defeat and the hope they might turn the tie around in the second leg at Easter Road.


George Galloway has left hospital after being treated for injuries he suffered in a street attack in west London.

The Respect MP for Bradford West was posing for pictures in Notting Hill when he was assaulted on Friday night.
The MP suffered "severe" bruising to his head and appears to have broken some ribs, his spokesman said.
The spokesman said the attack on Mr Galloway seemed to have been prompted by the MP's views on Israel. A man has been arrested over the attack.
The attacker allegedly called Mr Galloway "a Hitler" during the assault.
The MP's spokesman said the assailant had made reference to the Holocaust.
"George was posing for pictures with people and this guy just attacked him, leapt on him and started punching him," the spokesman said.
"It appears to be connected with his comments about Israel because the guy was shouting about the Holocaust."
Mr Galloway was interviewed under caution by police earlier this month over remarks he made about Israel.
After Friday night's attack, the MP made a statement at Notting Hill police station before being taken to hospital for treatment. He left hospital at about 06:00 BST.
He was feared to have suffered a broken jaw but the MP's spokesman said this was not the case.
A Metropolitan Police spokesman confirmed police had been called to Golborne Road at about 19:40 on Friday after a man was assaulted in the street.


First Minister's questions has been upstaged by a group of guide dog puppies, who were visiting the Scottish Parliament.

Media playback is unsupported on your device
9 October 2014 Last updated at 12:47 BST
As Holyrood Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick welcomed visitor Italian Ambassador Pasquale Terracciano to the main chamber, a round of applause from MSPs trigged a round of barking from trainee guide dogs.
The guide dog puppies, their walkers and trainers were invited to the Scottish Parliament to raise awareness for guide dogs week.


Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal has dropped out of the race for the US presidency after struggling for months to gain traction amid a sprawling field of Republican candidates.

Although he showed some strength in the early voting state of Iowa, the 44-year-old governor consistently performed poorly in national polls.
He was shut out of the main Republican debates, relegated to secondary stages.
"This is not my time," Governor Jindal said on Tuesday.
The Oxford-educated son of Indian immigrants added diversity to the Republican field, which includes African-American neurosurgeon Ben Carson and businesswoman Carly Fiorina.
However, Governor Jindal sought to distance himself from his Indian heritage during the campaign.
"We are not Indian-Americans, African-Americans, Irish-Americans, rich Americans, or poor Americans. We are all Americans," he told supporters when he launched his campaign in June.
It may be difficult to recall at this point, but there was once a time when Bobby Jindal was a rising star in the Republican firmament - a charismatic policy wonk who could broaden his party's appeal to minority voters in the age of Obama. Now, however, he's a political afterthought - gone before all the autumn leaves have fallen.
By the time he announced his White House bid earlier this year, his star had lost much of its lustre. He had suffered reputational damage from political battles in his home state and was competing in a crowded presidential field where many candidates were vying for the same evangelical slice of the conservative electorate.
Mr Jindal is now the third Republican to drop his presidential bid. All three are current or recent governors, which comes as somewhat of a surprise given the value that voters usually place on candidates with executive-level government experience. This has been the year of the political outsider, however, and that trend shows no sign of changing anytime soon.
Unpopular in his home state after a budget shortfall, Governor Jindal had been considered a long-shot for the nomination.
During his campaign, Governor Jindal sought to appeal to evangelical Christian voters, taking hard lines on gay rights and Islamic extremism.
However, he was courting the same slice of the electorate as rival candidates such as Mr Carson, Texas Senator Ted Cruz and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.
Governor Jindal joins former Texas Governor Rick Perry and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker who have also suspended their campaigns for president.
Fourteen Republicans remain in the race.
Meet the 2016 hopefuls


Scotland's Catriona Matthew is one shot off the lead after the opening round of the ANA Inspiration, the first women's major of the year.

Matthew, 46, carded a four-under 68 that included six birdies and two bogeys at Rancho Mirage in California.
Ai Miyazato of Japan and Spain's Azahara Munoz share the lead on five under, one ahead of the Solheim Cup star, Shiho Oyama and Lee-Anne Pace.
England's Charley Hull is three behind, alongside Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko.
Hull finished with back-to-back birdies to card a round of 70, the same score as world number one Ko and American superstar Wie.
New Zealand teenager Ko, 18, is bidding for her second straight major title after victory in the Evian Championship last year.


Wales pair Lauren Parfitt and Claire Thomas have been named in the Western Storm squad for the second women's Superleague tournament in August 2017.

All-rounders Parfitt, 23, and Thomas, 30, are the first Welsh players to be involved in the tournament.
The Welsh pair could line up alongside England captain Heather Knight and West Indies skipper Stafanie Taylor.
Western Storm play their home matches at Bristol, Taunton and Exeter.
Parfitt, a teacher at Bassaleg school, has made 89 appearances for Wales since making her debut at the age of 14, as a right-handed batter and left-arm seamer.
Thomas, a batter and spin bowler, has played 86 times for Wales over a 13-year period.


The final sections of a temporary river crossing have been put into place to replace a 300-year-old bridge which collapsed during Storm Desmond.

The original 18th Century stone structure across the River Eamont at Pooley Bridge, Cumbria, was washed away by floodwater in December.
The damage effectively cut off the village from the south.
Cumbria County Council said the £300,000 temporary crossing would be open to the public by Easter.
Funding for the project has come in part from a £40m government aid package to flood-hit areas.
Plans for permanent replacement have been approved in principle, although no construction date has yet been set.


National League club Chester have re-signed Port Vale midfielder Ryan Lloyd on loan until 1 January.

The 22-year-old spent much of the 2015-16 season with the Blues, making 22 league appearances.
Lloyd will not feature for Chester in Saturday's game at Maidstone as Jon McCarthy's side look for back-to-back victories in the National League.
They beat Dagenham 3-0 on Tuesday, having lost their opening game by the same scoreline at Gateshead.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


A man was shot in the back in what police are calling "a targeted attack".

The 32-year-old was shot on Copperbeech Drive in the Balsall Heath area of Birmingham at 10:20 BST on Friday.
Det Insp Jim Munro, from West Midlands Police said: "This appears to have been a targeted attack and the man is fortunate to have only suffered a relatively minor injury."
The scene was cordoned off while forensic teams investigate and police are appealing for witnesses.


President Barack Obama has called for sweeping reforms to the US criminal justice system including curbing the use of solitary confinement and voting rights for felons.

He said lengthy mandatory minimum sentences should be reduced - or thrown out entirely.
"Mass incarceration makes our entire country worse off, and we need to do something about it," he said.
Mr Obama urged Congress to pass a sentencing reform bill by year's end.
On Thursday, Mr Obama will be the first sitting president to visit a federal prison - part of week long focus by the White House on the criminal justice system.
Speaking to a gathering of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Philadelphia, Mr Obama discussed investments in education, alternatives to trials and prison job training programs.
US Attorney General Loretta Lynch has been tasked with reviewing the overuse of solitary confinement, Mr Obama said.
"Do we think it makes sense to lock people up in tiny cells for 23 hours a day? It won't make us safer and stronger."
The country should not be tolerating overcrowding in prisons, gang activity or rape, which Mr Obama called "unacceptable".
Criminal justice reforms have been a subject of rare agreement between Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
He noted that African Americans and Latinos disproportionately make up most of the prison population.
On Monday Mr Obama commuted the sentences of 46 prisoners, many of whom were serving time for non-violent drug offences.
"If you're a low-level drug dealer, or you violate your parole, you owe some debt to society â€¦ but you don't owe 20 years," Mr Obama said.
Mr Obama said for what the US spends on keeping people in prison per year, $80 billion, there could be universal pre-school, doubled salaries for high school teachers or free tuition at US public colleges or universities.
This week's focus on criminal justice signals a renewed bid by Mr Obama's administration to tackle what he sees as a lack of fairness in the system.
"Communities that give our young people every shot at success, tough but fair courts and prisons that seek to prepare returning citizens to get that second chance...That's what we're here to build," he said.
The last significant changes to the criminal justice system in the US came in 2013 when US Attorney General Eric Holder dropped mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders.
208,000 people in federal prisons
48% of them for drug offences
37% of them are black
34% of them are Hispanic
$80bn the cost of incarceration in the US in 2010


Striker Nile Ranger has joined Southend United on a one-year-contract, with the option of a further year.

The 25-year-old former Newcastle, Swindon and Blackpool forward has been training with the League One side during pre-season.
He has not played a competitive game since November 2014, before he spent seven months absent from Blackpool.
Ranger later put that down to the death of two friends and left the Tangerines in February.
Southend manager Phil Brown said in July that Ranger, fined for criminal damage in July 2014, was in the "last-chance saloon" during a one-month "test period" at Roots Hall.
Upon confirmation of the signing, Brown told the club website: "There's two or three reasons why we've chosen to extend Nile's deal.
"First and foremost there is a footballer in there which we identified at the start and that's the reason he came through the door on trial.
"Secondly we have a contract that safeguards us as a football club, but also safeguards Nile if he keeps his nose clean and performs well on the pitch.
"But the bottom line is, he's come in as an option up front which is totally different from what we've got at this moment in time in terms of playing style."
With the new season starting on Saturday, Ranger has bolstered a side that has only three other first-team forwards - David Mooney, Simon Cox and Jason Williams.
Ranger has scored 17 goals in 127 league matches during his career.
Find all the latest football transfers on our dedicated page.


A woman has died in a fire at a property in Denbighshire.

North Wales Police said two others were treated for smoke inhalation following the fire in Pen y Graig, Denbigh, on Saturday.
Emergency services were alerted to the blaze just before 15:30 BST.
A joint investigation between the police and fire service is under way. The woman's next of kin have been informed.


Tony Blair was not trying to "save" Colonel Gaddafi when he spoke to the dictator at the height of the Libyan conflict in 2011, he has told MPs.

The former prime minister confirmed he had "two or three" phone conversations within 24 hours with Gaddafi, having cleared it with David Cameron.
His aim was to get the dictator out of Libya "so that a peaceful transition could take place".
But he conceded that the Gaddafi regime was "not sustainable".
He defended his decision as prime minister to bring Gaddafi "in from the cold", saying it may have prevented so-called Islamic State getting chemical weapons.
As part of the process, Gaddafi renounced weapons of mass destruction, bringing to a halt programmes to develop nuclear and chemical arms.
During his 90-minute appearance before the foreign affairs committee, Mr Blair also said:
While in office, the ex-prime minister supported the West's rapprochement with the regime of Colonel Gaddafi and even visited him in Libya in 2004.
Libya renounced its nuclear weapons programme as part of an international agreement but the West's more accommodating relationship with the regime, which led to a number of commercial deals, came in for criticism after Gaddafi violently repressed a uprising during the so-called Arab Spring.
Mr Blair said the decision to engage with Gaddafi, who was accused of sponsoring terrorism in the 1980s, had been difficult but he suggested there was a "huge prize" as a result of trying to normalise relations, in terms of security co-operation, and other issues were "not left to one side".
"When I went to see him, Lockerbie, Yvonne Fletcher, were absolutely in my mind and part of the conversation," he said.
"But I felt ultimately the game was worth it and I do believe it was worth it but is not to say I approve of what he did before or how he ran his country."
Gaddafi was killed in 2011 after he violently quelled a popular uprising. Mr Blair's successor David Cameron made the decision to join an intervention against Gaddafi, which saw the UK, US and France launch airstrikes against his regime.
In light of Gaddafi's killing, Mr Blair was asked if he believed that the three countries had exceeded the auspices of a United Nations mandate authorising action to protect Libyan civilians who opposed the regime from the risk of a potential massacre in Benghazi.
Mr Blair said he was not willing to criticise David Cameron for acting in the way he did, adding: "Once you engage in a military action to protect people against a regime, the line between that and (regime change) becomes pretty thin and a certain point."
Although Parliament backed the UK's action at the time, MPs are more critical of the intervention now, saying little thought was given to post-conflict planning, to reconciling warring factions and building inclusive institutions after the collapse of the Gaddafi regime.
Libya has been beset by instability and violence since 2011.
Since 2014 the country has had two rival parliaments - an Islamist-backed one in Tripoli and an internationally recognised government in the east of the country - amid UN attempts to broker a single government of national unity.
Mr Blair, who was prime minister between 1997 and 2007, was the central figure in the UK's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003 and has appeared twice before the official Chilcot inquiry into the invasion - whose report has yet to be published.
Critics of this, and subsequent interventions in Libya and now Syria, have warned that they have fuelled the rise of violent Islamist groups such as Islamic State but Mr Blair has remained a strong advocate of an activist approach.
Since leaving office, Mr Blair has remained an influential, if controversial, figure in the Middle East. He served as a Middle East peace envoy to the Quartet - the UN, EU, US and Russia - for eight years before stepping down earlier this year.
Conservative ministers have defended the Libya intervention, former foreign secretary William Hague recently telling MPs that he would back similar action again while acknowledging that Libya had not turned out as the government had hoped.
Ministers have pointed to closer co-operation with the Libyan authorities on matters of mutual interest in recent years.
Earlier this year, a Libyan man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder PC Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London in 1984.


Relatives of some of the nearly 400 people missing after a cruise ship capsized on China's Yangtze River have staged a protest near the sinking site.

Dozens of people broke through police cordons at the river in Jianli, Hubei province, demanding more information.
State media say 65 people are now confirmed to have died when the Eastern Star overturned in a storm on Monday.
Rescue workers battling heavy rain have cut into the hull of the upturned vessel so divers can search inside.
But no-one has been pulled out alive since Tuesday's dramatic rescues.
Only 14 of the 456 passengers are known to have escaped. The official death toll leapt on Thursday morning after divers retrieved 39 more bodies overnight.
But officials say they are not giving up hope.
"The ship sank in a very short time frame, so there could still be air trapped in the hull," Li Qixiu of the Naval University of Engineering told the state news agency Xinhua.
China's leaders are taking pains to show they will do everything possible to support search efforts. President Xi Jinping released a statement just hours after the news hit Chinese media. He promised "all-out rescue efforts" to find survivors.
The country's second-in-command, Premier Li Keqiang, rushed to the scene to personally direct rescue operations. In many other countries, it would be unusual to see such a high-ranking politician get so involved, but in China, that has become the norm.
But at the ground level, family members of the missing say they're being ignored by local officials.
The relatives are furious that no-one is providing detailed information about the rescue efforts. Hundreds are sequestered in a nearby hotel lobby, watching the same repetitive state television reports available to the rest of the country.
Questions raised over Eastern Star's sinking
Scores of relatives of the passengers have travelled to Jianli to be near the wreck, many from Nanjing where the cruise began in late May. Officials have set up contact centres for them in local hotels.
The families have raised questions about the disaster, including how the ship could have sank so quickly, and why no alarm was raised.
On Wednesday night, several dozen pushed through police lines set up to control access to the site, then marched towards the river.
But organiser Wang Feng told Reuters:  "This isn't going to be much use, we're just doing this for the government to see."
Officials have now promised to take them to the rescue site on Thursday.
Another group of relatives staged a protest in Shanghai, where the tour company most passengers had booked through, Xiehe Travel, is based.
Videos on social media showed them jostling with police as they gathered in the city's People's Square demanding more information.
Ji Guoxin, whose parents were still missing, said Xiehe Travel had just given them a hotline number and told them to make their own way to Jianli.
Another protester told reporters: "We want somebody from the local government to receive us and tell all family members what we should do."
The cause of the sinking is not yet known, but survivors have spoken of an intense storm which flipped the boat in minutes.
The captain and chief engineer were among those who escaped - they were detained.
Maritime agency records which emerged on Wednesday showed the ship was investigated for safety violations two years ago. It was held alongside five other vessels in 2013 over safety concerns, although no further details are available.
Yangtze River tragedy on trip of a lifetime


A council has been criticised for the way it treated a military family whose son had cancer.

Devon County Council decided not to pay for the school transport for L/Cpl Christopher Chell's children after they had to move home.
The authority previously signed up to the Armed Forces Covenant, which pledges that service families are not disadvantaged because of their job.
The council has apologised and Â£2,000 has been awarded to the family.
Previously L/Cpl Chell lived near Exmouth with his wife and five children, including Kyle who had cancer.
The Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) said the family had to move further away from their children's school because their accommodation was making Kyle's illness worse, but Devon County Council did not make allowances and refused to pay for school transport.
However, the LGO ruled the authority failed to honour its own pledge after it signed up to the covenant.
Dr Jane Martin, from the LGO, said: "Councils that have signed up to the covenant have pledged to consider the often quite unique circumstances that forces families find themselves in.
"In this case it was particularly crucial that the children should remain at their school and receive the stability they needed through a difficult time."
David Murray, chief executive of forces charity SSAFA, said: "It is a great shame that a military family must put themselves through a complaint process, simply to avoid disadvantage."
The council said: "We got this wrong and we've apologised to the family and made financial redress.
"We have a duty to spend public money wisely but, as the ombudsman recognises, we have already reminded our staff of the requirements of the Armed Forces Covenant so this situation doesn't happen again."


The BBC's Mark Lowen in Turkey's Bodrum peninsula - where the body of three-year-old Alan Kurdi was washed up last week - meets those desperate enough to risk their lives crossing to Greece.

Omar al-Dalemey peers at the map on his phone, trying to recall from which cove they departed.
"It was pitch-black - the smuggler just told us where to meet," he says. Finally he remembers, pointing to a spot on the Bodrum coastline. "It was there".
We arrive, and he and his parents walk towards the rocks.
"The boat could hold 10 people," he says, "but we were 17. We had lifejackets. The man said he'd hand them to us when we got into the boat. But as we boarded, he threw them away. If we died, he didn't want any trace of us."
Omar and his brother Bakr were among the passengers. Sunni Muslims from Iraq, they were fleeing persecution in Baghdad.
More than half of the refugees to Europe are Syrian - but there are plenty of other nationalities too.
And as the European Commission outlines plans for a quota of migrants for EU countries, we met some of those from other nations beginning their journey in Bodrum.
"The waves grew higher, water came into the boat and we capsized," says Omar, staring out to sea.
"We swam for a long time and suddenly I couldn't see my brother anymore. When the coastguard arrived, all I could think about was Bakr's safety."
For a week, there has been no sign of 17-year-old Bakr. His family have combed the coastline - even visiting the mortuary.
Did he make it to Greece? Was he arrested? Or something worse? Their father breaks down beside us, covering his face to hide the tears.
"I wish I was the one dead - and that he's still alive," says Omar.
Their mother, Nawal, is locked in the unbearable state of not knowing. And, amid the vastness of the Aegean Sea, she may never find out.
"Bakr was the sweetest of us all," she says, sobbing. "Smart and handsome. Can you imagine losing the most precious thing you have?"
She looks out to the area where the boat capsized. "I will stay here until I find him," she says.
The number of nightly departures from Bodrum appears to have slightly decreased after police stepped up patrols here in the wake of the Alan Kurdi tragedy.
The body of the three-year-old boy was washed up in Bodrum - the photograph of the little boy lying dead on the beach shocked the world. But beside the central bus station, crowds still gather, waiting for the chance to flee.
The nationalities come together here seeking shelter: Afghans in one corner, Somalis in another. Perched on bits of cardboard are a Pakistani couple who sold their home to pay the smuggler.
He has now disappeared with their money. The woman, Shabana Waqaz, is due to give birth in a week.
"It took us a month to reach here and now our agent has run away with our $2,000 (Â£1,300, â‚¬1,794)," she says. "We're stuck here - we can't go on and we can't go back. I have no medical care for the baby; I don't know how I will deliver.
"All we wanted was the chance of a better future for our children."
As the sun sets on the Bodrum peninsula, the old castle is silhouetted, the holidaymakers pack up for the day -  and the smugglers ply their trade.
They have willing customers from every stricken nation here. Some will never make it, caught in a no-man's-land of the refugee crisis or engulfed by the rough waters.
But they will still try. Because, from the shores of Bodrum, the dreams of Europe burn bright.


Native American Choctaw leaders have arrived in Ireland to unveil a sculpture celebrating the financial contribution made by the tribe to starving Irish people in 1847.

At the height of Ireland's Great Famine, Choctaws in southern states of the USA sent a donation of $170 (Â£111).
An extraordinary whip-round, that would be tens of thousands of dollars today.
The sculpture Kindred Spirits stands in a park in the small town of Midleton, in east Cork.
Cork-based artist Alex Pentek told the BBC that the 6m tall feathers, all unique "as a sign of respect" signify the feathers used in Choctaw ceremonies. They are arranged in a circle, making the shape of an empty bowl that symbolises the hunger suffered by Irish people in the famine.
A million people died in Ireland and another two million left the country when the potato crop failed for successive years, removing a vegetable that poor people ate every day.
The British government, which ruled the whole island at the time, did not offer comprehensive relief help, partly due to an economic doctrine of laissez-faire and partly due to a belief that the famine had been sent from God to improve Ireland, according to Charles Trevelyan, the British administrator in charge of relief.
The Choctaw people empathised with Ireland's famine victims. Just 16 years before, the American government had forcibly removed them from their land, moving them to designated parts of south-east Oklahoma.
In what became known as the Trail of Tears, thousands of people walked more than 1,000 miles (1,600km), having been forced to leave without gathering their possessions. Four thousand people died of hunger, cold and disease.
Historian Julie Allen told the BBC World Service's Newsday programme: "We had been through so much, losing so many of our people through death because of the weather, starvation and disease that 16 years later we heard about the Famine and the horrible situation that they were going through, we felt such empathy that we wanted to help.
"The memory of that has been passed down through oral history and written history to both the Choctaw and the Irish people.
"This is just such a blessing to us, that the links between our nations can be strengthened with this sculpture."
Mr Pentek said: "While I was trying to put myself in the shoes of the people suffering I realised that some things are just unimaginable, that the level and scale of suffering that both nations had endured was really beyond being able to think about, beyond our grasp."
Joe McCarthy of Cork County Council said there was no specific link between Midleton and the donation, but the story had "relevance to every single Irish person born since the famine".
The sculpture is made of stainless steel and includes more than 20,000 welds.


Three former hostages, held in Lebanon in the 1980s, have been talking about their ordeals at a County Down event.

Belfast-born Brian Keenan and journalists John McCarthy and Terry Anderson were speaking at the inaugural Rostrevor Literary Festival.
It is the first time in 20 years that Keenan and McCarthy have come together to relive their years in captivity.
Keenan told the BBC that talking about the past "makes things come back very clearly and poignantly".
He said he had to remind himself that he was talking to an audience.
"The past is literally and metaphorically another country to me," he added.
Keenan, who was kidnapped in 1986 while teaching in the Lebanese capital Beirut, spent four years in captivity, mostly in chains and blindfolded.
He shared a cell with journalist John McCarthy, who became Britain's longest-held hostage in Lebanon. Both have written a number of books, including Keenan's "An Evil Cradling" and McCarthy's "You Can't Hide the Sun: a journey through Palestine".
US journalist Terry Anderson was also taken by Islamist militants during what became known as the Lebanon hostage crisis, and he spent six years in captivity.
The one-day festival is taking place at Kilbroney Integrated Primary School, and while the morning session was dedicated to authors with a Middle East theme, poetry will dominate the afternoon session.
Although the festival is a first for the village, Rostrevor has some notable literary associations.
CS Lewis considered the part of Rostrevor which overlooks Carlingford Lough as "my idea of Narnia". There is a Narnia trail in Rostrevor's Kilbroney Park and James Joyce name-checked it in Ulysses.


A man and woman were taken to hospital after their vehicle crashed at a roundabout in Rhondda Cynon Taff.

The incident, involving a silver Citroen Berlingo, happened outside Mountain Ash Community Hospital on the A4059, at about 00:45 GMT on Saturday.
The 26-year-old woman passenger was seriously hurt. The driver, a 27-year-old man, was also injured.
South Wales Police are appealing for witnesses to get in touch.


A veterans charity that became the subject of a BBC Scotland investigation has been ordered to suspend fundraising by the charities watchdog.

The Charity Commission also issued a freezing order on assets held by Support the Heroes.
It followed secret filming by the BBC that showed fundraisers claiming they were working for free.
However, the charity later acknowledged that its workers were paid commission.
According to its website, the charity - registered in 2014 - said its main aim was to "provide help and support to current and past members of the British Forces suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder".
Some of the charities that received donations from it have included Combat Stress, Blind Veterans UK, the Royal British Legion, the British Limbless Ex-Service Men's Association and the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association.
These charities are not not being investigated by the Charity Commission's inquiry.
During secret filming, fundraisers had claimed 100% of the money donated by the public to Support the Heroes was given to veteran's causes.
But a later statement issued by the charity said it would be wrong for them to say that all the donations went on helping ex-forces, when fundraiser commission, payments to a management company and running costs still had to be deducted.
The evidence was broadcast in The Great Military Charity Scandal, broadcast last week on BBC One Scotland.
In a statement, the Charity Commission said: "The Commission opened a statutory inquiry into Support the Heroes on 10 November to further investigate public concerns about fundraising activities conducted on its behalf, and the management of conflicts of interest and arrangements with a professional fundraiser.
"The Commission has directed the charity to suspend fundraising activities until further notice and issued a freezing order on assets held directly by the charity or on its behalf.
"The decision to open the statutory inquiry follows on from the Commission's recent preliminary investigation into the charity's activities."
Support the Heroes said on its website that false accusations have been made about it in an attempt to discredit its fundraising activities.
It insisted it was not a "fake" or "fraud" charity but a real charity, registered and compliant with the Charity Commission and its guidelines.
"All contributions are accounted for, none are or ever have been misappropriated", it said.


The European Parliament has voted to limit the use of plastic bags in Europe, in a drive to curb pollution.

The vote has been hailed as an important environmental step. But critics say the targets should not be mandatory and countries should be allowed to take their own measures.
The law applies to lightweight plastic bags thinner than 0.05mm - the most commonly used in the EU.
Such bags are less reusable and often pollute seas and rivers.
In the future, EU countries will have two ways to implement the agreement:
A Danish MEP, Margrete Auken, steered the legislation through parliament and said it was a major step for the environment.
"We are talking about an immense environmental problem, with hundreds of billions of plastic bags being used every year.
"We will make sure that action is taken," she said. "The [European] Commission says countries should do these things themselves, but they are not doing them themselves! This is a genuine win-win situation."
But the Irish MEP Luke Flanagan from the European United Left political group disagreed.
"I agree with the concept of introducing taxes to reduce the consumption of plastic bags. It has been introduced in Ireland to great effect.
"However, the other side of the argument has to be looked at: what has it driven us to use? More paper bags, rather than... reusable bags.
"If you force member states to do something, they won't do it right, you do something because you want to do it! Leave it up to the member states."


Police investigating the fatal stabbing of a man have released CCTV footage of a cyclist they want to trace.

Christian Bagley, 30, was found with wounds to his arm and back near Hunderton Bridge in Hereford at 22:50 BST on 21 June. He died in hospital.
Police said the cyclist was seen riding along nearby Great Western Way at about the same time.
Footage is believed to show the same individual cycling in the direction of Hunderton Bridge earlier that day.
West Mercia Police have arrested two men, aged 27 and 33, on suspicion of murder.
Det Supt Adrian McGee, who is leading the investigation, said: "We are very keen to identify and speak to this individual.
"If you recognise yourself in this footage please get in touch with police immediately as you may hold vital information which could assist the investigation.
"Similarly if you were in the area near the Great Western Way ('the lines') or the pathway beneath the Hunderton Bridge and recognise the man in the footage or have any further information in relation to this incident please contact police as soon as possible."


Manchester City Women reached their third consecutive Women's FA Cup semi-final thanks to a late Nikita Parris strike at Bristol City Women.

The visitors led on seven minutes through Hayley Ladd's headed own goal, but Claire Emslie's low strike levelled the scores at half-time.
Man City had second-half shots from England's Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton blocked on the line.
But winger Parris' low finish won the game on 89 minutes.
Nick Cushing's side - which saw six changes from Thursday's Champions League quarter-final first leg in Denmark -  led when Bristol City keeper Caitlin Leach attempted to punch away Bronze's cross but her clearance ricocheted in off the host's unfortunate captain Ladd.
Man City keeper Marie Hourihan then saved brilliantly from Millie Turner's downward header from a set-piece, before Toni Duggan, Parris and Georgia Stanway missed chances to extend the visitors' lead at the other end.
On the stroke of half-time, Scotland forward Claire Emslie's low finish drew Bristol City level.
City's Carli Lloyd was denied by a good Leach save after the interval and the visitors then went close through Bronze, Houghton and Parris before the England winger snatched a late, hard-fought victory.
The draw for the semi-finals will take place live on BBC Radio 5 Live at 14:45 BST on Monday, 27 March.


The weight of Scottish farmed salmon fell in the final three months of 2016 by 4% compared with the year before, new figures show.

The drop was due to the problem of sea lice, which led to fish being harvested at a younger age.
However, a shortage of supply, combined with a global rise in demand, pushed the price of Scottish salmon up by 81%.
Producer Marine Harvest doubled its profits despite a 16% drop in volume for the fourth quarter of 2016.
Global production of Atlantic salmon dropped by 10%, while average prices were up 53% across the sector.
The final three months of the year saw total weight harvested from all Scottish salmon farms drop to 38,700 tonnes.
Rising prices also led to a decline in consumption in the European Union by 7%.
The volume of salmon sold into Asian markets declined by 12%, with the lack of large fish from European producers blamed for the drop.
Marine Harvest reported the cost of handling its "biological issues" - including sea lice - rose by 28% per kilogramme of salmon produced, compared with the end of 2015.
"This is mainly due to increased health and feed costs," it stated. "Prior biological challenges have contributed to a high cost level for salmon of Scottish origin also in the fourth quarter."
However, it reported costs were down "due to a general improvement in the biological performance of the fish being harvested".


(Close): The main US share indexes all fell on Tuesday as investors continued to fret about the effect of the strong dollar on corporate results.

The Dow Jones closed at 18,116.04, down 105 points, or 0.6%, while the broader S&P 500 dropped 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2091.5.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 16 points, or 0.3%, to 4,994.73.
The dollar rose against the euro by 0.2% to â‚¬0.9154.
The dollar's rise can hurt large US companies' profits, as they get less from their overseas earnings after currency conversions.
Additionally, the dollar's strength makes it harder for companies to compete with foreign rivals, which may be able to offer similar products more cheaply.
There was some welcome economic data on Tuesday, which showed US consumer prices had rebounded in February, but this failed to lift Wall Street.
The Consumer Price Index rose by 0.2% last month, after fuel prices increased for the first time since June.
The monthly rise follows three consecutive months of declines, including a 0.7% drop in January. On an annual basis, prices in February were unchanged from a year earlier.
Analysts said investors were wary of shares because of the possible impact of the stronger dollar on companies' profits.
"Right now, we are a bit of in a waiting pattern and the big news is going to be when these earnings reports start to hit in April," Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments, told Reuters.


A man living in Vancouver in Canada who was so concerned about litter he was seeing on a daily basis, has quit his job to help.

19 May 2015 Last updated at 09:09 BST
Andy Sward is now walking five thousand miles across Vancouver Island to St. Johns and has collected 31 thousand bottles and cans so far.
He travels around with his litter buggy which is made from an old pram. It's packed with food for the journey, clothes and a tent.
Andy wants to collect one million bottles and cans and hopes that he will inspire others to do the same.


The old footage begins with a large man in a blue tracksuit walking across a pitch and casually kicking a rugby ball out of his road.

Media playback is not supported on this device
It's 1997 and ID7 television are filming at Dunkirk rugby club in northern France. Their subject is in his mid-30s, has a full head of hair and is strangely familiar. He's not French, but he's fluent. Only when the cameraman asks him to say his name does the penny drop.
"Je m'appelle Vernon Anthony Cotter."
For four and a half minutes he doesn't miss a beat - and why would he? Cotter had been in the country for years by then. Four seasons playing in the back row with Rumilly in the south-east, two years with Lourdes in the foothills of the Pyrenees, a year with Saint-Junien in west-central France and he would soon kick on for the small southern village of Castelnau-Riviere-Basse, where he played and coached while briefly contemplating a new life as a winemaker.
Cotter is now sitting in Murrayfield talking about the past, the present, the future. The New Zealander has been Scotland coach for 31 Test matches - 16 victories, 15 defeats, nine of which were by seven points or less, five of them by three or less.
He's given a first cap to 26 players. Eighteen of the squad he has just named for the Six Nations have appeared on his watch.
He has just five more Tests before France reclaims him. Montpellier await. Time for reflection, then. Time to remember where Cotter came from and where he has taken Scotland in his two and a half eventful years.
Cotter is big into culture. Rugby culture. He learned about it first as a player with Counties in New Zealand but a lot of his knowledge came in those early years in France. "I used to think I was a reasonably physical player, but I was a baby," he says.
I understand New Zealanders so much more after living in Scotland because a lot of the influence comes from here
"I learned a lot about character and defending the jersey. You couldn't help but get swept away. The French flair - I used to laugh at that. It wasn't true. Overlaps were created because two forward packs were generally having a good whack at each other."
He tells a story about a derby match from the mid-90s, his own Lourdes team versus Pau. No love lost between them. In their previous meeting there'd been "scuffles" and Lourdes had come off second best.
"Our players were doing cartwheels going on to the paddock," Cotter recounts. "The coach said, 'Right boys, tactics for the day. The first five [eighth] kick it straight into the stand and we run up and punch them.' That's what happened. I had somebody who had given me a gentle tickle in the away game and I managed to line him up.
"There was an all-out brawl, but no penalty. We had a scrum in midfield and our locks came through and caressed the opposition front row a little bit with their hands. A couple of them needed treatment and we scored a try from there. It was an insight.
"It wasn't just a game. I enjoyed the fact that you were playing for your town and your colours. They could be absolute psychopaths on the paddock and gentlemen afterwards."
Years later, while coaching at Clermont, Cotter was given a nickname - les yeux de glace ('eyes of ice'). Years after that, in Scotland, he was christened Stern Vern. To understand what makes him tick, the period of his life in a country where he's already done 17 years, and where he will soon return for another three, is important.
Eight seasons at Clermont turned Cotter into one of the hottest coaching tickets in world rugby. The season before he took over, the club finished a poor eighth in the French championship. In his first year - and for the three years that followed - they made the final.
In 2010 they won the first league title in their history. Cotter - with his great friend Joe Schmidt as assistant coach - had become immortal in the French game.
Clermont were never out of the top four on Cotter's watch. Then, the move to Scotland. Not a lot of people in France could understand why he did it. Going to New Zealand, they would have understood. England, they could get. Ireland, perhaps. But Scotland?
"It's something that I didn't have to do, it's something that we wanted to do as a family," he explains.
"One of the key motivating factors was that people [in France] would take the mickey out of Scotland and its rugby. It sort of upset me. I was defending the underdog.
"Before the Six Nations, everybody would take a sweepstake and Scotland was always last pick.
"Look, I remember the 1990s. I remember Scotland coming to New Zealand [in the summer of 1990] and they should have beaten the All Blacks. We weren't inventing the game, Scotland were doing it. When we first came together as a squad we looked at some footage of those days. They were brave, confident warriors.
"Trying to bring that back to Scotland was one of the key things. They [Jim Telfer and Ian McGeechan, the coaches of the era] were ahead of their time. Any comparison to those two great men is very nice. I would take inspiration from what they did. The game has moved on but some of the essential things they were coaching are still relevant, especially to the Scottish psyche.
"Scotland has a proud history. It's a humble country and it's a place you can become attached to very quickly."
In Cotter's first Six Nations, in 2015, Scotland got whitewashed, Wooden-spooned and, at times, embarrassed. Last season brought progression. The brilliance and pain of the near-miss against Australia in the World Cup, the home win against France in the Six Nations, the fact - incredible as it seems - that 2016 was the first time in the 17-year history of the competition that Scotland managed to score more points than they conceded, and hit double figures for tries scored.
Media playback is not supported on this device
Scotland have become an exciting team. More than at any point since last winning the championship under Telfer in 1999, they're posing a threat to the big nations.
"The principal foundations are mindset and skill-set," says Cotter. "It was about creating clarity.
"The other thing is leadership, creating a leadership group so that they determine behaviour and standards because it's always much easier when you have a group that can think on its feet, that's autonomous. I think that's where we're getting.
"You've got a team that's experienced some good things and some bad things. We've become aware of what we can do. Winning is the most important thing. So how do we win? We go through a painful process of learning how to win.
"There's been improvement. Would we have liked quicker improvement? Yeah, we probably would. Would we have liked to nail some of those close games? Yes. But we've used them as benchmarks."
Media playback is not supported on this device
On the opening day of the Six Nations, Ireland come to Edinburgh. "We played them at the end of the competition in the last two years and their strength in depth showed through," Cotter recalls.
"We have more depth now to stay a bit more robust until the end. I'd like to think this game will be closer than those two.
"It's a really big challenge for our guys. Joe [Schmidt, Ireland coach] is a really good friend and we'll probably have a beer afterwards. Unfortunately, he's always the one with the smile on his face - and I'd like it to stop. I'd like to get one back on him."
Beyond that, it's a trip to France, then a visit from Wales, then a journey down to England. Scotland have moved forward, but that's no guarantee of victories in the coming weeks.
"We know that these teams are very good," he insists. "When they see us on the fixture list they know they're going in as favourites, very confident that they'll beat us. It's our job to try to surprise them somehow, to have something that will take them away from the comfort zone and create errors in their game that we can exploit."
Five more games and then he's away. It's not the way he planned it. It's just the way it is, he says.
When the news broke that this was going to be Cotter's final Six Nations, an audible gasp could have been heard around Scottish rugby. There had been little hint of it, no suggestion his time was coming to an end.
He would have preferred to stay on, but Gregor Townsend was ready for an elevation and there was only one way that was going to happen.
Will he miss it? "Undoubtedly, but we'll come back on holiday," he says. "You never know, you might find that Glasgow are in Montpellier's pool next year in European rugby.
"It was always going to be the deal. The SRU had made it known at the outset that they'd like a Scottish coach in the national position sooner or later and I respect entirely the decision. Would I have liked to continue? Yeah, probably would have, but that's the way it is."
Cotter, without doubt, has been good for Scotland but he says Scotland has been good for him, too.
"I understand New Zealanders so much more after living in Scotland because a lot of the influence comes from here," he explains. "I recognise it in our rural communities.
"I'm not an extroverted person - I'm introverted, I'm quiet - and I love the countryside, I love what Scotland has got to offer, whether it's the coastline, the mountains, the rivers. I enjoyed my time in Colonsay, fishing on the west coast in Plockton, stalking in Glen Shiel.
"We've got some good friends in the Borders who love their rugby and it's nice to see their passion. They talk about passion in France, but there's some real passion here for the game.
"It's been a privilege, the whole thing. I've only got fond memories. I move on. The game has existed in this country for over a hundred years and it will exist long after I've left. There's another project to move to after I finish here. We were going to go back to New Zealand but then Montpellier came up. They wanted something constructed and the communication I had with the president convinced me that there was perhaps another adventure to take on."
More than anything he wants to exit on a high. In the coming weeks he says he wants the team to deliver moments that will bond them together not just in the here and now but for decades down the road.
"They give everything, these guys," he adds. "They're striving to give people something to be proud of. The stadium is a sell-out for Ireland. So, game on..."


A 13-year-old boy has been charged after a fire in a derelict part of the Royal Cornhill Hospital site in Aberdeen.

Two rooms in the former hospital were affected by the fire on Monday evening but no-one was injured.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and Police Scotland attended.
A police spokesperson later said: "A 13-year-old boy has been charged and will be reported in connection with wilful fireraising."
Officers were said to be continuing to follow positive lines of inquiry.
Police said they were working with local schools to make children aware of the dangers of derelict buildings.
Insp Jason Carrigan, from the Kittybrewster community policing team, said: "They should not be entered under any circumstances.
"Fire creates a very real danger for the people in the area as well as the emergency services who have to respond to such incidents.
"As part of our work in the community, we continue to liaise with local schools to make children aware of these dangers."


Vinyl sales topped three million last year, the highest UK total in 25 years.

More than 3.2 million records were sold in 2016, a rise of 53% on the previous year, according to the BPI, which represents the music industry.
David Bowie's Blackstar was the most popular album on vinyl, selling more than double the number of copies of 2015's biggest-seller, Adele's 25.
The last time vinyl fared so well in the UK, in 1991, Simply Red's Stars was the year's biggest-selling record.
However, vinyl still only accounts for 2.6% of the overall music market - and while it continues to enjoy a resurgence, sales of CDs and downloads are falling rapidly.
A total of 47.3 million CDs were bought in 2016, a drop of 11.7%; while downloads plummeted by 29.6%, with just 18.1 million albums bought online.
Four years ago, when the download market was at its peak, that figure was 32.6 million. Now, consumers are increasingly turning to streaming services.
Source: Official Charts Company
According to the BPI, there were approximately 45 billion audio streams in 2016 - the equivalent of the UK's 27 million households each listening to 1,500 songs over the course of the year.
In December, more than a billion streams were served in a single week for the first time. To put that in context, the UK is now streaming more songs in a week than it did in a month just three years ago.
Additionally, the BPI's figures do not account for music listened to on YouTube because the Official Chart Company does not collect data from Google's video streaming service.
However, it is estimated that if YouTube was included, the figure for streams accessed by music fans in the UK would double.
The most popular artists of 2016 were Adele and Coldplay, who outsold all their competitors, despite not releasing new material.
Adele's 25, which came out in November 2015, was the year's biggest-seller (not counting compilations), shifting 753,000 copies. Coldplay were in second place with A Head Full of Dreams, which racked up 512,000 sales.
Michael Ball and Alfie Boe released the most successful new album of the year, selling 512,000 copies of their record Together in just five weeks and topping the Christmas chart.
Their sales victory was something of a surprise, given that they went up against high-profile new releases from the likes of Robbie Williams, Emeli Sande, Little Mix and Olly Murs.
The year's biggest single was Drake's One Dance, which accumulated more than 141 million streams, while Justin Bieber's Purpose was 2016's most-streamed album.
Overall, the music market grew by 1.5% over the course of 2016, achieving an estimated retail value of Â£1bn.
Source: Official Charts Company
Vinyl has now enjoyed nine consecutive years of growth since facing near extinction in 2007. Some fans prefer the "warmth" of the sound compared with digital files, while others buy LPs as souvenirs and works of art.
Last year, a BBC/ICM poll found that people who listened to music on streaming services were more likely to buy vinyl - often as a goodwill gesture to an artist they loved.
But 48% of those surveyed said they did not play the vinyl they bought - while 7% did not even own a turntable.
Follow us on Facebook, on Twitter @BBCNewsEnts, or on Instagram at bbcnewsents. If you have a story suggestion email entertainment.news@bbc.co.uk.


A weekly wage bill of £20,000, a battalion of former Premier League players and an owner who has made himself manager and films team-talks for social media.

Billericay Town are not your average non-league club - and Glenn Tamplin is not your average manager.
Tamplin motivates his players by getting them to sing R Kelly's 'The World's Greatest' before every match. He has also introduced a lion-themed home dressing room to inspire his team.
The flamboyant multi-millionaire, raised on a Dagenham council estate and now worth around £30m after setting up his own steel business from scratch, has pumped more than £2m into Billericay since buying the Essex part-timers nine months ago.
His signings include former Liverpool players Jermaine Pennant, 34, and Paul Konchesky, 36, and he wants Billericay in the Football League in five years.
Media playback is not supported on this device
On Saturday, Pennant, a finalist with Stoke City in 2011, will play in the FA Cup first qualifying round for his new seventh-tier club against Didcot Town (12:30 BST) - a match you can watch live across BBC Sport's digital platforms.
Tamplin's short reign has not been without controversy, while Billericay have become the team every non-league club wants to beat.
"I will get League Two in five years, I'll have a bet with any man in the world," said 45-year-old Tamplin. "But why can't this club go all the way? Why can't we have 25,000 and be in the Premier League like Bournemouth in 10 years time? Who's stopping us?"
Listen: We're aiming for League Two in five years
Media playback is not supported on this device
Tamplin paid £120,000 for a 95% stake in the Isthmian Premier Division outfit last December after a failed attempt to acquire National League Dagenham & Redbridge.
Life at the club nicknamed Ricay has not been the same since.
Gates have rocketed from 211 12 months ago to 4,582 for a pre-season friendly against West Ham's Under-23 side last month, while season ticket sales are somewhere between 700-800.
Crowds are not the only thing on the increase at the renovated AGP Arena - so too is the wage bill.
Former Charlton and Leicester full-back Konchesky, who played two games for England, was the first of four high-profile signings. He was swiftly followed through the dressing room door in March by 30-year-old ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jamie O'Hara.
Since then Tamplin has tempted winger Pennant, a Champions League finalist with Liverpool in 2007, and 32-year-old full-back Kevin Foley, who had three seasons in the Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers between 2009-12, to join.
The arrival of the quartet - 745 Premier League appearances between them - led to reports that Billericay's weekly wage bill is more than £30,000 and players are being paid 10-times-plus more than their rivals.
"I had seven or eight ex-Premier League players come to me - some asking for £5,000-a-week, some wanting £1,500. I can tell you now, the most any of our players earn is £1,000-a-week," Tamplin told BBC Sport.
"There are others on £300. The weekly wage bill is around £20,000 but that includes all the coaching staff.
"My players have big hearts, they're humble and they are here for the right reasons."
Billericay were mid-table when Tamplin bought the club.
"The facilities were falling down, there weren't many coming to watch, and people thought I was mad," he said.
Within three months, and despite no previous football managerial experience, he had appointed himself interim boss after Craig Edwards, the highly-respected manager in charge for the past seven years, resigned citing "broken promises".
Six months on, Tamplin remains manager.
"I went looking for a new manager but some of those I spoke to thought they were about to win the lottery," he said. "I know how to manage people because that's what I have done all through my working life.
"If we don't win the league this season, I will step down as manager."
Billericay, who finished eighth in 2016-17, are top of the the table after winning four of the opening five games. Their one defeat was at home to Kingstonian, managed by former Ricay boss Edwards.
Listen: None of this is a PR stunt
Tamplin's short reign has not been without controversy.
He reacted badly to criticism of the newly designed home dressing room, which have pictures of lions spray painted on to the walls alongside motivational messages.
In response to photographs posted on Twitter by Tamplin, a fan wrote: "Stop the world, I want to get off." Tamplin replied with: "Tall building or fast train fella…just jump if you had enough."
"I hugely regret that tweet," the father-of-five added.
"When I sent it one of the family dogs had just died in front of the children. I have lots of people who troll me and my family every single day. But there are no excuses. I make more mistakes than anyone, but I won't make the same mistake again."
Critics claim Billericay are a 'circus' under Tamplin, while a recent editorial in The Non-League Paper argued for and against the entrepreneur.
"There is nothing wrong with having a vision, which Tamplin unquestionably has, and if the owner of a football club wishes to spend his own money, that's his prerogative," it said, adding: "The painted murals in and around the ground, the pre-match singing and war cries - all posted on social media by Tamplin himself for the world to see. It's taking the gloss off what the players and the football club are really about."
Tamplin launched his AGP Steel business in a small yard with a handful of staff in 2002 after taking out a bank loan for £50,000. He now lives in a £12m mansion and owns eight sports cars.
"When I first started work, I remember getting a K Reg Ford Orion Ghia, it was the best car of my life," he added.
"Then I upgraded to a Mercedes, then as I started my own business it went to Bentleys, then it went to Ferraris, now it's collectable cars.
"What I'm trying to say is as you grow your targets get greater."
Yet the pressure of building a company took its toll and, a few years ago, Tamplin became severely depressed.
"I tried to take my own life, I was in the devil's pit. I was working between 15 and 17 hours a day, I had overheads and pressure was building at work," he explained.
Tamplin has since become a born-again Christian and has the inspirational quote 'I thought about quitting until I realised who was watching' tattooed on his body as a reminder of that dark chapter in his life.
"My children, my family, depend on me. I'm the king of the jungle in their eyes," he said. "The biggest influence in my life? God."
Tamplin, who has spent around £1m upgrading Billericay's ground, says he is trying to galvanise the local community.
He's introduced street pastors to home games so fans can talk over problems, while Billericay's ground has 50 seats for disabled children, who receive free admission, food and drink.
Recently, Billericay named a new stand after young football fan Harry Parker, who has a rare form of cerebral palsy.
Tamplin donated £45,000 towards the cost of an operation to help the seven-year-old walk again.
When Billericay missed out on promotion last season, they were taunted by opposition fans with chants of "what a waste of money".
When the full-time whistle sounded after a 5-0 win at Thurrock on Monday, up went the chant again.
This time, it was Tamplin who was leading it - a tongue-in-cheek response to the criticism he and his club have received.
Love it or loathe it, it is impossible to ignore the noise coming out of Billericay Town.


A fourth instalment of cult TV movie phenomenon Sharknado has been confirmed, with fans getting to decide what happens next.

The announcement was made as Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! premiered on US TV on Wednesday on the Syfy channel.
It ended with a piece of space shuttle hurtling towards April, played by Tara Reid, and the caption: "You decide if #AprilLives or #AprilDies".
Sharknado 3 will premiere on Syfy in the UK on Thursday.
As the film reached its cliffhanger, a voice-over informed US fans they would find out the outcome of the Twitter vote and April's fate in a fourth instalment of the franchise.
"Now's your chance to be part of Sharknado history," it said, "You decide if April lives or April dies.
"Her fate will be revealed in Sharknado 4. Because we're not done yet!"
Reid confessed the twist came as a surprise to her too, telling the Hollywood Reporter: "That was a shocker! I didn't expect that!"
"I think that's going to be a big turning point for the franchise. It gives it some excitement, and it's giving the fans a chance to interact.
"No matter what happens, I'm proud to be a part of this phenomenon."
After the first two films saw a tornado of sharks hitting first LA and then New York, Sharknado 3 sees the action moving to Washington and Florida.
The made-for-television disaster film also stars Ian Ziering as Fin and David Hasselhoff as Fin's dad, as well as cameos from Jerry Springer, Bo Derek and former X Factor stars Jedward, who recorded the theme song.
The Sharknado franchise has taken social media by storm, with the first two films generating more than a billion tweets between them. Sharknado producer, Chris Regina, hopes this latest stunt will prove just as engaging.
"I'm hoping that we're going to break the internet this time with the "April lives, April dies" at the end," Regina told Hollywood Reporter.
"I think it's going to be precedent-setting. I can't think of an instance where another network has done something of that nature at the end of an event. Hopefully it's a TV first."
But despite fans' interest in the franchise, it has yet to win over the critics.
"Having now watched "Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!" I find myself in the position of having to write about it. And I am not sure which is worse, really, or even how to proceed," said Robert Lloyd, writing in the LA Times.
The Telegraph's reviewer Michael Hogan found the film, "so self-referential and in-jokey that the franchise is in grave danger of eating itself."
He added: "It frequently felt more like Victoria Wood's wobbly-setted soap spoof Acorn Antiques than a proper production."
IGN's Matt Fowler writes that it is "often shockingly awful" and concludes: "Sharknado 3 is bad, as it should be. As it must be.
"I only wonder how much time we're all willing to devote to something that's now totally awful by demand."
Fans can vote for what they want to see happen in Sharknado 4 on Twitter or on Syfy's dedicated website.
Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! airs on Syfy in the UK at 22:00 BST on Thursday 23 July.


The mother of an eight-year-old boy who died after a gravestone fell on him has told a fatal accident inquiry of her desperate attempts to save his life.

Ciaran Williamson died at Craigton Cemetery in Glasgow's Cardonald area in May while playing with friends.
Stephanie Griffin said she found him with blood coming from his ears and nose and checked for a pulse.
Moments earlier her partner, Thomas McGee, had discovered Ciaran under a headstone. He died later in hospital.
Miss Griffin, 25, told the inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court that she had allowed her son out to play for 10 minutes.
Shortly afterwards a friend knocked on her door to say Ciaran was hurt.
Miss Griffin said: "I heard him saying something about 'you need to come quick Ciaran is bleeding, he's hurt himself' so Thomas just flew out of the door."
The mother-of-four said she ran to see what was wrong and came to a hole in the wall at the nearby cemetery.
Despite her partner asking her to stay away she barged in to see her son and found him on the ground.
Through tears she said: "I turned round and seen him lying on the floor and I knew as soon as I saw him that something really bad had happened.
"Blood was coming out his ears and nose, he was just lying in this puddle all around him."
"I tried to check for a pulse, checking his arm and his leg.
"I kept slapping his face like 'come on Ciaran, come on Ciaran just get up."
She said Mr McGee told her "when I got here that was on him", referring to a gravestone.
The inquiry heard she "fell to the ground" and screamed and shouted, then on instruction from the emergency services went to look out for the ambulance.
Miss Griffin said when paramedics arrived they took Ciaran away to Yorkhill Children's hospital.
Medics battled to save Ciaran but when Miss Griffin arrived at the hospital she was told there was nothing they could do.
Miss Griffin said she warned Ciaran not to play in the graveyard because it was dangerous and disrespectful.
The inquiry will establish if there were any reasonable precautions that could have prevented the tragedy and whether there were any defects in the system of work which caused or contributed to Ciaran's death.
A joint minute read to the court noted that a post-mortem examination revealed head and neck injuries and damage to the brain stem as a result of "immediate cardiac arrest".
The inquiry before sheriff Linda Ruxton continues.