Megan Howe

Hi - I'm Megan, an English graduate from the University of Exeter and an award-winning journalist. Based in London, I currently serve as a News Reporter for Mail Online.

Winner of the Best Academic Achievement Award for the NCTJ Community News Project and ESSO Practical Skills Award.

I was also commended for my 'outstanding work' as a former Community News Reporter at the NCTJ Awards for Excellence 2022.

Formally a Senior News Reporter for the Shropshire Star and Features Writer for HotSpot Media. Words at The Sun, OK! Magazine, The Mirror UK, Take a Break, Shropshire Star, Express & Star, Empoword Journalism, and Social Songbird.

Featured Articles

Explore a featured selection of my written work below.

Daily Mail • 8th March 2024

Woman, 45, cannot get breast implants linked to deadly cancer removed

EXCLUSIVE: A 45-year-old woman with breast implants potentially linked to a rare and deadly form of cancer has been told she can only get them removed if she develops signs of the disease.

Daily Mail • 12th February 2024

Builder lost everything after disgraced NHS surgeon botched knee op

EXCLUSIVE: A builder who lost his business, his wife and his home after a botched operation left him unable to work, has revealed how his life was turned upside down — as he racked up £40,000 of debt and was thrust into poverty.

Rodney Winchester, from Thetford, was left disabled at just 55-years-old after disgraced NHS surgeon Jeremy Parker took out his entire knee joint during an operation.

Daily Mail • 26th January 2024

Don't be a landlord, warns celebrity doctor Renee Hoenderkamp

EXCLUSIVE: Celebrity doctor Renée Hoenderkamp has warned against becoming a landlord after a nightmare tenant devastated her flat and left her fighting a 15-month battle to evict him.

Dr Hoenderkamp, 56, says she never intended to become a landlord to 'make a profit', it was a way for her to keep paying the mortgage on her one-bed flat in Hendon, northwest London, after her son moved out.

But after a nightmare tenant left her with a cracked bathtub, a corroded floor, a bathroom covered in filth and a gla

Daily Mail • 19th January 2024

'He's a remorseless monster': Victim of domestic abuse speaks out

EXCLUSIVE: A woman who suffered years of abuse at the hands of her ex-boyfriend — as he forced her to perform sex acts online and beat her when she was 38 weeks pregnant — has bravely spoken out about her horrific ordeal.

Daily Mail • 7th January 2024

I was born into a cult... priests controlled everything we did

EXCLUSIVE: A woman born into a religious cult has revealed how priests kept an iron grip on her life - telling her how to dress, think and even how to sit.

MNA Media • 2nd November 2023

Family steps up to keep dairy farm thriving after sudden death of beloved husband

MNA Media: After the sudden death of her husband early last year, mum-of-two Hannah Potter was determined to keep the family farm running in his honour.

MNA Media • 26th October 2023

Taxi driver told to remove Cross of St George from vehicle as it breaches Shropshire Council advertising policy

MNA Media: John Brockhurst, who runs Basil's Taxi, said he felt "annoyed" after receiving an email from the council asking him to remove the cross because it did not comply with the advertising policy that hackney carriages must not feature any "symbols, flags or emblems".

MNA Media • 14th October 2023

'Cheers! We saved The Falcon' – 200-year-old pub reopens thanks to remarkable Shropshire community effort

MNA Media: The Falcon closed its doors in December 2022 and in January 2023, suffered extensive damage to the interior caused by cold-weather induced flooding.

MNA Media • 4th October 2023

'Broken beyond repair': Nurse waits in A&E for more than 48 hours with suspected bleed on the brain

MNA Media: The registered nurse, from Newport, who asked not to be named, said he had been suffering from persistent migraines and headaches for two weeks before he went to see his GP and was "sent home" with co-codamol.

MNA Media • 27th September 2023

Mourners fill church for funeral of 'gorgeous young woman' killed in Telford crash

MNA Media: St Nicholas Church in Newport was filled with mourners this afternoon, who had come dressed in an array of colours, for the funeral of Neve Cotgrave Hewitt.

MNA Media • 9th September 2023

'Life will never be complete': Mum's tribute to her 'princess' killed in Telford crash

MNA Media: Neve Cotgrave Hewitt died in the single-car collision in the early hours of Tuesday on the A442 near Trench Lock.

Neve's mum Penny Cotgrave, from Newport, said: "She was a diva. She was the most kind, caring, beautiful baby with attitude.

MNA Media • 17th August 2023

Mum still looking for school in Shropshire for her autistic son after facing a year of rejections

MNA Media: A mum-of-four from Shropshire is still looking for a specialist school for her son, one year after she was told his current placement could no longer meet his needs.

MNA Media • 15th August 2023

Restitution: How might shifting cultural attitudes affect our region's tourist trade?

MNA Media: How might shifting cultural attitudes affect our region's tourist trade?

MNA Media • 15th August 2023

'Boiled alive': Midlands tourist compares Rome to being in a cooker as holidaymakers struggle in heatwave

MNA Media: Bridgnorth resident Jack speaks out about record temperatures in Italy and the fears of locals and tourists alike.

MNA Media • 15th August 2023

Travel Review: Finding 'friluftsliv' and fine food on a Norwegian fjord adventure

MNA Media: Travel review.
The Norwegian Fjords are an otherworldly beauty ¬– a once-in-a-lifetime experience if you’re lucky enough.

MNA Media • 18th July 2023

Treatment waiting times: All the key numbers for Shropshire and Telford in the month of May

MNA Media: Treatment waiting times for NHS patients in Shropshire and Telford during the month of May have been revealed.

MNA Media • 22nd May 2023

Cheating partners, catfishing and fraud: All in a day's work for a Shropshire-based private investigator

MNA Media: A day in the life of a Shropshire private investigator

MNA Media • 15th May 2023

How doctors saved seven-year-old Telford girl's life after she bumped heads in the playground

MNA Media: It's a parent's worst nightmare. When seven-year-old Darcey Grace Gourley bumped heads with another child in the playground, it didn't take long for it to become clear that something was seriously wrong. A few hours later, doctors were forced to operate to save her life.

MNA Media • 13th May 2023

Market Drayton woman fighting for return of beloved cat Fred after she receives request to transfer ownership

MNA Media: What at first was pure elation that the lost member of her family had been found, quickly turned into worry and frustration as Beryl was told she'd need to go through police to get the details of the finder.

MNA Media • 25th March 2023

Plans for Shrewsbury 'super GP hub' put on pause due to lack of capital funding

MNA Media: A national scheme that would have seen health and wellbeing hubs created in six areas across the country, including in Shrewsbury, has been paused by NHS England due to lack of capital funding.

MNA Media • 23rd March 2023

Foreign Office whistleblower from Shropshire suing Government after being sacked

MNA Media: The 42-year-old worked at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for seven years, two of which were at the British Embassy in Kabul.

MNA Media • 11th March 2023

Ex-footballer released by dream club at 17 opens up about 'loss of identity' after rejection

MNA Media: Richard ‘Rich’ Wilkinson, from Whitchurch, was released from his dream football club – Stoke City – at 17 years old, having played throughout his childhood and adolescence.

More than 20 years on and Rich is using his past experiences for good, working in private practice and in secondary schools, counselling young people aged 11 to 16.

MNA Media • 15th February 2023

Shropshire business keeping clockmaking craft ticking-along as trade in danger of being lost to time

MNA Media: They have received a number of positive reviews for their service, which is a unique and rare craft currently at risk of being lost to time.

According to the Heritage Crafts charity, clock making is on the Red List of Endangered Crafts, with only around 250 professionals left in the UK.

MNA Media • 31st January 2023

Shropshire woman performing in Titanic musical in memory of relative who died in sinking

MNA Media: Susan Steele, from Much Wenlock, is the great niece of the Rev Dr Robert James Bateman – known to his family as Great Uncle Bob – who died when the ship sank in April 1912.

While Susan has always been a lover of history and has produced detailed research on the British passenger liner, she admitted that performing in a musical was out of her comfort zone.

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