British households are bracing for a severe winter energy price squeeze after oil prices surged to a four-month high above $105 a barrel.

The jump is another setback for millions of families already under pressure from the cost of living crisis, with Brent crude climbing as high as $105.84 a barrel on Thursday as worsening conflict in the Middle East raised fresh concerns over global oil supplies.

Oil has risen by nearly $10 since the start of the week, while UK natural gas prices have reached their highest level since December 2022.

The sharp increase is expected to be felt quickly by motorists through higher petrol and diesel prices, while also threatening to push up food and household energy bills — deepening fears of a difficult winter for consumers.

A renewed rise in inflation could also put pressure on the Bank of England to lift interest rates in the months ahead, increasing mortgage costs for homeowners and buyers.

Government borrowing costs rose again yesterday as the prospect of higher inflation and interest rates – as well as increased spending and borrowing under Andy Burnham – rattled the bond markets.

The yield on ten-year gilts – a key measure of how much it costs the UK to borrow – surged to a 19-year high above 5.3 per cent .

It came after the UK this week paid a record 5.82 per cent interest on the sale of £4.25billion of 30-year bonds – the highest yield since the Debt Management Office was set up in 1998 to raise funds from investors.

The squeeze on family finances is a major blow to Mr Burnham’s hopes to tackle the spiralling costs facing households.

And the spike in borrowing costs is a headache for Chancellor John Healey ahead of the Budget next month as he struggles to calm jittery bond markets.

UK bond yields are the highest in the G7 and it is feared any misstep in the form of extra spending and more debt could spark a fierce backlash on the markets – sending borrowing costs ever higher.

‘The UK’s poor fiscal position argues in favour of a cautious approach,’ said Andrew Goodwin, chief UK economist at Oxford Economics.

‘The credibility of the current plan to reduce borrowing is relatively weak.’

Inflation is running well above the 2 per cent target at 2.9 per cent with economists warning it could hit 4 per cent next year.

Thomas Pugh, chief economist at consulting firm RSM UK, said: ‘Inflation is now on track to peak at almost 4 per cent next year. For businesses this means higher input costs at a time when the economy is likely to be weakening, putting pressure on margins.

‘For households it means private sector pay growth is likely to turn negative in the second half of the year, creating even more pressure on the cost of living.

‘And last, but not least, for Chancellor Healey, it will mean balancing an even bigger hit to his fiscal headroom against demands to do more on the cost of living.’

The latest rise in oil prices followed US attacks on Iranian tankers and strikes on Saudi Arabia by Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.

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It came just day after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned the Iran war and extreme weather threaten to ignite another burst of inflation.

He also said that mortgage costs in the UK have already risen faster than in any other country in the G7 ‘with the possible exception of Japan’ – even though the Bank has not raised official rates.

This is because the surge in bond yields has fed through the real economy – pushing up the cost of borrowing for households and businesses alike.

Oil prices have risen more than 30 per cent since the US-Iran war started more than six months ago but the benchmark is well below the high above $126 a barrel reached in late April 2026.

The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which previously funnelled around 20 per cent of global supplies but now only hands a fraction of its normal traffic.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said the rising oil price and subsequent inflation shock ‘has major implications for personal finances, corporate profits and financial markets’.

The latest data from the RAC showed the average price of petrol has increased by 5p a litre in the last week to reach 167.17p, and diesel has risen by the same amount to 188.63p.

The last time unleaded petrol prices were that high was four years ago, according to the motoring group.

Furthermore, experts warned that the latest surge in wholesale prices could feed through into consumer energy bills in the winter.

Ofgem’s energy price cap will rise by 4 per cent in October, and analysts are predicting a bigger hike to the price cap in the new year.

Oxford Economics warned it could rise by another 13 per cent in January – hitting households in the depths of winter.

Ellidy Pullin has shared the happy news that she is engaged to her partner, Brock Wadsworth.

The 34-year-old Gold Coast influencer and podcast host is now wearing a dazzling engagement ring that appears to come with a sizeable price tag, according to a jewellery specialist.

Wedding and engagement ring expert Nilesh Rakholia, founder of Abelini jewellers, examined the eye-catching piece and offered an estimate on its impressive value.

The ring features an elongated cushion-cut diamond set in a yellow-gold bezel design, a style that closely resembles the sparkling piece pop superstar Taylor Swift received from her now-husband, Travis Kelce, when they became engaged in 2025.

According to Nilesh, the main diamond is likely to be in the region of five carats.

It features what appears to be a high-quality natural diamond, putting the ring at a value of $250,000 to $350,000. 

If the diamond was lab-grown, Nilesh estimates a visually comparable ring could be worth around $7,000 to $12,000.

‘It’s a beautiful ring, and very wearable. The elongated cushion gives you the softness of a traditional cushion cut, but with more length through the finger, so it feels substantial without looking overly square or heavy,’ Nilesh says. 

For Nilesh, the bezel setting is the most distinctive part of the design and makes the ring comfortable for daily wear. 

‘Rather than claws holding the diamond at individual points, the gold follows the outline of the stone,’ he said. 

‘It gives the ring a much cleaner silhouette and also protects the edge of the diamond more effectively, which makes sense for something you’re going to wear every day.’

Nilesh says he is not surprised to see another high-profile engagement ring use a bezel setting after Taylor Swift kickstarted the trend. 

‘Taylor Swift’s engagement ring helped put bezels back into the mainstream conversation,’ he said.

‘The appeal is easy to understand. People want engagement rings that feel a little less formulaic, but still practical enough for everyday wear. A bezel gives you both.’ 

He continued: ‘Ellidy’s ring is a really good example of why bezel settings are having a moment. 

‘The elongated cushion gives you the scale, the yellow gold adds warmth and the bezel keeps the whole thing clean and distinctive.

‘It photographs beautifully, but more importantly it looks like a ring someone could live in.’ 

Abelini is a high-end jeweller with locations in Australia and the United Kingdom,  specialising in high-quality diamond and gemstone jewellery, including an array of wedding and engagement rings. 

Pullin’s engagement marks a major new chapter six years after the death of Olympic snowboarder Alex ‘Chumpy’ Pullin in July 2020. 

Taking to Instagram to share the news, Ellidy revealed Brock had popped the question during a trip to Europe, with the couple celebrating their engagement in a series of romantic photographs. 

‘HE WANTS TO BE STUCK WITH ME FOREVER,’ she captioned the post alongside several crying and ring emojis.

Brock is a Gold Coast-based contractor and the managing director for Wadsworth Contracting.

Ellidy’s former partner Chumpy drowned on the Gold Coast at the age of 32 in a freak spearfishing accident on July 8, 2020.

In the months following his death, Ellidy underwent posthumous sperm retrieval and later welcomed their daughter Minnie in October 2021. 

Two construction companies have been ordered to pay fines totalling £1.1million following the death of a Romanian labourer who was buried alive when a 10ft trench collapsed around him.

Gheorghita Arsene, 33, had been digging the ten-foot-deep pit by hand with a pick and shovel at a care home in Banstead, Surrey, when the trench walls gave way in what was described as a “barely believable” incident on June 24, 2020.

The labourer was engulfed by tonnes of soil after the sides of the excavation were not properly supported, allowing the ground to cave in and trap him beneath the earth.

His co-workers made frantic attempts to save him, digging with their bare hands as they tried to clear debris from around his face.

Firefighters and ambulance crews were called to the site, but paramedics struggled to resuscitate him because of the crushing weight of the soil and the difficulty of freeing him from the collapsed trench.

It was not possible to carry out chest compressions as they could not get Mr Arsene out of the trench. 

He was pronounced dead at the scene at 2.44pm, an hour after the accident happened. The excavation was so unsafe that the body could not be removed until the following morning. 

The site manager, 54-year-old Peter Wraith, was earlier cleared by an Old Bailey jury of manslaughter by gross negligence, while his assistant Gregory Peake, 51, was also cleared of breaching health and safety regulations. 

The jury had failed to reach a verdict on subcontractor Anthony O’Connor, 42 – who denied the manslaughter of Mr Arsene by gross negligence – after 73 hours and 28 minutes of jury deliberations.

O’Connor admitted failing to ensure Mr Arsene’s safety under Health and Safety regulations after Judge Judy Khan indicated she would not pass a custodial sentence and the manslaughter charge was dropped. 

But both Wraith and O’Connor’s companies, the specialist care home builder Appledorn, and subcontractor T Vaughan Limited (TVL), were all convicted of failing to ensure Mr Arsene’s safety by unanimous verdicts. 

Wraith was a boss at Appledorn, who had won the contract to build a new facility at Woodstown House in Park Road, Banstead. 

O’Connor was a manager at a subcontractor for TVL, who had been hired to carry out ground work at the site and dig the trench. 

The offending companies have now been fined a total of more than £1.15million over the tragedy, which the ruling judge called ‘entirely avoidable’. 

Sentencing O’Connor to 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, Judge Khan said: ‘You did nothing to stop the work…even though it was not being carried out safely.

‘I’m satisfied you had actual foresight of the offending, but risk was still taken. There was a high likelihood of death. A number of workers were exposed to a risk of harm. 

‘The offence was a significant cause of actual harm.’

She added: ‘You did not ensure that a proper risk assessment or method statement was in place prior to the excavations taking place, you did not ensure that the trenches were supported or battered back, and you did nothing to stop the work continuing on June 24, although it was obvious to you that it was not being carried out safely.’ 

Fining Appledorn £500,000, Judge Khan said: ‘There was serious and systemic failure within the organisation to address health and safety. 

‘I’m satisfied the failure to put safe working conditions in place was motivated by a desire to get the work done quickly and cheaply.’ 

The judge also found there was ‘deliberate concealment’ and limited mitigation. 

Fining TVL £650,000 and ordering them to pay £40,000 in costs, Judge Khan said she was satisfied the company had health and safety systems in place but that they were not adhered to. 

The judge said: ‘At its most senior level, the company has demonstrated a very responsible approach. This offence was not symptomatic of TVL’s approach – it was an outlier.’

She also credited the company for fully cooperating with the police probe. 

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During the three-month trial, jurors heard that by June 24, 2020 most of the work had been completed, but there was a problem with the drainage pipes at the site which meant they would have to be replaced. 

The trench was so narrow that there was only enough room for one man to dig at a time, and Mr Arsene had been taking it in turns with another employee, Daniel Plitan, when the tragedy happened. 

Prosecutor John McGuinness said: ‘At the time of the accident, Mr Arsene was working at the bottom of the trench with a shovel and a pickaxe which he had been using to clear away soil from around the damaged pipe when, without warning, one or more of the sides of the trench collapsed.

‘Victor Lungu, who was in the digger, saw the trench starting to collapse and shouted to Mr Arsene, who looked up. 

‘Mr Arsene reacted, but was only able to take one or two steps to try to get out of the trench before the soil fell and almost completely covered him. 

‘Lungu got out of the digger and rushed down to where Mr Arsene was in the trench. He shouted to him but there was no response and he ran off to get help. 

‘Desperate attempts were made by those there to get Mr Arsene out from under the soil that was covering him. 

‘They managed to move away enough soil to expose his face and upper body, but he was unresponsive to all attempts to revive him. 

‘Shovels were of limited use and some rescue personnel had to try and dig him out by hand. 

‘While they were doing this, more soil was falling into the trench. The ground around the trench was boggy and unstable.’ 

At 2.44pm, more than an hour after the accident had happened, a doctor who had arrived by air ambulance pronounced Mr Arsene dead at the scene. 

Mr McGuinness said it ‘was entirely foreseeable that the sides of the trench might collapse’. 

The excavation was so unsafe that the body could not be removed until the following morning. 

A post-mortem found the labourer had died from compression and suffocation. 

The prosecutor continued: ‘Despite the obvious risk that the walls of an excavated trench to this depth would collapse, and the obvious risk of death to anyone who was working at the bottom of such a trench, all the sides of the trench that George was working in were completely unsupported and not a single step or measure had been taken to prevent the risk of collapse and of death.’ 

He added: ‘There will be evidence that it has been known for many years in the construction industry that the risk of a trench of this type collapsing is extreme, and therefore those who work on sites such as this one have been made aware of the types of measures that can be taken to prevent such collapses.’ 

The court heard how if those measures had been taken, Mr Arsene would not have died. 

‘The prosecution suggest it is barely believable that absolutely nothing was done,’ Mr McGuinness said. 

‘It is astonishing there was no risk assessment and no method statement for the deep trench excavation work that led to the accident here. 

‘Neither Appledorn nor TVL gave any thought in advance to the safety of two men working in the bottom of a trench, the sides of which were liable to collapse at any moment – and eventually did.’ 

In a victim impact statement, Mr Arsene’s mother Ienuta said she had warned her son not to go in the trench and revealed that her husband had died from a heart attack in the months that followed. 

She said: ‘Gheorghita was a good man who worked hard and achieved everything through his hard work, and he sought to support his family. 

‘I have a depression that is eating me away and a constant feeling of loneliness.  Everyone in the family was devastated by Gheorghita’s death.’ 

Wraith, from Grimsby, and O’Connor, from Romford, east London, denied gross negligence manslaughter. 

TVL and Appledorn denied corporate failings under the Health and Safety at Work Act. 

Peake, from Bromley, south London, denied two charges of breaching Health and Safety regulations.