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WAYNE MARDLE has revealed why Luke Littler has left darts rivals quaking in their boots ahead of the World Championship.

Littler, 17, is one of the favourites to clinch this year’s title while avenging his debut final defeat to Luke Humphries.

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The teen has enjoyed a meteoric rise up the rankings in his first year on tour.

Littler was crowned the Premier League champion after some incredible weekly displays.

And he goes into the Worlds as winner of the Grand Prix after a barnstorming win over Martin Lukeman in Sunday’s final.

Littler has now shot up the charts to be listed No5 in the world rankings while taking his career earnings to over £1million.

As a result, former pro Mardle now reckons the youngster is the man to beat at Ally Pally next month.

The Sky Sports pundit feels some of Littler’s performances at the Grand Prix were second to none.

And Mardle adds the fan favourite must be considered favourite to win the Worlds… especially if rival Humphries crashes out early.

Mardle said: “Coming into this, it was Luke Humphries, he’s the man to beat, he’s the one that they’ve all got to kid of get rid of and get out of the draw.

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“Now it’s Luke Littler and if Littler or Humphries goes out early in the Worlds, the other one goes as the favourite immediately.

“The way that Luke Littler has played this week, he was playable. At times it was unplayable — especially with Martin Lukeman and against Jermaine Wattemina.

“But two players have had a right good go at trying to beat him and just failed.

“It’s not that they can’t beat Luke, it’s just the fact that he somehow finds a way to get over the line.

“And in the long-format World Championship, he’s going to be difficult to beat, he really is, and the other players know that.”

Mardle also reckons Littler has already established himself as one of the greatest players in darts’ history.

He added: “The way we saw him acquit himself every single week in the Premier League was mind-blowing, it was mesmerising.

“It’s a real tough ask, so difficult week in, week out. But when you are good enough, none of that matters, and Littler’s good enough.

“He’s right up there with some of the best we’ve ever seen, but he’s got to do it again and again and again.

“He’s right up there with Phil Taylor, Michael van Gerwen, Raymond van Barneveld and Eric Bristow, for me.”

Inside Littler's massive rise

LUKE LITTLER has taken the darts world by storm since exploding onto the scene at the PDC World Championship at the beginning of the year.

The Nuke reached the final on his Ally Pally debut at just 16 years of age – smashing records along the way.

He has then gone on to win a host of PDC events and the Premier League title – which he claimed at the O2 Arena by beating world champion Luke Humphries in May.

He also finished his first season in the World Series as the No1 ranked player.

He has joined Jude Bellingham on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe list.

And the teenage titan even had to snub an invite from the WWE.

The Sun exclusively revealed that Littler is plotting to create a fitness empire.

He is also cashing in away from the Oche thanks to an Instagram side hustle.

And he’s even the face of a brand new cereal.

But he is newly single after splitting from girlfriend Eloise Milburn following a 10-month relationship.

Check out all of our latest Luke Littler stories.

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CAPTAIN Tom Moore inspired the nation with his lockdown heroics raising millions for the NHS – but his daughter’s actions have tarnished his legacy.

Hannah Ingram-Moore and her husband Colin pocketed £1.5million from a book deal, giving none to his charity.

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The Captain Tom Foundation last night asked for the cash back “immediately and without the need for further action”.

A Charity Commission report found the couple plundered the war veteran’s memory for their own profit.

It is understood much of the funds were put into an illegal luxury spa in their garden using the Captain Tom Foundation charity name.

The block was demolished earlier this year after the family lost an appeal against Central Bedfordshire Council’s order for it to be torn down.

The report also reveals that Ingram-Moore, 54, blocked from paying herself a £150,000 salary as charity CEO, took £85,000 a year and reimbursed her own firm with £80,000 in costs from the foundation.

The couple hoodwinked the public by promising royalties to the charity from its merchandise website.

Instead buyers were redirected to external sites where no commission to good causes was collected.

And they gave the charity £8,900 from a Capt Tom gin from profits thought to be well over £100,000.

Publishers Penguin agreed to pay a £1.4million advance to the Ingram-Moores’ private company for Capt Tom’s memoir on the understanding a contribution would be made to his charity.

He raised nearly £39million for NHS charities by walking 100 lockdown laps of his garden.

In the prologue to Tomorrow Will Be a Good Day, Capt Tom, who died in 2021 aged 100, wrote: “I have also been given the chance to raise even more money for the charitable foundation established in my name.”

Just £17,000 in royalties went to charity.

The report concluded: “The public would understandably feel misled given no donation has been made to the charity.”

Last year, Mrs Ingram-Moore wept as she told Piers Morgan she and her hubby pocketed £800,000 from book sales.

But the true scale of their plunder is far greater.

The Ingram-Moores, who used Capt Tom’s name to try to sell their £2.25million home in Marston Moretaine, Bedfordshire, have been banned as charity trustees.

Penguin said: “We are extremely disappointed.”

Liz Brownsell, of law firm Birketts, said: “There is nothing suggesting fraud.

“It is more a moral than a legal issue.”

REPORT’S FINDINGS

The 30-page report published on Thursday after a two-year inquiry found the Ingram-Moores carried out repeated instances of misconduct.

These include “disingenuous” statements from Mrs Ingram-Moore about not being offered a six-figure sum to become the charity’s chief executive.

The commission said it had seen evidence she had set out expectations for a £150,000 remuneration package before taking on the role.

The report also found there was a misleading implication that donations from book sales would be made to the foundation.

It added the public “would understandably feel misled” to learn that sales of his autobiography did not benefit the charity.

An advance of nearly £1.5million was paid for a three-book deal to Club Nook, a firm for which the couple are directors.

The commission also found there was no evidence to support Mrs Ingram-Moore’s claims she attended an awards ceremony – for which she was paid £18,000 – in a personal capacity.

It said just £2,000 of that sum was donated to the charity.

The Ingram-Moores used the foundation’s name in an initial planning application for the illegal spa pool block – which they claimed had been made in error.

The Charity Commission opened the case in March 2021 before it was escalated to a statutory inquiry in June 2022.

The watchdog’s chief executive David Holdsworth said the report found “repeated failures of governance and integrity”, and that its inquiry had been fair, balanced and independent.

He added said the foundation set up in Sir Tom’s name “has not lived up to that legacy of others before self, which is central to charity”.

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CHILDREN in Need chairwoman Rosie Millard has quit over payments made to a scandal-hit charity whose ex-boss is convicted paedo.

The 59-year-old accused the BBC charity for disadvantage kids of “institutional failure” in an explosive letter after £460,000 of grants were awarded to controversial group LGBT Youth Scotland.

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It has been hit by a series of child sex abuse scandals.

She quit after six years in the role days after Children in Need raised £39.2million during last Friday’s fundraiser.

Ms Millard also slammed the organisation’s “dithering” chief executive Simon Antrobus for his response to revelations that hundreds of thousands were donated to LGBTYS.

Children in Need began giving the charity cash months after then chief executive James Rennie was convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting a baby boy as part of a sordid paedo ring.

Then this year, Andrew Easton – who co-wrote a “coming out guide” for LGBTYS – was convicted of sharing indecent images of children, including of newborn babies.

The grants to the youth group were halted in September after Ms Millard said she alerted Children in Need to the Rennie case in May, The Times reports.

She accused Mr Antrobus of failing to respond with the “necessary level of seriousness” to the scandal.

She also claimed the charity chief only cut funding over fears of bad publicity.

Ms Millard said on hearing about the scandal, Mr Antrobus said it ruined his enjoyment of a Bruce Springsteen concert.

In her letter, Ms Millard said: “That they could write this about the reported rape of a child is astonishing.”

In a statement she added: “It has been an honour and a privilege to serve as chair of BBC Children in Need.

“Witnessing the incredible impact of our supporters’ generosity on the lives of children and young people has been truly inspiring.

“I’m immensely proud of the collective achievements we’ve made together.”

BBC Director General Tim Davie praised Ms Millard for her leadership.

He said: “She has had a significant impact on countless children and young people and we wish her all the best for the future.”

Mhairi Crawford, chief executive of LGBTYS, told The Times Ms Millard’s resignation letter “demonstrates the ideologically driven nature of her attacks on our organisation”. 

Rennie, a former SNP government advisor, from Edinburgh, was jailed for life, assaulted a three-month-old baby he was babysitting for.

As part of one of Britain’s worst paedo rings, he also conspired to gain access to children to abuse them, including accessing a dedicated email account while at work, a court heard.

Easton, meanwhile, was convicted of downloading and distributing indecent images of children.

He was found with dozens of video files, some containing the most serious category of child abuse images.

He was convicted in August, but avoided prison and was given a Community Payback Order.

LGBTYS has suspended the guide written by Easton.

In a statement, a BBC Children in Need spokesperson said: “Nothing is more important to us than the safety of all children and young people.

“When allegations were made in relation to LGBT Youth Scotland their grant was immediately suspended with the full support of the board and a review began.

“In order to do this thoroughly and fairly the review took three months and culminated in the decision to withdraw funding.

“The Children in Need board of trustees are supportive of the actions taken by the CEO and senior leadership team and stand by the decisions made.

“Rosie at all times retained the board’s support. 

“In the wake of her resignation, in order to ensure any lessons learnt are captured, the trustees have instigated a review of ways of working between the board and executive in which Rosie has kindly agreed to participate.”

COPS are desperately hunting for the parents of a baby whose body was dumped near a snow-covered field.

The grim discovery of “Baby A” was made by a dog walker yards from Ashtons Field in Salford close to the M61 motorway bridge at around 12.30pm yesterday.

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Greater Manchester Police still do not know the sex, age, or ethnicity of the infant, with the remains found in a wooded area beside the entrance to parkland.

A police cordon remains in place at the scene of the grim discovery near Ashton’s Field in Little Hulton as scenes of crime officers continue to work under two forensic tents.

Floral tributes and soft toys, including stuffed teddy bears and snowmen, have been left at the cordon by concerned locals.

Among these were a number of upset young mums carrying their own infants who visited the scene to pay their respects and lay tributes.

Michelle Eddison, 43, was walking her dog Apollo around the Ashton Fields area this morning.

Michelle said: “This area is really popular with dog walkers and kids. It’s always busy during the day. We’ve walked our dog here many times.

“There would be no time to leave a baby. This is a very busy road and the mother could be from anywhere really.

“The whole community is rattled, really shocked.”

Ashton’s Field, an area of meandering paths, grassland  and woodland on a former colliery site, is off Cleggs Lane, near the M61.

The baby’s remains were discovered just yards from the entrance, beside which is a makeshift lay-by at around 12.30pm.

Julie Cooper, 45, said: “Because the poor little baby was found so close to the road and entrance to the park, it could well be that someone has driven here.

“They’ve just pulled in and thrown or placed the baby in the bushes and driven off. They could have come from anywhere.”

Dawn Thompson, 31, visited the site with her four month old daughter Piper to pay her respects and lay a soft toy at the cordon.

Dawn said: “I’ve come to pay my respects to the little baby. I’ve got my own, so it hits a lot harder when you see something like this.

“It’s horrible to know it was a baby and I feel sorry for the poor person whose found it.

“It made me cuddle my own baby a bit more.

“We don’t know who the little baby’s family are. It’s hard to know what to think until you know why they’ve done this.”

TRAGIC FIND

Greater Manchester Police have stated that they we are following several lines of enquiry, and we are working with local partner agencies to understand who this baby could be, how long they have been here, and how they have sadly died.

Addressing reporters at a press conference near the scene, Chf Supt Neil Blackwood said yesterday: “Tragically, today, we have found what we believe to be the remains of a young baby on Ravenscraig Road in Salford.

“We have a scene in place, and you will likely see an increased presence of officers in the local area while we carry out enquiries to understand the circumstances.

“All of this is extremely sensitive, and this investigation needs to be handled with the utmost care it deserves, and it is going to take time.”

The Chf Supt urged anyone with any information to come forward.

“The most important thing for us right now is to find answers for this baby,” he said.

“Even the most minor of detail could be crucial to our investigation.

“If you have seen anyone in the area over the last few days, or know who the parents could be, please call as soon as you can.

“As soon as we are in the position to confirm further details about the circumstances, we will do so.”

The Chf Supt added that post mortem results should be released within the next two days.

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Jason Roberts / Manchester Evening News