Leeds

A leading charity in West Yorkshire has called for more mental health support for women who have breast cancer.

AFP/Getty Images

Breast Cancer Haven, which has a walk-in centre in Leeds, says more than 55,000 women are diagnosed with the disease every year.

But many people don't have quick enough access to emotional help after their treatment, according to the charity's clinical and research director Dr Caroline Hoffman.

She says: "A lot of psychological concerns don't fall under severe mental health and people may go to a GP and ask for counselling and be put on a waiting list for nine months."

A major West Yorkshire road has reopened following a three-vehicle crash which left a motorcyclist in a critical condition.

@djmurphykavos

Emergency services were called to the westbound carriageway between junction 31 and 30 after the crash involving a lorry, motorbike and an Alfa Romeo car this morning.

The motorcyclist, a 54-year-old man, is in a critical but stable condition in hospital after colliding with the car and then with the lorry.

He was airlifted to hospital.

Any witnesses to the crash are being asked to get in touch with police.

A fashion designer from Halifax and a support worker from Rotherham are among four of the 13 contestants taking part in this year's Great British Bake Off.

The programme returns to Channel 4 on Tuesday 27 August, the third series since it moved across from BBC One.

C4/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon/PA Wire

Online project manager Helena (pictured above), 40, lives in Leeds and spent much of her childhood watching her Spanish grandmother cook and bake.

Sportswear fashion designer, Amelia, 24, is from Halifax and honed her baking skills while at university.

C4/Love Productions/Mark Bourdillon/PA Wire

International health adviser David (pictured above), 36, is originally from Yorkshire and as a child, his mum baked all the time, meaning the family never ate a shop-bought loaf at home.

Finally, support worker Dan, 32, is from Rotherham. He says he has fond memories of his mum showing him how to bake a Victoria sponge as a child.

The man who hoaxed detectives by claiming to be the Yorkshire Ripper has died, police have confirmed.

BBC

John Humble, who was dubbed Wearside Jack, sent police on a wild goose chase when he sent them hoax letters and an audio tape in the late 1970s.

He was unmasked in 2006 and sentenced to eight years in jail after admitting perverting the course of justice.

West Yorkshire Police detectives, headed by the force's assistant chief constable George Oldfield, believed the letters and tape were genuine and diverted resources to Humble's home town of Sunderland.

When Humble was eventually prosecuted, Leeds Crown Court heard claims that delays caused by the hoax allowed Peter Sutcliffe to murder three more women.

Northumbria Police said Humble, who had changed his name to John Samuel Anderson, died on 30 July.

Humble, 63, died at his home in South Shields, where he had lived since being released from prison in 2009. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

Sutcliffe was jailed in 1981 and given 20 life sentences for killing 13 women and attempting to kill seven more.

A Scunthorpe couple whose much-loved blind hedgehog was stolen in a van theft in Leeds have made an emotional plea to thieves to reveal what has happened to the animal.

Frank Tett

Stephen the hedgehog was in a light grey cat carrier, which was inside the vehicle when it was taken from Albion Place on Saturday morning.

Owners Frank and Veronica Tett, who run Andrew's Hedgehog Hospital, near Scunthorpe, say they are "beside themselves".

At this stage we think time is running out for Stephen unless he has been released from the carrier. If the thief or anyone who knows him is reading this, will you at least tell us where and what you did with our hedgehog. He didn't deserve to be treated in this way and we hope you can live with yourself after what you have done."

West Yorkshire Police said it was investigating the theft.

A motorcyclist is in hospital with serious injuries following a crash on the M62 this morning.

@djmurphykavos

Police were called at about 08:35 after reports of a crash between a lorry, a car and a motorbike.

An air ambulance was at the crash scene with the road being closed westbound between junction 31 and junction 30.

The road remains closed westbound as investigations continue, West Yorkshire Police said.

A lightning strike followed by "almost simultaneous unexpected power losses" at two energy plants, including one in East Yorkshire, caused country-wide blackouts earlier this month, an interim report has found.

PA Media

The failure at Hornsea off-shore wind farm and Little Barford gas power station in Bedfordshire occurred independently, the report from National Grid Electricity System Operator said.

The power cut was so severe that back-up power wasn't enough to get systems back on.

As a result, the system automatically disconnected customers on the distribution network with about 5% of electricity demand being turned off to protect the other 95%.

Much of York was affected by the power cut and passengers were trapped on trains on the East Coast Mainline in Yorkshire.

Traffic diversions are in place after a "serious" crash on the M62 westbound earlier.

Highways England/Crown Copyright

The crash, which happened about 08:35 this morning, involved a lorry, a car and a motorbike.

The motorcyclist was injured as a result of the incident, but the severity of the rider's injuries are not yet known, police say.

The air ambulance has been at the scene, with the road currently remaining closed westbound between junctions 31 and 30 near Normanton.

A diversion is in place, with motorists being asked to follow the hollow square symbol towards Castleford.

A major West Yorkshire road is to remain closed following a "serious" crash, according to West Yorkshire Police.

West Yorkshire Police

A motorcylist has been injured in a crash involving another vehicle, with the air ambulance being called.

It happened at about 08:35 this morning on the westbound carriageway between junction 31 and junction 30.

Both the westbound and eastbound carriageways were closed as the air ambulance landed, with the westbound carriageway currently remaining closed.

It's not clear how long the road will need to be closed for, but West Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Unit says its officers will get traffic moving "as soon as possible".

A motorbike rider has been injured in a crash on the M62 this morning.

@djmurphykavos

Police were called at about 08:35 to reports of an incident on the M62 westbound near Wakefield, between junction 31 for the A655 and junction 30 for the A642.

The road has since been closed.

The air ambulance is at the scene as emergency services deal with the crash, which also involved another vehicle.

Areas of cloud could bring a few showers or spots of rain through the day, with some of the showers perhaps on the thundery side this afternoon.

It will be dry tonight with clear periods at times, but areas of cloud, and perhaps the odd shower, could occasionally drift in from the south-west:

BBC

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this Tuesday morning, most services appear to be running to time.

However:

• The 08:39 Leeds to Newcastle service has been cancelled
• The 09:30 Doncaster to Kings Cross service has been cancelled

For all the latest live updates from the county's main railway stations, click on the links below:

• York Station
• Leeds Station
• Sheffield Station
• Hull Station
• Doncaster Station
• Wakefield Westgate
• Bradford Interchange
• Bradford Forster Square

Police officers in West Yorkshire are currently searching for a missing 17-year-old girl who hasn't been seen since yesterday.

West Yorkshire Police

Corrinne Williams was last seen wearing black skinny jeans, white silk blouse and a black handbag.

She has shoulder length blonde hair with a slight wave shaved at one side and she currently has a black eye with a cut underneath it.

Anybody who has any information as to her whereabouts is being asked to get in touch with West Yorkshire Police.

Two axe-wielding masked men entered a Leeds hotel and stole money as a wedding took place at the weekend, police say.

Google

It happened at the Britannia Hotel on Leeds Road in Bramhope at about 22:00 last night.

Staff were threatened and money was stolen from a safe and till before the offenders left the scene in a vehicle.

Nobody was injured during the theft, according to police.

Two men, aged 27 and 30, have been arrested on suspicion of robbery and are in police custody.

Anyone who may have witnessed the robbery is being asked to get in touch as they could hold vital information, police say.

A couple from Lincolnshire who urged thieves to return their beloved blind hedgehog after their van containing the animal was stolen in Leeds say they're not holding out much hope of getting him back.

Frank Tett

Stephen the hedgehog was inside the vehicle when it was removed from Albion Place in Leeds on Saturday morning.

Owner Frank Tett, who runs Andrew's Hedgehog Hospital in Scunthorpe, said: "We're all devastated here.

"He'll probably last four or five days without food or water. After that he'll just die. It'll be a miracle if he turns up."

Stephen was in a light grey coloured cat carrier which was inside the stolen van.

Mr Tett and his wife Veronica appealed for motorists to be vigilant on roadsides as they think the box might have been thrown out of the vehicle.

Police are investigating the theft.

The material things you can replace, but you can't replace a hedgehog. We'll travel to the ends of the Earth to pick him up."

Yorkshire's transport system is set to get less than a third of the money the government plans to spend on London's, new research shows.

BBC

The figures show that out of the 12 regions making up the UK, Yorkshire is one of the worst funded overall.

The research by IPPR North claims Yorkshire will receive £321 a year on transport for each person. In London the figure is more than treble that, standing at £1,023.

The think tank says the imbalance is holding back the North's economy and devolving power away from Whitehall is the best way forward.

But the Department for Transport says the figures are misleading.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the theft of chocolate from a lorry parked up on the M180 near Scawby in North East Lincolnshire.

BBC

Humberside Police said the driver of the truck was asleep at 02:00 this morning (19 August), but was woken up by noises coming from his trailer.

He spotted the men who were loading the chocolate onto another truck.

Officers quickly arrived, gave chase to the men on foot and arrested two of them.

The men, who are both from Leeds, are currently in custody on suspicion of theft from a motor vehicle.

Officers are still looking for a third man in connection with the raid.

The items, which were destined for delivery to a high street store, were returned.

A couple from North Lincolnshire have urged thieves to return their beloved blind hedgehog after a van containing the creature was stolen in Leeds.

Frank Tett

Stephen the hedgehog (pictured) was inside the vehicle when it was taken from Albion Place in Leeds at about 08:15 on Saturday.

Frank Tett, who runs Andrew's Hedgehog Hospital near Scunthorpe, said: "If he is dumped he could be in real trouble."

Mr Tett and his wife Veronica have been caring for the animal since June when he was brought to them after being sprayed with chemicals.

Mr Tett, 80, had parked his white Vauxhall van outside Barclay's Bank and was loading stock for his market stall when it was stolen.

"Stephen was in a cat carrier in the van because I take him with me to the market to raise awareness about the plight of hedgehogs," he said.

"I was gone a matter of minutes and when I turned around the van was gone."

The theft has been reported to West Yorkshire Police.

A woman from West Yorkshire has died following a crash between a motorcycle and a car in East Yorkshire.

Google

The collision, which happened at about 16:30 on Sunday near the B1249 junction on the A614 near Driffield, involved a VW Polo and a Kawasaki motorbike.

The 57-year-old pillion passenger died as a result of the crash.

The rider of the bike suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and the driver of the car was unhurt.

Any witnesses to the crash are being asked to get in touch with police.

A bright and breezy day is expected, with some good spells of sunshine.

Occasional heavy showers may turn thundery at times.

Any daytime showers will fade through this evening:

BBC

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this Monday morning, most services appear to be running to time.

For all the latest live updates from the county's main railway stations, click on the links below:

• York Station
• Leeds Station
• Sheffield Station
• Hull Station
• Doncaster Station
• Wakefield Westgate
• Bradford Interchange
• Bradford Forster Square

The Leeds Rhinos Wheelchair Rugby League team are due to play in the final of the Challenge Cup tomorrow.

BBC

They're unbeaten so far this season and have already won the League Leader's trophy for the first time in their history.

The Rhinos take on The Argonauts from Dartford for the right to succeed Halifax RLFC as Challenge Cup winners.

It is the third year in succession that the Rhinos have reached the Challenge Cup Final, losing the previous two to Halifax.

Captain James Simpson (pictured right), who led the side in both of those matches, says he's hoping to make it third time lucky.

The game gets under way shortly at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Yorkshire Water has pledged to reduce its carbon footprint by planting more trees across the county.

BBC

Several water companies have agreed to plant 11 million trees over the next decade.

Work has already started in the Calder Valley to plant 200,000 young trees near Hebden Bridge.

The area was one of the worst hit in Yorkshire during severe flooding in December 2015.

The company says it hopes this will help prevent future flooding in the area.

Almost £2,000 has been raised for a charity by bird watchers who have flocked to see a rare bustard at a farm near Leeds.

@488IanB

Following the initial sighting of the bird earlier this month in Methley, hundreds of twitchers have been aiming their cameras into a field in the area.

The RSPB says the little bustard is a rare sighting, with only 30 or so UK visits by the breed since 1950.

The money has been raised after the landowner, Jenny Nelson, asked people coming to her farm to donate money to a number of local charities.

Halifax-born Ed Sheeran returns to Yorkshire tonight on the final leg of his world tour.

BBC

Up to 80,000 fans are set to gather in Leeds' Roundhay Park for the first of two huge gigs.

Special permission has been granted to increase capacity at the park to allow crowds roughly the same size as Leeds Festival to attend.

The previous limit for live events at the park was close to 20,000 attendees.

Some of rock and pop's biggest names performed at Rounday Park in the 1980s and 1990s, including the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Simple Minds, U2, Michael Jackson and Genesis.

The last time Roundhay Park was used for such a large event was a Robbie Williams concert in 2006.

Showery rain is expected to clear for a while, to then be followed by further rain through the afternoon.

A few scattered showers are possible overnight, but on the whole it will be largely dry and clear:

BBC

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this Friday morning, most services appear to be running to time.

For all the latest live updates from the county's main railway stations, click on the links below:

• York Station
• Leeds Station
• Sheffield Station
• Hull Station
• Doncaster Station
• Wakefield Westgate
• Bradford Interchange
• Bradford Forster Square

A behind-the-scenes documentary looking at Leeds United's 2018-19 season premiered last night with players and staff from the club getting a first viewing.

Leeds United

Take Us Home looks at what happened behind closed doors as the Championship side tried to get back into the Premier League.

The series will see The Whites battle for promotion, the infamous "Spy-gate" drama, and the agonising defeat to Derby County in the play-off semi-final.

The Amazon Prime documentary is released tomorrow.

A man has been jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years after he admitted "ferociously murdering" a woman he had "pestered" for sex.

WYP

Karar Ali Karar stabbed 21-year-old Jodi Miller 15 times at a house on Milan Road, Harehills, Leeds, on 25 February to "teach her a lesson".

Leeds Crown Court heard Karar, 31, accosted Miss Miller and offered to pay her for sex - to which she said no.

He then stabbed her with a kitchen knife so hard it broke in three places.

Miss Miller had been visiting a friend on Milan Road on 24 February when Karar, who lived in a nearby flat, first visited and asked her for sex.

She returned the next day to the same flat where Karar was told to leave after again hounding her for sex. He then attacked her.

Britain's Jess Learmonth and Georgia Taylor-Brown's were disqualified from the World Triathlon Olympic qualification event in Tokyo after crossing the finish line hand-in-hand.

BBC

A photo finish initially gave 31-year-old Learmonth, from Leeds, victory but the pair were later deemed to have broken a race rule.

An appeal was rejected and compatriot Vicky Holland was upgraded to third.

Bermuda's Flora Duffy was awarded the win ahead of Italy's Alice Betto.

Britain's Non Stanford, the 2013 world champion, finished seventh.

There will be a few showers around this morning but they will clear away quite quickly and it'll turn dry and bright day for most.

Temperatures could get up to 21C in places:

If you're making a journey on the rails in Yorkshire this Thursday morning, most services appear to be running to time, however:

• The 08:55 service from York to Edinburgh is running about 24 minutes late
• The 09:01 service from Wakefield Westgate to Leeds is running about 24 minutes late
• The 09:15 service from Doncaster to Leeds is running about 15 minutes late
• The 09:35 service from Doncaster to Sheffield has been cancelled

For all the latest live updates from the county's main railway stations, click on the links below:

• York Station
• Leeds Station
• Sheffield Station
• Hull Station
• Doncaster Station
• Wakefield Westgate
• Bradford Interchange
• Bradford Forster Square

A few scattered showers are possible through the morning, but for most places it should be largely dry with clouds breaking through the morning to allow a good deal of sunshine.

Tonight will start dry and clear, but cloud will build quickly ahead of heavy, showery rain moving in from the west:

BBC

Boris Johnson must commit £39 billion to Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) as part of a raft of measures to boost the region, leaders have said.

Getty Images

City mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram are among 19 leaders calling for the Prime Minister to pledge a "northern budget" to unlock its full potential.

Mr Johnson said a "very, very good case" was being made for the sum to be spent in connections between Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds during his Tory leadership campaign.

The leaders from the Transport for the North group are asking him to commit to the £39 billion funding in full now that he is PM.

The group, which also includes mayor of the Sheffield City Region Dan Jarvis, are further demanding £7 billion for the Northern Infrastructure Pipeline of road and rail projects.

A Government spokesman said: "We're already investing over £13 billion in improving transport in the North - more than any government in history - and will set out our plans to build on this in due course."

A man has appeared in court charged in connection with a serious assault close to Leeds station on Monday morning.

Google

Christopher Subham, 38, of no fixed address, was charged with grievous bodily harm and appeared at Leeds Magistrates’ Court earlier.

He's been remanded in custody until his next appearance at Leeds Crown Court on 11 September.

A 39-year-old man from Leeds who was also arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in connection with the incident has been released under investigation.

The victim of the assault, a 41-year-old man, remains in hospital in a critical condition.

Any witnesses or anyone with information about the attack is being asked to contact police.