Mirror's Daily Digest - top five stories you need to read tonight

Welcome to the Mirror's Daily Digest, where we'll be pulling together all the best stories of the day from our News, Showbiz, Sport teams and more. This Bank Holiday Monday, we're featuring everything from the "mass casualty" incident at a beach in Wales to the surprising interruption at the US Open.

We’ve also got a strong exclusive with formerBBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond on Prince Harry’s reconciliation breakthrough, while our Showbiz team spoke to EastEnders starCheryl Fergison about beingscammed by her own accountant. Meanwhile, our Money team has rounded up the full list of bank holidays in 2026, as Brits enjoy the last long weekend beforeChristmas in England and Wales.

'Mass casualty' emergency at UK beach

Our news team has been closely following the "mass casualty" incident at a beach in Wales, involving several children. They reported that a majorrescue operation was carried out by coastguards at Aberavon Beach on Sunday evening after the children got into "serious difficulty" in the sea off the slipway.

Three of the youngsters were rescued aftercoastguards deployed a throw line. The others were rescued while in the water. The coastguard described it as a "mass casualty" rescue. Police, ambulance crews and local volunteers were all involved in the huge emergency services operation.

The casualties were rescued from the sea while Coastguard Rescue Officers carried out emergency care. The children were then transferred to the care of the ambulance service. The emergency response involved three ambulances. Two of the youngsters were taken to hospital while the other four made their own way there.

Read the full story here.

Harry 'anxious' over rift after 'petty' royal decision

Our Royal team spoke exclusively to formerBBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond about Prince Harry, who is reportedly 'anxious' not to cause more friction withKing Charles. It comes after a reconciliation breakthrough emerged last month when senior aides for both Harry and the King met for so-called peace talks.

Earlier this week, reports suggested that Harry paid a poignant tribute to his grandfather,Prince Philip, in a personal letter secretly left at theNational Memorial Arboretum on the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. It was reported that Harry asked a friend to discreetly leave the note and a wreath of red poppies at the Burma Star Memorial, with the letter only placed after Charles and Camilla left to avoid distracting from the service.

In response to the move, Firm expert Jennie told the Mirror: "I think this shows that Harry has definitely not completely turned his back on his royal life and that he will always regard himself as a member of the wider military family. He hasn’t turned into a Californian surfer dude after all: he remains a prince and a former soldier.

"He is also the grandson of one of those who fought in the 'Forgotten War' and the letter and wreath which were placed so discreetly were dedicated to Prince Philip and those who served with him in the Pacific. It was a graphic illustration that, although Harry has left official royal duties behind, he will always be part of theroyal family."

Read the full story here.

'I left CBB house to find I was broke - I wanted to pulverise man responsible'

On day two of our exclusive series, in extracts adapted from her new book Behind The Scenes, EastEnders star Cheryl Fergison told our Showbiz team how she was left penniless after beingscammed by her own accountant.

“I wanted to pulverise him, really I did. I wanted to grab him by the collar and scream in his face. I wanted him to feel the crushing panic I’d felt, the betrayal and the grief,” says Cheryl, as she recounts how, in 2012, she emerged from the CelebrityBig Brother house to news that her accountant had conned her.

“For five years, I paid him. For five years he pocketed the money and didn’t pay a single penny to HMRC. Everything I had built, saved and worked for was gone.I don’t use the word hate very often. It's a heavy word, one you can’t always take back, but in this case, I meant it. I hated him. Not just for what he did, but for how he made me feel about myself.”

She added: “Going broke when you’re famous is the worst, because everyone expects you to have lots of money. People assume that you’re minted. They don’t imagine you’re juggling overdrafts, maxed out credit cards, payday loans and mountains of bills. But that was exactly where I found myself.”

Read the full story here.

Every UK bank holiday coming in 2026 so you can book time off now

As Brits enjoy the last long weekend before Christmas in England and Wales, our Money team has rounded up the full list of bank holidays in 2026.

It comes as millions of people up and down the country enjoy the August summer bank holiday today, but the end of the summer might get them thinking about booking their holidays for next year. The latest data from the RAC reveals a massive 17.6 million getaways by car are expected to take place over the August bank holiday, with millions of people driving home today ahead of the return to work tomorrow.

RAC mobile servicing and repairs team leader Nick Mullender said: "With this bank holiday being the last opportunity to enjoy a long weekend before Christmas, our study shows a real eagerness to get out and about with nearly 18million drivers planning getaway trips."

You can maximise your time off by booking annual leave around the bank holidays next year - but when exactly are the bank holidays in 2026 taking place? Check out the full list of dates in the link below.

Read the full story here.

US Open star in meltdown after photographer enters court on match point

In other news, our Sports team has been covering Daniil Medvedev's first round match against Benjamin Bonzi at the US Open, which suffered a surprising interruption when a photographer entered the court on match point.

Tennis star Medvedev had faced a number of frustrating moments during his match against Benjamin Bonzi, and things got even worse when the French underdog was serving for victory, they wrote. With Bonzi serving at match point, chair umpire Greg Allensworth could be heard telling the photographer to "get off the court".

Bonzi looked as though he didn't know how to react, and was granted another first serve due to the disturbance taking place between his first and second serves. Medvedev was visibly unhappy at the decision,racing over to Allensworth's chair to remonstrate, while the star was also seen smashing his racket.

Read the full story here.

READ MORE: Coco & Eve's viral 'flawless' fake tan that sells every 20 seconds is 20% off