Terry Ball – renowned shoe salesman, friend to former mafiosi – has vowed to spend his remaining years finding ways to cheat authorities he feels have cheated him. His greatest ruse? A tax-dodging snail empireIt is a drizzly October afternoon and I am sitting in a rural Lancashire pub drinking pints of Moretti with London’s leading snail farmer and a convicted member of the Naples mafia. We’re discussing the best way to stop a mollusc orgy.The farmer, a 79-year-old former shoe salesman called Terry Ball who has made and lost multiple fortunes, has been cheerfully telling me in great detail for several hours about how he was inspired by former Conservative minister Michael Gove to use snails to cheat local councils out of tens of millions of pounds in taxes. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2025/dec/04/the-long-read-snail-farm-tax-avoidance-scheme-terry-ball">Continue reading...</a>

تيري بال، بائع الأحذية السابق البالغ من العمر 79 عامًا والمزارع الذاتي المعلن عن الحلزونات، قد وضع خطة لتجنب الضرائب مستلهمة من الوزير المحافظ السابق مايكل غوف، بهدف خداع المجالس المحلية من ملايين الجنيهات في الضرائب من خلال إمبراطوريته للحلزونات. تم مناقشة هذه الخطة خلال اجتماع في حانة ريفية في لانكشاير مع عضو مدان من مافيا نابولي.

Terry Ball, un ex-vendedor de zapatos de 79 años y autodenominado agricultor de caracoles, ha ideado un esquema de evasión fiscal inspirado por el exministro conservador Michael Gove, con el objetivo de engañar a los consejos locales por millones en impuestos a través de su imperio de caracoles. Este esquema fue discutido durante una reunión en un pub rural en Lancashire con un miembro convicto de la mafia de Nápoles.

Terry Ball, un ancien vendeur de chaussures de 79 ans et auto-proclamé éleveur d'escargots, a mis au point un stratagème d'évasion fiscale inspiré par l'ancien ministre conservateur Michael Gove, visant à tromper les conseils locaux de millions de livres en taxes grâce à son empire d'escargots. Ce stratagème a été discuté lors d'une rencontre dans un pub rural du Lancashire avec un membre condamné de la mafia de Naples.

Terry Ball, a 79-year-old former shoe salesman and self-proclaimed snail farmer, has devised a tax avoidance scheme inspired by former Conservative minister Michael Gove, aiming to cheat local councils out of millions in taxes through his snail empire. This scheme was discussed during a meeting in a rural Lancashire pub with a convicted member of the Naples mafia.

The snail farm don: is this the most brazen tax avoidance scheme of all time?

Residents report homes shaking from quake with epicentre near the village of Silverdale in LancashireResidents were shaken by what felt like an “underground explosion” after England’s biggest earthquake in two years affected towns and villages across Lancashire and Cumbria.A 3.3-magnitude earthquake was felt as far as 12 miles from the epicentre near the coastal village of Silverdale in Lancashire shortly after 11.23pm on Wednesday. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/dec/04/earthquake-of-33-magnitude-rattles-lancashire-and-lake-district">Continue reading...</a>

زلزال بقوة 3.3 درجة هز بالقرب من قرية سيلفرديل في لانكشاير بعد الساعة 11:23 مساءً يوم الأربعاء، مما دفع السكان للإبلاغ عن اهتزاز المنازل وتجربة شبيهة بـ 'انفجار تحت الأرض.' وقد شعر بالزلزال في عدة مدن وقرى في لانكشاير وكومبريا، مما يمثل الحدث الزلزالي الأكثر أهمية في إنجلترا منذ عامين.

Un terremoto de magnitud 3.3 sacudió cerca del pueblo de Silverdale en Lancashire poco después de las 11:23 PM del miércoles, provocando que los residentes informaran sobre casas temblando y una experiencia comparada con una 'explosión subterránea.' El sismo se sintió en varias ciudades y pueblos de Lancashire y Cumbria, marcando el evento sísmico más significativo en Inglaterra en dos años.

Un tremblement de terre de magnitude 3,3 a frappé près du village de Silverdale dans le Lancashire peu après 23h23 mercredi, provoquant des rapports de maisons secouées et une expérience comparée à une 'explosion souterraine.' Le séisme a été ressenti dans plusieurs villes et villages du Lancashire et de Cumbria, marquant l'événement sismique le plus significatif en Angleterre depuis deux ans.

A 3.3-magnitude earthquake struck near the village of Silverdale in Lancashire shortly after 11:23 PM on Wednesday, causing residents to report shaking homes and an experience likened to an 'underground explosion.' The quake was felt across towns and villages in Lancashire and Cumbria, marking England's most significant seismic event in two years.

The snail farm don: is this the most brazen tax avoidance scheme of all time?

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