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BEER-DRINKING blokes tend to be more fertile and father more children, a study shows.

Enjoying an occasional pint seems to improve the chances of would-be dads, a study of couples having IVF found.

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Beer-drinking blokes tend to be more fertile and father more children, a study has revealed[/caption]

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Highest pregnancy rates were in those who drank least coffee and most beer[/caption]

Moderate consumption — rated as one unit a day, or half a pint — can have a positive effect.

The study, which contradicts medical advice that hopeful parents should quit booze, was carried out at Harvard University in the US.

A team studied data from 296 couples and grouped the men based on their tea, coffee, beer, spirits and fizzy pop consumption.

Highest pregnancy rates were in those who drank least coffee and most beer — 60 and 59 per cent, respectively.

Study author Professor Jorge Chavarro said: “We found that . . .  beer intake was positively associated with the probability of a live birth.

“Coffee or tea with caffeine, and liquor, had the reverse association.”

The reason was “unclear”, he said, but beer drinkers may be healthy in other ways and moderate consumption is unlikely to change semen.

The NHS suggests couples trying for a baby should limit themselves to six units per week — less than half the usual 14.

A spokesman said: “Ideally people should avoid alcohol completely.

“Excessive alcohol reduces fertility and damages sperm.”

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A CHEF severely burned when a vape battery exploded in his pocket said yesterday: “I won’t kick the e-cigs habit.”

Dad-of-two Josh Dickens needed skin grafts after the Vapcell power unit burst into “fireworks” — scorching his leg and privates.

Roland Leon

Josh Dickens, 30, needed skin grafts after the power unit of his vape burst into ‘fireworks’ — scorching his leg and privates[/caption]

It burned through his trousers and pants as he tried to wrestle them off during “three minutes of hell” before dropping to the floor — setting it alight, too.

Married Josh, 30, threw his hoodie over the battery and put it in the sink before tending his wounds.

He said: “It was a nightmare.

“With no warning, my pocket was on fire.

“You don’t think it would happen to you until it does.”

Josh, of Hinckley, Leics — who bought the faulty battery from the town’s Sky Blue Vape Lounge — needed the grafts after contracting an infection, but will keep vaping.

He said: “It’s not put me off.

“If you burn yourself eating a cookie, you’re not gonna stop eating cookies — you’ll just do it differently.

“I use smaller vapes now, with tiny batteries, and I’ve learned not to put them in my pocket.”

Sky Blue Vape Lounge and Vapcell were approached for comment.

GOT a stash of old and broken stuff ready to take to the tip?

Look closely before it goes, as sometimes there’s an easy fix that could extend its life so you don’t have to pay to replace it.

It might be something you can do yourself, but if not, there’s lots of help available, such as local repair cafes. 

Harriet Cooke reveals how four people successfully fixed up items destined for the trash.

YOUTUBE

The internet is an amazing resource of “how to” videos of how to repair items, particularly on Youtube – although take care when handling electricals.

Jo Smedley, 48, from Grimsby, was determined to rescue her 40-year-old Kenwood Chef food mixer after it started to smoke.

She managed to save herself £300 by not replacing it.

“I do a lot of baking at Christmas using our old Kenwood, which is amazingly strong and robust,” she says.

“But last year it started to smoke really badly and we had to stop using it.

“I looked around for other equivalent machines and found they were over £300 – but I didn’t think they’d be as good.

“So, I started hunting the internet for “fixes”. I have no electrical skills but I read numerous posts and watched YouTube videos showing how to fix it.”

Jo discovered that the issue was caused by something called “carbon brushes”, which were all the way inside the machine.

She had to take out the entire motor assembly and put it back together with new brushes.

“I bought the carbon brushes for £5 on eBay and set to work. 

“I followed the video and put it all back together, then found there were three screws left over, so I took it apart again, watched the video backwards step by step, and found where the pesky screws were meant to go, and then turned it on and worked.

“It’s now running better than it has in years, saving me well over £300.”

Jo, owner of Red Herring Games, has since used her newfound skills to mend her dishwasher and washing machine.

“The how-to videos on YouTube are amazing and save you so much money.”

CHEAP FIXES

Mum-of-one Vicky Collins, 49, from High Wycombe in Bucks, has found super cheap ways of fixing her children’s toys to extend their life, and it’s saved her around £100 on buying new ones. 

She says: “My three-year-old son has a red rocket that he plays with all the time and the door fell off, which was a real shame for him.

“I ordered some red Sugru, which is a kind of mouldable, rubbery glue that’s great for repairing broken plastic things, and it holds the door in place really well where the hinge had snapped. 

“It doesn’t matter to him that the glue is slightly the wrong shade of red.” 

Sugru costs around £10 from Amazon.

Vicky, who runs the extra tuition firm totaltutoring.org.uk, also transformed a secondhand play kitchen from Ikea using a Magic Eraser, which costs around £3 from supermarkets. 

She explains: “I bought a £20 Ikea toy kitchen from Facebook Marketplace, which a child had scribbled all over with a Biro. 

“I used a Magic Eraser to take away all the pen marks and it looked like a new one, which was a good saving as they normally cost around £85.

“Magic Erasers are great for removing scuff marks and stains from hard surfaces like walls or furniture.”

Chris Young, 50, from Penge, also found an easy fix when his dishwasher stopped working due to tiny holes in the tray at the bottom.

The charity worker, who coordinates the Real Bread Campaign, says: “The manufacturer quoted me £400 for a new one, but I bought J-B Weld SteelStik for about £8 and filled the holes. 

“That was about five to six months ago and the machine is still working.”

REPAIR CAFE

If you’re not hands-on, another solution is to find a local repair cafe.

There are more than 140 in the UK.

Professional organiser Janine McDonald, 54, who runs Clear The Clutter Now, visited her local branch in Boothstown, near Manchester, with her 14-year-old Dyson DC24.

“The motor had gone and it would have cost more than £100 to send it to Dyson to fix.

“I fixed part of it by watching YouTube but it still wasn’t right, so I took it to my local repair cafe. 

“They told me what part I needed to order from eBay and then they fitted it for me. Now it works perfectly. 

“The part only cost £20, so they saved me £80.”

She also took a quilted coat there after the zi got stuck, and they managed to fix it for free.

“There’s a lovely community feel at the cafe and you can get coffee and a drink for £1.”

Ebony Cropper, expert at the advice service Money Wellness, says: “Some repair cafes even have their own collection of tools and equipment, like sewing machines, screwdrivers or soldering irons, that you can borrow if you want to restore more things at home. 

“And a few also have 3D printers, which can be used to make new components where old ones are beyond repair.

Find your local one at repaircafe.org.

REPAIR MAN

Lifestyle coach Caroline Lamont, 48, from West London, saved herself around £500 by getting a repairman to fix two appliances instead of replacing them.

Caroline rents out a flat in Tooting, South London, and the maintenance team from the estate agents wanted to replace the hob as the ignition was broken, and the dishwasher as it also wasn’t working.

“They quoted me £200 for a new hob, and £400 for the dishwasher,” she says.

“It seemed like a ridiculous amount of money as both appliances were only about six or seven years old, and I also found out the previous tenant hadn’t even used the dishwasher, so it only had three years of use.

“I went online and found a repair guy who charged me £95 plus VAT to fix both, and they work perfectly.”

To find a repair service, use reputable online directories like Checkatrade or TrustATrader.

THE ALGARVE offers much more than just sunshine and golf.

The resort region in Portugal is now officially the best-value holiday destination globally, according to the Post Office Travel Money’s 19th Holiday Money Report.

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The data, released today, shows that prices for everyday holiday essentials, such as food and drink, in this popular family getaway destination have plummeted in 2025.

And this has been helped even further by sterling’s strength against the euro, which has increased by 6.3 per cent compared with March 2023.

The report looked at the price of eight everyday items in 47 popular travel destinations across the world to calculate which regions offer the best value.

The items are: A cup of coffee, a bottled beer, a bottle of Coca-Cola or Pepsi, a glass of wine, a bottle of water, suncream, insect repellent and an evening meal.

This is the first time in nine years that the Algarve has come out on top with the cost of a standard three-course meal for two (with wine) averaging just £40.33, lower than any other holiday spot in the report.

The eight holiday items totalled just £58.95, which was almost £1 cheaper than the next most affordable destination.

Cape Town in South Africa, although pricey to get to, came in second.

The cost of booze in this hot spot was shown to be cheaper even than the winning destination, with wine averaging £2.07 per glass (compared with £2.80 in the Algarve) and a bottle of beer typically £2.07 (compared with £2.12 in the Algarve).

Despite achieving second place in the chart, Cape Town’s prices have shot up by 11 per cent since last year.

Significant price rises have also taken place in the third most affordable destination — Japan’s capital Tokyo.

Prices were up by 7.4 per cent on last year, but overall costs were still low with all eight items ­totting up to £63.34.

Kuta in Bali and Delhi in India came fourth and fifth respectively with totals for each less than £70.

With four long-haul destinations occupying the top five spots this year, shelling out on flights to a far-flung country may not be such a bad idea when costs can be kept low on arrival.

If you’re a big beer fan, perhaps set your sights on Hoi An in Vietnam.

The Post Office data shows that a bottle of beer here will cost just £1.53 on average, more than 50p cheaper than in South Africa’s Cape Town, the second cheapest spot for drinkers.

Favourite summer destinations such as Prague, the Costa del Sol and Lanzarote also made it into the top 15 most affordable destinations — eighth, tenth and 13th, respectively.

At the opposite end of the scale, New York is seeing huge hikes in prices with the eight holiday items totalling an eye-watering £167.85 — almost triple the cost in Algarve.

You may save yourself a fair bit of cash if you decide to go teetotal for the visit, though as a glass of wine averages £11.08, while a bottle of beer will set you back £7.07.

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Hawaii was proven to be another pricey location, as was the chic French coastal city of Nice where total costs came to £155.80 and £153.03 respectively.

Laura Plunkett, Head of Travel Money at the Post Office, said: “Despite fluctuations and some uncertainty about sterling when it fell against key currencies earlier in the year, it has now bounced back from its January dip and currently looks stable.

“More encouragingly, the two-year rate comparison in our Exchange Rate Monitor shows that sterling has risen in value against practically every holiday currency since March 2023.

“This is a reassuring trend for holidaymakers planning trips abroad this year.”

DRIVING lessons for refugees granted asylum have cost taxpayers almost £30,000 in three years.

The figures were branded “disgraceful” by one local while campaigners called for the handouts to stop.

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Driving lessons for refugees granted asylum have cost taxpayers almost £30,000 in three years[/caption]

More than £20,000 was spent on lessons and tests for refugees in the past 12 months alone by Kent County Council.

That was four times higher than the previous year, when £5,028 helped them on the road.

In 2022-23, £3,567 was spent — taking the three-year total to £28,740.

Kent has seen more than 150,000 migrants arrive in the Channel, with 4,000 this year.

Residents face a five per cent council tax hike from next month, taking the average bill to £1,691 a year.

The figures were uncovered by a Freedom of Information request by local Liam Bennett, 42, from Folkestone.

He said: “I find it absolutely disgraceful that refugees are being taught to drive at our expense.

“Not only is our council tax rising by five per cent this year, Kent is the front line when it comes to illegal channel crossings.

“Just how much more will be frittered away?”

Benjamin Elks, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, added: “While working Brits pay through the nose for their own lessons, refugees are having their bill covered.

“Kent County Council should put an immediate end to this scheme, as should any other town hall offering this.”

Many councils offer financial support to help new arrivals live independently, and Kent County Council insisted only those granted asylum status are eligible for the driving lesson funding.

It also said care leavers aged 18 to 24 are supported if they need to learn to drive — and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are legally entitled to the same care.

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